Curling and bending paper is a necessary skill if you want to enjoy tons of unique arts and crafts projects. However, it is a skill that many people lack. Most people decide to buy pre-curled paper or cardstock decorations to save themselves time, but this ends up costing a lot more money. Rather than spending a fortune on premade designs, why not do the curling on your own? It is a great way to save on the extra cost, learn a new skill, and customize your arts and crafts designs, all at the same time.
So, in today’s guide, we will take a closer look at how to curl paper and cardstock, as well as the different ways that you can put these curled products to good use!
How To Curl Paper Streamers & Strips
Paper strips and streamers are some of the easiest paper products to curl. Moreover, paper ribbons and similar decorations are far easier to curl than streamers made from other materials. The exact steps will depend on how you plan to display your streamers. However, in the vast majority of cases, you will be hanging your streamers for a party or event. In this case, you can use the following steps:
- Tape one end to a flat surface – With standard tape, attach one end of your paper strip to a wall or a place where you plan to hang it. Don’t worry if you tape it in the wrong place. You can always move the end of the streamer and use another piece of tape to attach it again.
- Cut your streamer to the desired length – Typically, paper streamers come in rolls of varying sizes. When you unroll one end and tape it to a flat surface, you will need to cut the other end to the desired length with scissors. If you’re unsure how much material you will need, cut a longer piece so that you can shorten it later if necessary.
- Curl your streamer – Now that you have a paper strip that is attached to a surface with tape, you can start curling the streamer starting on the opposite end. Simply twist the material until you have the desired curls (tight or loose curls). Alternatively, you can begin wrapping your paper around a pencil to create curls.
- Finish hanging your streamer – Without letting go of the curled streamer, tape the free end to another flat surface (like a wall). This will create a curled streamer that is already positioned as a decoration. And that’s it! Now you can repeat the same steps to decorate your home or event space with multiple curled strips and streamers.
How To Curl Paper Flowers
There are dozens of ways to roll paper flowers, but some require special tools and a lot of patience. The key to making paper petals and paper leaves is creating realistic-looking shapes. You can purchase a curling tool, but it is always better if you can create the same finished product with household items. So, here is the simplest way to curl paper flowers:
- Shape your flowers – Unless you bought premade flowers, your paper flowers will need basic shaping. This may require you to cut out the shape of the leaves and petals using standard paper or cardstock. Needless to say, if you already have premade paper flowers, you can skip to the next step!
- Scrape the edges of your flower – In most cases, you will only want to curl the petals (not the leaves), though you can apply the same method for both. Just take a pair of standard scissors and scrape them along the edges of your flower petal. This will naturally make the paper curl. If you don’t have scissors on hand, you can also use a credit card or something with a similarly-firm edge.
- Repeat the scraping for each petal – Once you get the hang of it, you can easily curl the rest of your flower into the desired shape. If you are using scissors, it is a good idea to hold the base of your flower to ensure that you don’t accidently rip the material. This is particularly necessary with thin paper or cardstock.
How To Roll Paper Into A Cone
Rolling paper into a cone is surprisingly easy. However, the thicker your paper, the more resistant it will be to rolling. For this reason, many people opt for thinner paper or cardstock when making decorative cones. To roll paper into a cone, follow these steps:
- Roll one end of your paper or cardstock – All you have to do to begin creating a paper cone is roll one end so that it forms a point. When you do this step, the opposite end of the material should be open. This will form the essential shape of the cone.
- Cut out extra material as necessary – When working with standard-sized paper or cardstock, you will not be able to create a “perfect” cone without cutting off some of the paper. This is because the top corners of the paper will stick upward from the open edge. Cut off these corners so that the top edge formers a flat circle.
- Tape or glue your cone in place – Once you have your edges trimmed and your cone in the right place, you will want to use tape or some kind of adhesive to keep it in place. You may need to re-roll the cone if it loses its shape during this step. If this happens, just ensure that you roll it into the same position so that the top end looks like a perfect circle and the bottom end looks like a perfect point.
How To Make Paper Bends
Paper bending and paper folding may sound simple at first, but they can be complex, especially if you want to bend your paper into specific shapes. For this reason, it is best to understand exactly what you want to do with your paper or cardstock before you get started. If you are looking for ideas for decorations or fun DIY projects, you can find thousands of paper-folding tutorials on YouTube. Alternatively, if you already know what you want to create, you can generally follow these steps:
- Draw your bend lines – It is much easier to fold paper into specific shapes if you know exactly where the paper is meant to bend. To do this, you can draw the bend lines on your paper in advance with a pencil. Since some parts of the paper may fold over each other, you may need to draw one line and then make the respective fold before continuing.
- Loosen your paper and make the folds – Assuming you are using thicker paper or cardstock, you may need to loosen it up to allow folding. For this step, you just need to make broad bends in the paper, back and forth, until it feels less rigid to the touch. Then, you can start making your folds.
- Finalize your creation – Some paper-folding projects will require adhesive, while others will automatically stay in place using tight folds. Either way, make sure you don’t let your paper unfold itself before you’re done!
Ready to curl paper and cardstock on your own? If so, be sure to check out our high-quality products on Fine Card Stock today, and let us know how you put our cardstock to good use!