home Credit Business plan for selling artificial flowers. Making handmade flowers

Business plan for selling artificial flowers. Making handmade flowers

Who said you can't imitate natural beauty? It turns out that if you try hard, you can do it. As the ancient masters believed, only those who have comprehended the soul of a flower are able to fully bring to life its beauty and image. Even in ancient times, the Egyptians decorated their houses and outfits with artificial flowers made of parchment and papyrus and even showered them on the tombs of their pharaohs. And the Chinese were the first to master the technique of making artificial flowers from silk, porcelain, feathers and clay. By the 19th century the fashion for this the new kind floristry has reached its peak, significantly accelerating the development of various manufacturing technologies.

Nowadays, this craft still lives and flourishes and has reached mass production. After all, living flowers do not last long and they all die. A wilted flower, you see, is a sad sight associated with death. An artificial flower does not require care and is not afraid of being attacked by insects or any chemicals, so it will last a long time and will be an excellent decoration for creating home comfort, festive mood or luxurious clothes.

Manufacturing technology

The process of producing artificial flowers is a very serious and painstaking work. For production, special types of fabrics are used, such as cambric, cambric, muslin and others. They are often coated with a rubber solution and sprinkled with crushed shavings of silk or cloth to give the workpieces a velvety feel. In some cases, velvet or plush itself is used.

Using steel molds and cuttings, flat parts of the future flower are cut out of large sheets of fabric, which are subsequently rounded using boules (a tool with a metal ball at the end). Then, to give a natural look, the veins are squeezed out on the petals and leaves using pointed tools. The finished parts are painted with dyes using special technologies and assembled around the base of the flower using special techniques corresponding to the selected material and the shape of the flower. If necessary, the leaves and the flower itself are attached to a wire rod, coated with a special material and simulating a stem.

Flowers made mechanically differ from real ones in complete symmetry and correctness of form, which violates the natural naturalness. Therefore, at the final stage of production ready flowers amenable to manual finishing.

Application

Artificial flowers are arranged into stylish, beautiful compositions and are subsequently used to give interiors a picturesque look.

Ready-made compositions and bouquets are placed in flowerpots, floor vases or special baskets. Or they are compiled into colorful panels. You can also decorate various arches, fences, shop windows and other elements of the general interior with similar flowers. Such compositions often amaze with their splendor, and to the naked eye it may seem that the flowers in them are real.

To add natural beauty to spacious squares, artificial trees are used, which can be seen even in street squares and in the city center. Also, beautiful buds and twigs with leaves are used to create women's outfits and hairstyles, which gives the image a luxurious natural beauty. By caring for artificial plants using special sprays, you can give them a natural look and the effect of natural freshness.

Even if, upon closer examination, artificial flowers are not distinguished by natural tenderness and sensuality, they do not exude a wonderful aroma, nevertheless, they are an extremely practical and at the same time no less picturesque analogue of real flowers. Let only beauty surround you!

The idea of opening own business, probably visited every person. And the flower trade is considered a relatively profitable business, because it’s hard to imagine the holidays without them. What is selling flowers? A business plan must take into account even the smallest details. So how to start trading and make it profitable?

Selling flowers: business plan

Of course, first you need to sort out some little things. In particular, it is necessary to compile an accurate and detailed business plan:

If you are interested in how to start selling flowers, then you should know that when creating any business, every little detail is important. This is the only way to make it truly profitable.

What documents are needed to trade plants?

It should be noted right away that a license to sell flowers is not required. Therefore, you just need to register in tax service either an LLC or an individual entrepreneur. Individual entrepreneurship suitable for you if you intend to work exclusively with individuals. This option has some advantages, in particular a simplified system accounting, as well as lower taxes.

If you are not the sole owner of a store and plan to expand your business and cooperate with different companies, it is better to register a Limited Liability Company.

Where to rent a room?

If you are planning to start a flower selling business, you should know that the location of your store is extremely important. Therefore, it is best to rent a room somewhere in a busy place, for example, in the central part of the city, in a tourist area, in mall etc.

Naturally, premises in a busy area will cost more. But a favorable location largely determines the success of trade.

After all, quite often people buy flowers impulsively, without planning it in advance. Therefore, it is important that your store is on the path of a person who is going to buy a beautiful bouquet.

As for the store itself, it is desirable that it be spacious. Then buyers will not have to crowd into a tiny room.

Try to arrange the flowers so that they are visible from anywhere in the store - this way the client will have the opportunity to independently choose the best plants.

What equipment do you need to get started?

As already mentioned, flowers are a product that quickly deteriorates. Therefore, you need to raise money in advance for the necessary equipment. After all, without it, selling flowers is simply impossible. The business plan should include the purchase of the following materials:

To begin with, you will need a refrigerator, since in the hot season it is important to keep the flowers fresh.

But in the winter months, the main threat to the product is cold. Therefore, you need to purchase a special thermal curtain.

A store full of flowers must have an air conditioning system, which will help create optimal temperature conditions at any time of the year.

Don’t forget about stands, tables for florists and other furniture necessary for creating bouquets of furniture.

Most likely, in addition to fresh-cut flowers, you will sell some other products - these will also require furniture, such as racks and shelves.

To preserve flowers, buckets, vases, sprayers and some other devices are needed.

By the way, make sure there is enough water in the store.

You will also need cash machine. By the way, as your business develops, when there are more and more regular customers, you will probably need a computer and a special software. They will facilitate the process of tracking sales, and also simplify the work of the accountant.

This is a list of basic purchases. You can buy the rest of the things you need for work after the store opens.

Basic consumables: what to buy?

Naturally, the main thing in your business is fresh, fresh-cut flowers. Today, their market in our country is sufficiently developed; only 45% of products come to us from abroad. You just need to find a company that grows or delivers flowers and draw up an agreement with it. By the way, many organizations use a flower franchise.

Many novice businessmen ask what plants to buy. According to statistical studies, roses are the most popular.

Chrysanthemums take second place, and carnations take third place. Therefore, these flowers must be present in your store’s assortment.

Naturally, you can purchase almost any plants that are useful for creating bouquets. And don’t forget about the so-called seasonal ones - for several weeks (or even days) a year, snowdrops, anemones and tulips become especially popular.

Of course, selling flowers is a profitable business. But in order to increase your income, you should think about creating compositions. For this purpose, it is best to hire an experienced, talented florist. He will create original bouquets from ordinary flowers - compositions are usually more expensive. In this case, you will need some materials: gift wrapping, paper, ribbons, bows, rhinestones and other decorations.

By the way, selling flowers in pots is interesting and profitable idea. Such plants are more expensive, and when proper care You can save them for months. In addition, indoor flowers are popular gifts because, unlike cut flowers, they do not fade.

We hire workers

A flower selling business can become truly successful, but only with the right approach. It's no secret that the effectiveness of trading largely depends on the quality of service. Therefore, when interviewing future employees, first of all pay attention to such qualities as communication skills and politeness.

To begin with, you will need a seller, and a little later, a florist. If you cannot do accounting, you will have to hire someone for this position (perhaps on a part-time basis). Additional staff may be needed when expanding a business such as selling flowers. The business plan in this case has its own characteristics.

About some nuances

As already mentioned, the sale of plants is often seasonal. Naturally, people buy bouquets every day, but there are times when flowers are in great demand.

This is mainly observed in special and holidays, for example, the first and last call, prom, March 8 (don't forget to buy tulips, snowdrops and other spring flowers), as well as Valentine's Day, etc.

Always be prepared for such holidays, buy more flowers, create inexpensive bouquets in advance, and offer discounts. In short, do everything to attract customers.

Weddings are another source of good income. Let your florist create bouquets for the bride. Boutonnieres for the groom and bridesmaids made from fresh flowers are becoming increasingly popular - offer this service too.

Ideas for additional income

Selling cut flowers and original bouquets is a profitable business. But business, and therefore profits, can always be raised to a new level. For example, over time you can create a flower delivery service. This service is very popular among people who do not have time to go shopping, as well as among buyers who want to surprise a loved one.

Along with indoor plants You can always sell pots, fertilizers and other small items. Quite often, flower shops offer customers souvenirs. These can be figurines, boxes, photo frames, paintings, watches, artificial flowers and other gifts.

Selling flowers: advantages and disadvantages

When you start a new business, it's always a little scary. Therefore, many people are interested in the question of whether it is profitable to sell flowers. Yes, there are a number of significant disadvantages in this matter. To begin with, it should be noted that flowers are a product that deteriorates relatively quickly, so if not too successful trading losses can be quite high. And the flower business is seasonal.

On the other hand, there are also important advantages. In particular, some stores sell flowers with a markup of 200 or even 300%. In addition, such a business does not require large start-up capital, any specific skills or extensive experience. With the right approach, selling flowers can become a truly profitable business.

Nowadays, flowers made from artificial materials are not at all what they used to be; they are made very similar to natural flowers thanks to the latest technologies.

The need for such decorations is quite great: they are used for decoration and decoration of offices, apartments, houses, hotels. Artificial flowers have also found use in ritual floristry. Your own business producing artificial flowers can bring considerable profit, all that remains is to figure out how to create such a business from scratch?

Market analysis

Of course, artificial flowers are not as popular as real ones, but they still have a wide range of applications. In addition, artificial jewelry has more advantages than real ones:

Firstly, they are durable and have a certain resistance to adverse external influences.
Secondly, when using truly high-quality materials, artificial flowers are practically indistinguishable from real ones.
Artificial flowers will cost less than live arrangements.

Having come to the conclusion that artificial flowers are in demand, you can think about starting your own business. However, before doing this, you need to familiarize yourself with the state of the market. Artificial flowers are brought to our country, in most cases, from China. Manufacturers of artificial flowers at domestic market not so much.

Before starting artificial flower production, the following important factors need to be considered:

General market analysis requiring in-depth marketing research.
The existence of similar organizations in a certain area or city.
Which organizations are the most successful - small or large?
How much higher is the income of handmakers?
Will the investment be justified, and how long will it take?
Where to bring materials from, what is their cost, will it be necessary to order them in other countries.

Having received answers to the above questions, it will be easier for you to draw up a business plan, establish development vectors and potential achievements.

Registration and organization of business

Registration of any individual enterprise involves preparing documents for the tax authorities and paying state fees. An aspiring entrepreneur either registers an individual entrepreneur or a legal entity.

Industrial production or home business

The most important thing is to decide for yourself the direction of business - a home business or the formation of a manufacturing enterprise. If you give preference to handmade, then large investments not required. Most often, this is an activity for students or young mothers who have imagination, creativity, and free time. Often such a business begins with a hobby and a desire to create. Over time, the hobby brings profit, which leads to further part-time work on an ongoing basis.

There is a need to purchase special tools, master new techniques, apply and understand the source material.

The situation is completely different with manufacturing enterprise, which will require large capital investments. So, to create industrial production, an entrepreneur needs;

find suitable premises and select personnel;
purchase tools, equipment and materials;
register with the tax authorities;
regulate production technology.

Production technology

The technology for making artificial flowers is as follows:

It is necessary to make patterns of the required shapes and sizes.
Next you need to cast, sculpt, stamp or cut out all the parts.
Then assemble all the elements into one product using stitching, artistic welding, gluing or wire assembly.

Room

You will need a large room of about 150 sq.m. All extensive equipment will be located here. In addition, it is necessary to clearly define a work area for each employee, as well as assign a place for administration, a warehouse and a production area. There are no specific conditions for the premises.

Should be provided (except for natural light in the room) artificial lighting. The room should have good ventilation and water supply, and be heated in cold weather. Needs dry clean room, which will be cleaned regularly.

Equipment

Regardless of the material (fabric, polymer, plastic) from which the products will be made, equipment will be required. Imported equipment is often used.

It is better to purchase equipment for the production of artificial flowers in China.

After all, the price is significantly lower than its European counterparts, and the quality is no worse. The line includes:

When purchasing equipment in China, you will need approximately 1 million rubles. European lines will be approximately 1.5 times more expensive.

Tools used in making artificial flowers:

Staff

To serve production line A staff of about 30 people will be required (depending on production volumes). The staff will include employees from different areas:

operators;
designers;
accountant;
sales managers.

The initial investment to launch the workshop will be about 2.5 million rubles.

Sales and Distribution

The sales market directly depends on the type of artificial flowers produced. If these are flowers and wreaths made of plastic, it would be wiser to open a store on the road to the cemetery, or near a funeral service store. If possible, contact the funeral home and arrange for the products to be sold.

If you make artificial flowers from fabric and paper, design agencies will be interested in your products. It would be advisable to open a point of sale in the city center or create your own online store.

You can also make artificial flowers to order, which will help expand your customer base.

Financial component of business

Equipment in industrial production will provide the opportunity to produce large volumes of products. Thanks to a line with average power, it is possible to produce about 1.5 thousand products in an 8-hour working day.

When making flowers with your own hands, you need to have certain knowledge. By purchasing the required tools and mastering the technology, you can produce exclusive products that will always be in great demand. Consequently, such a business will soon generate good income.

Amount of future income

The amount of further income is determined by the automation of production. Speaking about industrial production, the net profit from manufactured products can be up to 300 thousand rubles per month. Making artificial flowers at home will allow you to have an income of up to 50 thousand rubles per month.

Payback period

Payback period production workshop can range from a year to 2.5 years. As for unique flowers made with your own hands, demand will provide an opportunity not only to quickly recoup your investment, but also to make great money. After all, the initial investment will not be large.

Making artificial flowers is great for creating small home business, and for large enterprises. Such flowers are constantly in demand in several areas.

How to start a business producing artificial flowers
What equipment is used to make artificial flowers?
Features of the flower business
How much can you earn making artificial flowers?
How much money do you need to start a business?
What is the OKVED code for making artificial flowers?
What documents are needed to open
Which taxation system to choose for the production of artificial flowers
Do I need permission to open?
Artificial flower manufacturing technology

How to start a business producing artificial flowers

Firstly, this is the sphere of funeral services, where wreaths and bouquets are made from artificial flowers. They long time do not lose their original colors and look natural for a very long time. Typically, the shelf life of wreaths is 10 years or more. This allows entrepreneurs to extract maximum benefit and profit.

Secondly, it is actively used by designers and decorators to create a cozy atmosphere in the premises.

Thirdly, at various holidays and celebrations, where decorators create unique compositions from artificial and natural plants. Thus, a business based on the production of flowers is in demand and necessary, meeting the needs and trends of market development. But it should be taken into account that such a niche is not empty, and there is quite fierce competition between hand makers and businessmen.

Therefore, before you start producing artificial flowers, you need to consider several important points:

The general state of the market, for which you need to conduct in-depth marketing research.
The presence of similar enterprises in a specific area of a particular locality.
Which enterprises are more successful - large or small?
How high are the profits of those who produce flowers using the hand-made method?
Will the investment pay off, and how long will it take?
Where can you buy materials, how much do they cost, do you need to specially order them from other countries.

The analytical data obtained will help you correctly draw up a detailed business plan, take into account possible risks, determine development vectors and possible results.

First of all, you need to decide on the direction of your business - home production or establishing a production cycle. If you rely on hand-made items, then you won’t have to make any special financial expenses. Typically, such a business begins as a hobby, passion, desire to do something with your own hands. Absolutely anyone who has creative abilities, creative and original thinking, and who has enough free time can do it.

After some time, when the hobby begins to generate income, turning into a permanent form of income, you need to buy special equipment. For starters it might be small machine, allowing the production of artificial flowers. It will be very expensive to place such a unit in an apartment, so additional space is needed. This could be a garage or other premises located outside the home. The peculiarity of this type of production is that it will be small and the volumes of production will be insignificant. They can be sold in a specific city, gradually increasing client base. The main thing is to chase not after money, but after quality, since this is what the strategy for producing artificial flowers is based on.

The second option, i.e. creating industrial production will cost entrepreneurs much more because:

Significant material and time investments are required.
It is necessary to find premises and select specialists.
It is also important to select equipment, tools and materials.
Register the activities of an individual enterprise.
Set up the production cycle. For each enterprise it will have its own characteristics, which depend on the selected material. Basically, there are 3 stages of manufacturing.

Using the details of a living flower, you need to create patterns of various shapes. To speed up the process and improve image quality, you need to involve specialists in computer design.

It is necessary to cut, cast, stamp and sculpt all the elements.

Flower collection is achieved in various ways - using standard gluing, welding, sewing, stringing on a wire base.

What equipment is used to make artificial flowers?

Equipment for the production of artificial flowers in industrial production is one of the most important factors that can ensure the quality of production and bring high level arrived.

When choosing tools and machines, it is worth considering that flowers can be made from plastic, fabric, clay, polymer materials. Typically, the minimum set of equipment consists of the following list:

Settings to cut out various parts.
Dryer.
Machines for forming and collecting flowers.

Most often, entrepreneurs purchase equipment from China. It costs less than the European one. Chinese machines will cost an entrepreneur 1 million rubles, and for equipment from the EU you will have to pay from 2.5 million rubles.

For manual and machine production, the use of special tools is very important. These include:

Special steel balls on which the petals are placed.
Steel rings for curling petals.
Knives for properly processing leaves.
You can smooth out the parts using irons.
Several tweezers.
Cutting scissors.
Awl and nippers.
Die cutters and rubber pads to work with molds.

Features of the flower business

An important stage of the production cycle is the implementation finished products. Must be used various ways advertising to attract customers: Internet, advertising agencies, personal connections and acquaintances.

It all depends on financial capabilities; if they are limited, then at first you can engage in independent sales.

Owners can act as buyers flower shops or companies that deal with interior decoration, designers, small boutiques. The price of products must be set based on market demands.

At first it may be somewhat lower, but this is precisely the factor that plays into the hands of novice entrepreneurs. Otherwise, there is a risk of not selling the finished product and losing the invested funds.

There may be other obstacles on the path to success:

savings on quality materials;
lack of variety in assortment.

How much can you earn making artificial flowers?

Flower production on a large scale correct advertising and management, is capable of generating a monthly profit of several hundred thousand rubles.

The first few months the amount will be less, since you will need to repay loans and credit, but after some time the payback of the business will become obvious. For those who will be engaged in hand-made production, the revenue will be from 30 to 50 thousand rubles.

How much money do you need to start a business?

A finished line, made in China, costs about 1 million rubles. The remaining costs will be approximately as follows:

rent of space for a workshop and storage of products – 50,000;
wages for the first months of work for 5 people - 120-150,000;
business registration and premises renovation - 80,000;
purchase of components, raw materials – 200,000.

We find that to start an activity in the production of artificial flowers, you need to have a capital of about 1.5 million rubles.

What is the OKVED code for making artificial flowers?

It is necessary to indicate activity code 32.99 “Production of other finished products not included in other groups.”

What documents are needed to open

To create a business producing artificial flowers, we must fill out an application on form P21001 and submit it to the state registrar. It is accompanied by a photocopy of the passport, individual tax number and payment receipt stub. public services in the amount of 800 rubles, which is provided for by law for these cases. Those who want to save themselves time can turn to specialized companies that can help prepare a package of documents, but such services will be more expensive.

Which taxation system to choose for the production of artificial flowers

The use of a special mode - a simplified system - will significantly reduce reporting, and with it the frequency of visits tax office. It is allowed to reflect in the business ledger the income and expenses of those transactions that will form the basis for taxation. At the same time, the tax rate can be, according to the 1st option, 6% of dirty revenue or 15%, but of clean revenue. In the second option, you need to document all expenses from doing business.

Do I need permission to open?

This business activity has an undeniable advantage - it does not require licenses, certificates of conformity, or other permits.

Artificial flower manufacturing technology

Considering that in last years the demand is growing not for cheap products based on rough plastic, but for higher quality ones, which use organza, parchment, latex, silk and polyester, you can expect to carve out your own niche in the market.

First, to start production, patterns are prepared, which must exactly replicate the living flower. Manual assembly requires a lot of time spent - in the end, the products will cost about the same as crafts in the hand made style. You can purchase a ready-made production line, which already includes installations for cutting leaves and casting stems, forming machines, machines for cutting petals and gluing equipment.

Maximum demand for similar products observed on the eve of religious holidays and days of honoring the memory of the dead. The highest sales peaks will occur several times a year. By these dates, the maximum possible amount of products should be produced, and a network of retail outlets should be operational, including retail locations in markets and near city cemeteries.

Artificial flower manufacturing technology

Flowers made using this technology are practically indistinguishable from real ones.

Introduction

Hundreds of thousands of plant species live on the globe. And flowers occupy a place of honor among them.

It’s hard to imagine how poorer our lives would be, how sad the planet Earth would be if flowers disappeared on it. They are a symbol of love and fidelity, a symbol of respect and eternal memory. Flowers are the most modest and beautiful decoration of our home. Even a small bouquet of flowers gives the room a festive look and creates an uplifting mood. Unfortunately, fresh flowers do not last long. But people can create miracles. They learned to create artificial flowers, imitating nature itself. This is a great art, with its own strict rules and laws, which allow you to achieve maximum similarity, reveal the natural beauty of each flower, emphasizing its characteristic details and features.

Having a keen eye for observation, taste, and having thoroughly mastered the technique of coloring and processing petals, stamens, and leaves, you can make any flower. And having mastered the art of flower making, you need to learn how to make bouquets correctly, based on proportions and harmony.

Tools

To make artificial flowers you need some special tools(Fig. 1), without which it is impossible to begin work.

Rice. 1. Tools for making flowers: a - bulbs; b - rings; c - knives; g - iron; d - die cutting.

These include:

gurgles- steel balls mounted on metal rods with wooden handles. The number of rolls used is usually at least six (of different sizes). For example: 5, 15, 20, 30 mm in diameter. The petals are processed with boules, giving them a natural shape characteristic of a given flower;

rings made of steel wire of various diameters, which are used for curling petals;

single core knife- a blunt curved blade made of steel wire, framed with a wooden handle. Serve for processing leaves (in the absence of a leaf stamp) and some flowers;

twin-core knife- similar to a single-core one, but with two blades, which are obtained by cutting a longitudinal groove in a blunt steel blade. Necessary for processing reed petals and sepals;

iron— metal parallelepiped 10x10x3 (4) cm with holes with a diameter of 1.2; 1.5; 2; 3; 3.5 mm. A strip of starched dry fabric 0.5 cm wide is pulled through the desired hole in the iron. Thin tubes are obtained, which are used in the manufacture of phlox, primroses, etc.;

medical tweezers— for corrugating petals, assembling small flowers and coloring them. The arms of the tweezers should be the same length, elastic, and come together tightly when squeezed;

scissors- for cutting out petals, leaves, etc. from fabric;

wire cutters- for cutting wire;

awl with a round steel needle 3-5 cm long for piercing holes in corolla-shaped petals;

die cutting- for obtaining corollas of flowers with very small petals, for example, forget-me-nots, lilacs, lilies of the valley. Each die cut should correspond to the shape of the petal of a given flower;

pillows made of hard and semi-soft rubber with a thickness of 1.5 to 4 cm. The dimensions of the pillow are approximately 15x20 cm (the pillows are covered with white fabric). On a cushion of soft rubber, the petals are processed with boules. Leaves, petals, and sepals are mainly used to make leaves, petals, and sepals on a semi-soft cushion. The soft rubber pad can be replaced with a pad of sand, well washed and dried. Rolls, knives, rings, and irons must always be hot when working.

Supporting materials. In addition to fabric, to make even the simplest flower you need to have auxiliary materials: dyes, adhesives, etc.

As dyes In the production of artificial flowers, aniline dyes for cotton and woolen fabrics, Rainbow ink, food confectionery dyes, gouache, ink, and photo paints are usually used. Note that paints diluted not with water, but with cologne or vodka, are brighter, cleaner, and dry faster.

Required colors: yellow, red, blue, purple, green, crimson, brown, orange, black. To create the desired shades and tones, paints are mixed together. So, to get orange, you need to mix yellow with red. You can get juicy greenery if you combine yellow with turquoise. Light greens are created by mixing lemon with blue.

Glue for flowers it must be durable, dry quickly, not leave dirty marks, and not discolor the paint on the petals and leaves. Office glue is no good! You need to prepare the glue yourself.

Flour paste. Sifted flour (1-2 tablespoons) is poured with a small amount of cold water and thoroughly stirred until creamy, then, stirring, heated over low heat until the flour is brewed. Paste is used both warm and cold for gluing paper, fixing “pollen”, that is, starch, semolina on the stamens, and gluing petals to the core of the flower.

Dextrin glue (mail). The finished yellow-brown powder is diluted with warm water. Glue is used like paste for working with paper, stamens, and petals. If the glue has dried in the cup, you need to pour a little hot water and when it softens, drain off excess water and stir.

PVA glues. These are the best glues for making flowers.

Gelatin glue . 1 teaspoon of gelatin is poured into ½ cup of cold water, after 40 minutes (after swelling) 2 tablespoons of flour and 1 teaspoon of sugar are added. Everything is thoroughly mixed and brought to a boil over low heat.

Wire. For making flowers, wire of various sections is suitable: thin, medium, thick. For the stems, use aluminum wire; its thickness depends on the weight of the flower. Steel wire no good. The flower should sway on the stem, which gives it more naturalness.

Paper. Tissue or crepe decorative paper of various colors is needed for wrapping the wire. Most often, green and brown paper is required. If you don’t have a colored one, you can paint the white one in the appropriate color.

Cotton wool. White cotton wool will be needed for entwining the stems and making the cores of some flowers. If colored wool is needed, then white wool is painted in the desired color. The paint is diluted with water to the desired tone, cotton wool is dipped into it, lightly squeezed and dried on paper.

Threads. For the stamens you will need threads of various colors. You can use darning, iris, floss. The most commonly used threads or darning are brown, yellow, orange, burgundy, black and green.

Basic Operations

Stem flower. The stem is the base of the flower. It must be quite strong and rigid, since in addition to the blossoming flower, it contains leaves and buds. Before you start making flowers, you need to learn how to wrap the wire with cotton wool and paper (Fig. 2).

Rice. 2. Making stems, attaching leaves.

It is better to practice on a short wire 10-12 cm long. Take the wire in your left hand and hold it between the thumb and forefinger, and with your right hand, place a strip of thin paper 0.5-0.8 cm wide on top of it at an angle of 45°. Using your left fingers the hands rotate the wire towards itself around its axis, causing the strip of paper to spirally wrap around the wire. The paper should lie neatly on the wire, without wrinkles, tightly wrapping it in a spiral. While there is no skill, the wire can be lightly greased with paste before work.

The stems of buds, stamens, and wires for leaves are wrapped in the same way. If a thick stem is needed, the wire is wrapped with a very thin layer of cotton wool, smeared with paste and then wrapped with paper.

Petals, leaves, stamens. The main material for making flowers is fabric. Flowers can be made from cambric, madapolama, calico, chiffon, crepe de Chine, silk, satin, chintz.

How to starch fabric. Any fabric for flowers must be starched. Starch is prepared as follows. Pour 2 cups of water into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Then a tablespoon (with top) of potato flour (starch) is diluted in small quantity cold water and pour into boiling water in a thin stream, stirring occasionally. You should get a thick jelly without lumps. If there are lumps, then filter the hot jelly through cheesecloth.

A piece of dry fabric is spread on an oilcloth and slightly cooled jelly is applied to it by hand. A second piece is placed on the first piece, the whole procedure is repeated again, etc. The starched pieces of fabric are removed one by one and, without squeezing, hung on a rope, grabbed by the edges with clothespins. You can starch cotton fabrics in another way. Dry fabric is crumpled in your hands and dipped in hot starch (jelly), soaked well, excess starch is squeezed out with your fingers and dried on wooden sliding frames.

Silk fabrics - chiffon, crepe de chine, natural silk are recommended to be gelatinized. The gelatin solution is prepared as follows: pour 2 teaspoons (without top) of gelatin into a glass, fill the glass halfway with cold water, leave for 1 hour, top up the glass with water and heat it in a metal container until the gelatin is completely dissolved.

Do not boil the gelatin solution under any circumstances!

The fabric is immersed in a hot gelatin solution, the excess is squeezed out without twisting, and dried on a line, just like starched fabric. Well-treated fabric rustles like paper.

Making a pattern. To make a flower, you need to have patterns of its parts: petals, leaves, sepals. For patterns you will need thick, thin cardboard. On each pattern they write the name of the flower, indicate the number of petals, corollas or leaves, and their serial number. All patterns of one flower are strung on a thin wire. The starched fabric for flowers is folded in four, pinned in several places with pins, patterns are applied, traced with a simple “TM” pencil and then cut out exactly according to the design so that pencil marks are not noticeable. It must be remembered that the patterns must be applied to the fabric along an oblique thread (Fig. 3-a), otherwise the petals will not be shaped later the desired shape during processing. But if the pattern has the shape of a corolla, that is, individual petals are collected together in 3, 5 or more pieces, then some petals will inevitably turn out along a straight thread.

Rice. 3. Placement of the pattern on the fabric along the bias thread (a) and petals with an allowance for gluing (b).

If the petals need to be glued together so that the flower takes the form of a bell, then an allowance is made on the pattern at the junction (Fig. 3-b). Leaves for flowers are cut out only along an oblique thread.

Coloring of petals and leaves. To color petals, leaves, and paper, it is more convenient to use paints dissolved in a small amount of boiling water. Before painting, the petals are moistened in cold water, wrung out using paper napkins or between the palms. The fabric for the leaves is painted in large (0.5-1 m) patches, dried, and then starched. If the petals are monochromatic, without shades, they are painted completely, immersed in a saucer with paint, the excess paint is squeezed out on the edge of the saucer and, one at a time, laid out with tweezers on a newspaper to dry. In some flowers, only the middle or edges of the corollas are painted. The edges of the petals are either tinted with a brush, or 5-10 corollas are carefully folded together, moistened in clean water, squeezed between the palms and rotated, lightly touching the very edges of the corollas with paint in the saucer. Dry the whisks, placing them one at a time on newspaper. But most flowers have a variety of shades and almost all petals have a greenish-yellow bottom. Such petals are painted like this: 5-10 petals are carefully folded according to size, that is, large ones with large ones, and small ones with small ones, moistened in water, and squeezed out. Use your fingers to pinch the middle of the petals and paint the lower part in a saucer with salad paint, and the upper part in a saucer with another paint. Strict care is taken to ensure that the colors do not merge, but smoothly transition from one color to another.

Stamens. The stamens of flowering and ornamental plants are very diverse. Compare the stamens of lily of the valley, forget-me-nots, chamomile, cornflower, water lilies, scarlet poppy, etc. Each flower is uniquely individual. The stamens decorate the flower, and they need to be done carefully, making them as life-like as possible.

Stamens are made from gauze, bobbin thread, floss, silk, and wool. “Pollen” is made from semolina, sealing wax, pata, var, rosin, small sawdust, and tooth powder. It is better to starch or gelatinize the threads for the stamens. To do this, the threads are pulled at a certain distance from one another and soaked in hot starch so that they do not stick together.

Starched dry threads are wound around two fingers or two pencils to make stamen tassels. Their size and color depend on the flower. The resulting skein is removed, the middle is secured with wire, which is then bent in half and twisted at the very threads. The skein is cut in the middle, the threads are trimmed with scissors - a core is obtained from individual threads-stamens (Fig. 4).

Rice. 4. Making stamens from threads.

Stamens for 2 pencils do this: take pencils, as well as wire 20-25 cm long, threads of the desired color are tightly wound on them, then the wire is bent in half, twisted, the pencils are pulled out, the resulting skein is cut in the middle, aligned. The stamens are ready. Their ends are carefully greased with paste and dipped in yellow or white semolina. For “pollen,” semolina is painted as follows: dry paint is diluted with cologne or vodka, semolina is poured into it, mixed, and dried on paper. Stamens are made from gauze in this way: a small piece of crumpled gauze is placed in the middle of a 25 cm long wire, the wire is wrapped around it in the middle, the wire is twisted under the bundle, and the sides are cut, making the tassel convex.

The colored heads of the stamens are made from pata, which is prepared on the basis of glue and paint (additives may be different). For example, they use a mixture of flour, water (a teaspoon each), some glue and dry paint of the desired color.

If there is no dry paint, then instead of water take a teaspoon of liquid paint. This can be “Rainbow” ink, concentrated whitewash paint, gouache, ink (not alcohol). To get black shiny heads, use shoe polish with rosin. A piece of shoe polish and the same amount of rosin are heated to a boil and stirred. The ends of individual stamens are dipped into the hot mixture and black shiny heads are obtained. In the same way, heads are made from sealing wax or rosin alone.

Rice. 5. Making stamens by pulling the fabric through the hole of the iron.

For some flowers, the stamens are made of starched material in the form of tubes. Strips of fabric are cut along a 1.5 cm wide thread and pulled through a hole with a diameter of 5-7 mm using a hot iron (Fig. 5). Stamen-tubes are found in flowers such as anthurium, calla, etc.

Chamomile

Artificial daisies are made from well-starched chintz, silk, thick cambric, satin, to make the daisies look more beautiful, the blooming flower is collected from two corollas (Fig. 6).

Rice. 6. Chamomile.

Field daisies. Field daisies (white and yellow) are smaller than garden daisies. In white chamomile, the area of the corollas adjacent to the core (no more than 2 cm in diameter) is painted a pale greenish-yellow color. To make the color natural, without sharp color boundaries, the corollas are tinted while wet.

Yellow (brown, lemon yellow) daisies are made with brighter edges of the petals. To do this, wet corollas are completely painted in an even yellow or brown color, laid out one at a time on a newspaper, and with a soft brush or cotton wool on a match, brighter paint is applied to the ends of the still wet petals. In Fig. 7 shows patterns of flowers, buds and leaves of chamomile.

Rice. 7. Chamomile pattern.

Core. For the core of daisies you will need cotton wool, a bandage, floss threads, darning of the desired color, from which a low, dense brush with a diameter of 1.5 cm (for field daisies) and 2 cm (for garden daisies) is made. To do this, soft threads or darning are wound around two fingers 30-35 times. The core is made convex or with a depression by carefully trimming the ends of the brush with sharp scissors. Yellow daisies have a brown core, white and colored ones have a yellow-green core.

Corollas. Each chamomile petal is processed on semi-rigid rubber with a double-core knife on the face and a single-core knife on the back (Fig. 8). A single-core knife can be replaced with a small boule. In the middle of each petal from top to bottom, use a hot two-core knife to make a deep groove. This is the front side of the chamomile. Turning the corolla of the chamomile face down, run a single-strand knife along the sides of the middle groove along one vein, as well as a vein along the contour of the petal, trying to guide the knife along its very edge. A medium-sized loaf of bread is poured from the face into the middle of the corolla. Before this, the middles of the corollas are pierced with an awl. The corolla to the bud is “bulged” from the inside out.

Rice. 8. Processing the petal with a single-core knife.

Leaves and calyxes. Leaves and calyxes are cut out from well-starched green material. The chamomile leaves “sit” directly on the stem; they are processed with a single-core knife from the front and back on semi-rigid rubber. The gluing cups are pierced with an awl in the center and treated with a ball of soft rubber.

Flower assembly. When assembling a flower, the wire with the core glued to it is held with the free end up. The first corolla is pressed against the base of the core, greased with glue, the second so that its petals fit into the spaces of the first corolla. The last thing to attach is the cup-glue. The bud is made from one smaller corolla, the petals of which, raised up, almost completely cover the core. A cup-glue is glued to the base of the core: The main stem of the chamomile is made of aluminum wire 40-45 cm long. The wire with the flower is grafted (screwed) onto the stem. In order for the flower to sway, the length of the wire from the base of the flower to the stem must be at least 8 cm. Then the stem is wrapped with green paper, at the same time placing the bud, as well as the leaves, one below the other. For a bouquet, make several daisies without buds.

Daisies can be placed in a low vase. A bouquet of white and yellow daisies will become more beautiful if you add a few artificial cornflowers to it.

Poppy

In nature, yellow, white, lilac, red, pale purple, and pink poppies are found.

Field poppies (Fig. 9) are made from red satin, calico, scarlet, red silk, and crepe de Chine. The most natural poppy flower is obtained from crepe de Chine or dense cambric.

Rice. 9. Mac.

Poppy heart. The poppy core consists of a crown and numerous stamens. The poppy is made from cotton wool. A small cocoon is wound into the middle of a 20-25 cm long wire (Fig. 10). The wire is bent in half and twisted under the base of the resulting ball, the diameter of which is 1-1.2 cm. The ball is covered with a 6x6 cm square of green crepe paper on top. At the base of the core of the ball, the paper is secured with black threads and the crown is tied crosswise 4 times. The stamens are tied up in the crown.

Rice. 10. Making a crown (the letters indicate the sequence of the operation).

Stamens. Poppy stamens are made from black spools of starched thread or from black copy paper. Spool threads No. 10 are wound on 3 fingers 25 times, pulled in the middle with thin wire and the ends are trimmed evenly. You will need two such stamens. The stamens are lightly coated with glue and dipped in semolina, which can be dyed pale green. Both tassels are applied to the crown, the stamens are evenly distributed around and secured at the base with threads.

Rice. 11. Making poppy stamens.

Stamens from carbon paper are made like this: across a sheet of carbon paper, a strip 4 cm wide is folded in four and cut on one side by 2.5 cm, obtaining a fringe (Fig. 11). Then this strip is folded with a tassel, the ends of the fringe are smeared with glue and dipped in semolina. A strip with fringe is glued in a circle to the finished poppy-stamen. Excess paper under the crown is cut off.

Tinting the petals. Poppy petals (4-7 pieces) are tinted dry. The sharp lower end of the petals is treated with ink or purple and even black ink. Using a soft brush or cotton ball on a match, draw an almond-shaped spot at the bottom of the petals (Fig. 12, a).

Rice. 12. Processing poppy petals: a - tint; b - obtaining veins and corrugation.

Petal processing. After drying, the petals are processed on semi-hard rubber with a hot single-core knife, drawing the veins in a fan-shape from the face and in the spaces between them from the inside out. To get a beautiful fan, the corrugation of the petals begins with the middle groove, which is drawn from the top of the petal to the almond-shaped spot. This groove divides the petal into two halves. In the middle of each half, another similar groove is made (Fig. 12, b). These guide grooves will help to correctly guide the other strips; the result is corrugated petals, the tucks at the base are smaller and larger at the top. After processing with your fingers, the edges of the petals are pulled out, and the middle and dark spot are strongly squeezed out with a large hot bubble on soft rubber.

Rice. 13. Making adhesive.

Leaves and gluing. The leaves and cup-glue are cut from greenish-gray fabric. The backing (Fig. 13) is squeezed out with a boat-shaped loaf. The leaves (Fig. 14) are corrugated on both sides with a single-core knife and wire is glued on the inside.

Rice. 14. Making poppy leaves.

Bud. The cotton wool bud has a cocoon 2 cm long. The cocoon is pulled along with a thread, the entire cocoon is smeared with green paste and sprinkled with finely cut wool. An incision is made on the dried cocoon in its upper part, into which a small crumpled piece of fabric of the same color as the poppy petals is glued. This is a bud beginning to bloom. This bud can be made a little differently. Two corrugated petals are glued to a small dome with stamens - one opposite the other. Glue the cup-glue, wrap the stem with cotton wool and then green paper (Fig. 15).

Rice. 15. Poppy bud.

Flower assembly. A poppy flower consists of 4-7 petals. From 7 petals, a poppy is assembled as follows: 3 petals are strung and glued one after another onto a wire with a crown, then 4 more are glued. When assembling, the flower is held head down, the glue is allowed to dry and then the stem is wrapped with cotton wool, which is lightly greased with paste or glue and wrapped a strip of green (not bright) paper. Below on the stem, 2 leaves are fixed at once, and between them a stem with a bud. The poppy stems are made bristly and shaggy, for which they are smeared with glue and sprinkled with finely chopped wool, dyed green. Due to the wide variety of colors, poppies are used - for bouquets and compositions separately and in combination with other plants.

cornflower

Garden cornflowers (Fig. 16) are larger than field ones and their colors are more varied. They are white, lilac, reddish-pink. To make cornflowers, you can take any thin, but well-starched, dense material. Garden cornflowers are cut out according to the pattern (Fig. 17), cutting out 2 corollas per blooming flower and 2 corollas per bud, as well as 8-10 green leaves.

Rice. 16. Cornflower.

Rice. 17. Pattern of corolla, bud, cornflower leaves.

Coloring the corollas of field and garden cornflowers. To prevent the small cloves of cornflowers from becoming shaggy during the dyeing process, you need to cut out not corollas from the fabric, but slightly larger circles size than the pattern. These mugs in a stack of 10-12 pieces are moistened in clean cold water. Excess water is squeezed out with your fingers or using paper napkins.

Field cornflowers are painted as follows: blue paint is diluted with boiling water and poured into 2 saucers. Add a little water to the first saucer and use a piece of cloth to determine the resulting tone of paint, which should be lighter than the paint in the second saucer. It is recommended to select tones and tint in daylight. Wet mugs are first immersed in light paint, the excess is squeezed out on the edge of the saucer and laid out on paper or newspaper using tweezers. Using a soft brush or small cotton swab, paint the center of each circle with dark paint (from the second saucer). The dried mugs are stacked in 3-4 pieces, pinned and the rims are cut out according to the pattern. The center of the corollas is pierced with an awl.

Corollas for white cornflowers are painted slightly differently. The mugs are moistened in cold water, squeezed out with napkins and laid out on paper. For dried but still wet circles, a greenish-yellow spot with a diameter of 2-2.5 cm is drawn in the center, which should not have sharp boundaries. The dried mugs are stacked in groups of 3-4 and the rims are cut out.

Corolla processing. All cornflower corollas are processed with a hot single-core knife on semi-soft rubber. The whisk is placed on the rubber and grooves are made along each clove from the edge to the center with a knife. This is the wrong side of the corolla. The corolla is then turned face up and one groove is drawn along the sides of the midrib with a hot single-strand knife, causing the midrib to become convex. The largest tooth of each petal is gently lifted upward with your fingers. The middle of the corollas is treated with medium-sized boules. For a blossoming cornflower, the center of the corollas is “bulged” from the face, for buds - from the inside, so that the corollas close into buds.

Stamens. In nature, the stamens of cornflowers are very complex. For artificial flower The stamens can be made more simplified, the decorativeness of the cornflower will not be lost. Stamens for field cornflower are made from bobbin threads, blue and purple floss in the form of a tassel (as indicated in the “Stamens” section). The ends of the stamens are smeared with paste and dipped in tooth powder or white semolina. Stamens are made for both the flower and the bud. For white cornflower, black, blue-violet stamens are possible.

Flower assembly. The wire with the stamen tassel is held with the head down. Lubricate the base of the brush with paste and glue it to it, stringing one whisk onto a wire. Then string the second whisk and glue it so that the teeth of one whisk fit between the teeth of the other. 2 corolla-buds are glued to the second stamen-tassel. A thickening in the form of a jug is twisted from greenish-brown cotton wool under the flower and bud, smeared with paste so that the cotton wool retains its shape. Stems made of thin wire are lightly wrapped with cotton wool, then with green tissue paper. These short stems with a flower and a bud are attached, like daisies, to peduncle stems made of aluminum wire 30-35 cm long. The upper part of such stems is wrapped in green paper and slightly bent in the form of an arc. A flower is attached to one peduncle, and a cornflower bud is attached to the other; leaves are located along the stem, one lower than the other. Leaves are processed in a simple way. Each leaf is folded lengthwise and the edges are slightly pulled out.

Wildflowers are good in a bouquet with several ears of ripe rye. A bouquet of scarlet field poppies, white daisies and field cornflowers will look great.