DIY Coffee Filter Flower Wall

Do you have a large blank wall that is lacking any sort of glam? Does your current art collection not fill the space you are working with? Are you not able to paint your walls because you rent? If you answered yes to any of these questions - good news! - you have come to the right place. Here, you will learn how to make a gorgeous statement piece sure to spice up any room - a DIY flower wall.

Personally, when I set out to find a statement piece, I immediately thought of flower walls. They are large, captivating, and trendy. But, what I came to realize was that they also come with a huge price tag! We are talking hundreds to thousands of dollars. I decided that rather than splurge on decor, I would find a DIY alternative. And that is where the idea for this coffee filter flower wall - and ultimately, this Instructable - was born.

I will preface this Instructable by saying that this project is VERY time consuming. It took me about a month to complete while working for several hours per day. It will also make your hands ache! But when it is all said and done, you will have an amazing statement piece that you can be proud of.

Below is a list of materials needed for this project. If you plan to make the same size wall as me (7ft x 7ft), I have included the number of each material I used in parentheses:

• Coffee Filters (2000)

You can estimate the number of coffee filters you need by multiplying your square footage by 40.

If you are on the metric system, you can divide your square centimeters by 23.

If you want your wall to be fuller, you can use more coffee filters.

(ex. 7ft x 7ft = 49 ft^2 —> 49 x 40 = 1960 —> I needed about 2000 coffee filters)

• Craft Paint (As many bottles as colors you need - you will only use a couple of squirts of each)
• Hardboard (2 4ft x 8ft sheets - The amount of hardboard you will need will depend on the intended size of your flower wall.)
• School Glue (~30 ounces)
• Water (A couple of cups)
• 1 3/8 inch Screws (16)
• Optional: Primer (1 quart - I used some leftover primer I had from another project)
• Optional: Bristle Paint Brush (1)

Additional materials you will use but not consume (you probably have most, if not all, of these at home):

• Large bowl or container
• A stir-stick of some kind (I used the back of a paintbrush)
• Hangers
• Clothespins
• Drill
• Stud Finder
• Scissors

Fill your large bowl or container halfway with water. Next, add a squirt of craft paint to the water. If you want, you can mix in other other colors to achieve the desired color of your flowers. Stir the paint in until it is spread evenly throughout the water.

There is no correct ratio of paint to water, but I like to add enough paint so that when I stir the two together, I have a vibrant, opaque liquid.

Take a stack of coffee filters and submerge them completely in the paint water. Try not to fold them or crumple them. Leave the coffee filters in the solution for 1 - 20 minutes. The more time you leave them in, the deeper the color will be, so experiment and find the perfect length of time for your personal taste.

If you have more bowls or containers you can use, repeat this process with as many colors as you would like for your different flowers. Otherwise, repeat in the same bowl/container after removing the coffee filters in the next step.

Note: This process will yield flowers with the same color throughout. If you want ombre flowers, or anything other than a simple colored flower, feel free to experiment with the dipping process. In addition, you can experiment with different types of dyes other than craft paint. For example you could use food coloring or tea bags.

Now it is time to dry your creations. Take your bowl/container to a place where you can hang your coffee filters to dry without worrying about drips. I chose a shower. Attach clothespins to hangers and hang these hangers on a rod or something similar.

When removing the coffee filters from the paint water, press as much liquid as you can out of the coffee filters without folding or crumpling them. Clamp a group of the damp coffee filters to each clothespin. Allow several hours to completely dry. I let mine dry overnight so that they were dry and not damp for the next step.

Note: I tried different methods of drying the coffee filters, such as putting them in the oven, and using a hair dryer, however, this method produced the best results and was the most eco-friendly.

This step is simple. Take 3 of your dyed, dry coffee filters, layer them on top of one another, and fold them in half.

Fold them in half again, making the corners touch.

Finally, fold them once more - again making the corners touch. They should look like a triangle, but with a rounded edge. We will call these our "triangles"

Place the "triangles" under an object such as a book or even your phone, while you group and fold the rest of the coffee filters. This will help them stay in their folded form.

Optional: Leave some filters of each color ungrouped and unfolded. These can be used in the background of the flower wall.

Take one of your folded “triangles” and find the rounded edge. This is where you will be cutting petals.

I like to start with a short straight cut down the middle. This separates the area into two distinct parts. Then, I form 2 similar petals on either side of the cut.

Once you have cut the petals to your liking, open up the “triangle” and cut one straight line from the edge between two petals, all the way to the center. Put your cut coffee filter group to the side and repeat this process with the rest of your “triangles”.

This is where your flower will come to life. Take one group of cut coffee filters, lay it flat, and put a thin ring of school glue around the center of the top filter.

Find the cut from the edge to the middle. Starting with the cut edge and twist the top filter in on itself while keeping it centered. Start by twisting tightly and loosen up as you go. Once the whole top filter is twisted, hold it for a few seconds and allow the glue to soak in and stick.

Next, put a thin ring of school glue around the second filter. Place the twisted top filter at the center of the second filter. Start twisting the second filter around the top filter, loosening up as you twist. Hold it together for a few seconds in order for the glue to set in and stick.

Repeat this process with the bottom filter.

You should now have a beautiful paper flower! Set it somewhere to dry while you repeat this process with the rest of your cut filter groups. (Note that the surface you set the flowers to dry on may get messy from the glue.)

Start by laying out your hardboard sheet(s). I started by buying 2 8ft x 4ft sheets and had them cut at the hardware store into 4 3.5ft x 3.5ft squares with a few leftover scraps. This will produce a 7ft x 7ft square all together. If you want to make a different sized flower wall, just make sure to have your hardboard sheets cut into manageable sized pieces that fit together to form your desired size.

Optional: With the hardboard rough side up, prime each piece with white primer using a bristle paintbrush. Allow to dry for the recommended time on the primer can. Priming will seal the hardboard and also give it a more clean look for its background color than the original brown color.

On a floor or table, near where you will be working on your boards, arrange the flowers in the way you would like them to be on your flower wall. You can experiment with patterns, ombre, or randomization. The design is completely up to you!

This is the time to make sure you have enough flowers to cover the area you wish to cover. If you find that this arrangement looks sparse, you can always create some more flowers.

Once you have found the perfect layout for your flowers, heat up your hot glue gun.

Optional: Before you start gluing on the flowers, you can glue the leftover uncut and unfolded filters to the board, forming a mountainous texture. I chose to do this to make my flower wall look more full and textured.

Glue on the flowers in the same way you had arranged them in the previous step.

When hot gluing, you only need to put a small bead of glue on the back of your flower and stick it to the board (or optional background filters). The glue should dry quickly and hold your flower to the board.

Once you have completed all of your boards (if you have multiple), slide them up next to each other and admire your work! You did it!

I have yet to hang my flower wall so unfortunately I do not have any pictures of the hanging boards to share with you for this step (only picture of it on the floor)!

But the simplest way to hang the boards on the wall is by finding the studs in your wall and screwing the boards to the wall where the studs are.

Have someone hold one of the boards for you in the place you want it. Attach it to the wall by using a drill to screw the board to the wall at the stud points on the top. Next, attach the bottom of the board to the wall using the same process. Repeat this process with the other boards, making sure that each one is level and in line with the rest.

Congratulations, you did it!