Originally published on the Lois Winston / Anastasia Pollack craft blog.

Paper Poppy Craft InstructionsMaterials:Hard Straws or sticksStyrofoam ballsGlue – I used hot glue, but you could also use glue that doesn’t burn your fingers.Tissue or Crepe Paper – red & blackFlorists tapeOptional:Paper petal templatePaint / MarkerStep 1: Prep WorkCut out the flower petals – They don’t have to be perfect! Trace the outline over folded paper and then cut them all out at once. You will need about 12 per flower.Cut out a circle to cover the Styrofoam ball – If you don’t have black tissue paper, color some black.Fold / Twist the petal shapes – Imperfect is better! Do a little zig-zag folding and also crumpling.Step 2: Putting it togetherCover the ball in black paper, secure with glueShove straw into bottom of ball, glue to secureGlue petals to ball and stem – As many as you think looks good.Step 3: Optional Final TouchesCover stem and base in florists tape – My straws weren’t all the same color, so I wrapped them in florists tape to make them more uniform. Secure both ends with glue..avia-video.av-lac03d7b-088381dad1b1b762a9c297cb5535107c{background-image:url(https://bethanymaines.com/wp-content/... class='avia-iframe-wrap'><iframe title="Paper Poppy Tutorial" width="563" height="1000" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zrR-ohm..." frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>Poppy Craft inspired by an Elevator Ride

This craft was used in Elevator Ride—Book 1 of the Valkyrie Brothers Trilogy—an action-packed, age-gap romance mystery. The heroine, Vivian Kaye, is the chair of the event committee for a Veteran centered non-profit.  When the non-profit throws a fundraising gala, they use over-sized paper poppies as part of the décor.  Of course, poppies are also used to denote Memorial Day—a tradition since World War I inspired by a poem written by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae—so there was a nice nod to veteran tradition as well. Vivian’s father was a Marine Corps veteran who helped found the non-profit and Vivian has always been dedicated to it—something that the hero Rowan Valkyrie, an ex-Marine, doesn’t realize when he dismisses Vivian as a non-serious twenty-something.  Of course, he ends up eating his words, AND shooting at the bad guys who are trying to kill Vivian and her boss.

The Valkyrie Brothers Trilogy was inspired when I visited the Smith Tower in Seattle several years ago. The Smith Tower has a hand operated elevator and was once the tallest building west of the Mississippi.  It’s distinct pyramid top and gorgeous art deco interior are an amazing setting for any story.  However, while I quickly came up with the idea for the opening of what would become book three, when Ash and Harper to meet in the elevator, it wasn’t until several years later that I finally figured out how to make all the brothers meet their love interests in their own elevators.  Yes, that’s right… I really made them all meet in an elevator.

In Elevator Ride, Vivian ambushes Rowan in an elevator to serve him with papers. In the next book, Between Floors, Rowan’s brother Forest is a single dad who thinks that perfection is the only answer to controlling the chaos of the universe.  So, of course, fate delivers him a perfectly imperfect nanny. And then they get stuck in an elevator together and have to escape.  And in Emergency Exit, the youngest Valkyrie brother, Ash arrives at a party with Harper, the girl he just met in the elevator only to have everyone assume she’s his girlfriend.  Except that a fake girlfriend might be just what Ash needs. The Valkyrie Brothers trilogy is a laugh-packed series of connected romantic mysteries starring the Valkyrie Brothers–Rowan, Forest, and Ash–as they struggle to find love AND stay alive in Seattle.

The post A Romantic Craft first appeared on Bethany Maines.