Fun with Crepe Paper! How to Make Crepe Paper Nut Cups!

Here's the finished nut cup

When you cut out the paper to cover your nut cup, cut across the grain of the paper ... as opposed to cutting with the grain. The grain runs from top to bottom, so cut across from side to side. Measure your strip so that it will be about one-half inch taller than the cup. Stretch the paper strip around the cup. The taller part will fold over the top of the cup all on its own! Use only a little bit of glue. The old books recommend paste and this actually might work better because paste is dry.

I looked all over the place for directions on how to actually sew crepe paper to make a ruffle. I experimented and came up with my own directions, as I couldn't find exact directions for the longest time! Gabriela Delworth's website had the best explanations. What you do is this: Set your sewing machine to a straight stitch and set it for the longest length you can. (I put mine on 4.) and then sew a straight stitch right through a strip of crepe. I used a streamer for this example, but the folds are much heavier and better to work with. Anyhow, when you finish, cut the thread, leaving a long piece so that you can pull. Pull the thread, gathering the crepe paper. You can make the gathers as tight or as loose as you like.

Attach the crepe paper ruffle to the now-covered cup. (I covered the cup in darker pink so you could see it.) I positioned the ruffle so that the stitching comes right at the lip of the paper cup. I used a little bit of glue ... again, I wished I had paste, instead!

An easy way to make a decorative handle is to twist strips of crepe paper.
Attach the crepe paper strip to a spindle ... just fold a little piece over and loop it around the hook on the spindle. Twist it together with your fingers to get it to stick together. Then, give your spindle a good spin!

To twist the crepe paper, you can either do it by hand or ... Yes! You can spin crepe paper! And it's FUN! In fact, it might be a great place to start when learning to spin, in general, as you can easily see the drafting "triangle" and watch the twist travel up the paper. You can also knit with crepe paper, which I will demonstrate next time! Dennison, the famous crepe paper manufacturer, came out with a "Crepe Paper Twister," but these are hard to find these days. You can purchase an inexpensive spindle for about $12 ... or make your own with a cd and a dowel! Start by cutting long strips of crepe paper cut from folds or use streamers.

I took a vintage Easter card and cut this little bunny out. I glued a little glitter on it before attaching it with paper tape. You could attach all kinds of embellishments to the handle and to the outside of the cup. A few thoughts would be paper flowers, sequins, beads, stickers, seals, tinsel, etc. This is the really fun part!