Duct Tape Rose Tutorial

Hello! Valentine’s Day is almost here and it’s the perfect time to share this Duct Tape Rose Tutorial! This is how to make a realistic rose out of duct tape and a drinking straw. I made sure to take lots of photos so you can understand every step, so let’s get started!

Duct Tape Rose Tutorial

Supplies:

• Duct tape. Two (or more!) colors.
• Straw.
• Ruler.
• Scissors.

We’re going to start with whatever color you want for the flower part of your rose. You can even use multiple colors and alternate them for a pretty effect, or use a patterned duct tape.

Cut a 3 inch long piece of tape. You’ll need between 7 to 12 pieces of tape this long to make your rose. Lay your piece sticky side up. Fold one top corner down to the middle of the tape, leaving about a half inch of sticky visible at the bottom. Fold the other top corner down the same way.

If you like the “pointy rose” effect, you can leave the tip of the triangle on. However, if you want to make a realistic rose, go ahead and trim the top of the triangle off in a curve like shown. This is your basic rose petal. Now, if you don’t want the color of the straw to show when looking into the rose, cover the top opening of the straw with a small piece of duct tape. My straw was green, so I liked how it looked when it showed.

Place the edge of your rose petal on the top of your straw, and wrap it around snugly to create the center of your rose.

Make more petals and continue wrapping them around in the same way, in the same direction. I occasionally would fold the base like shown to add a bit of movement in the petals. Wrap three or four petals this same way, and you have your rose bud.

Now you can make this rose look like it’s bloomed nice and full. Take your next petal and place the center at the base of the rose. Then wrap each side around, but wrap them upwards, like shown in the photos. This causes the top of the petal to flare out and create that classic rose shape.

Continue adding outer petals in the same way, moving them around the rose so it’s nice and round. When you’re happy with how full your rose looks, you can stop adding petals! Tip: if you’re using a dark color for your rose petals, use a matching permanent marker to color the cut edges of the petals to match.

Let’s work on the base of the rose now. You’ll be using your green duct tape or whatever color you chose for the stem. Cut an 8 inch piece, and fold it over lengthwise, leaving about a half inch of sticky at the bottom. Use your scissors and cut the folded over section of tape into pointy, grass like shapes. Place one edge of the sticky part against the bottom of your rose.

Start wrapping this around the base of your rose, going just a tiny bit farther down the straw as you wrap.

If your straw is a bendy one like mine, make sure the bendy section is completely compressed, then take a small strip of tape and wrap it around the bendy part and partly around the rose base to make sure your stem will be nice and secure.

Now cut a piece of your duct tape slightly longer than your straw. Place the long edge along the length of your straw from just below the rose base to over the end of the straw. Slowly roll it up to cover the entire straw and create the stem of your rose. Don’t worry if the tape wrinkles a little, nothing in nature is flawless. If you want your rose to look like a professional florists rose, then cut the tip of the stem off at an angle like shown. You can leave your rose like this, but if you want to add leaves, those steps are next!

Cut a 4 inch long piece of tape. Fold it over width wise, leaving about a half inch of sticky. Trim the sides off in a curve like shown to create your leaf shape. Then you’re going to cut little notches like this all the way down both sides of your leaf.

This is roughly what it should look like. I made two leaves for my rose, but you can make as many or as few as you would like.

Just wrap the sticky base of the leaves around your rose like you did the outer rose petals, so they stick out slightly from the stem.

You’re all done! I hope you enjoyed this Duct Tape Rose Tutorial!