Paper flowers bring a festive feeling to any celebration. See how easy it is to make these colorful and eye-catching decorations.
Supplies for making paper flowers are relatively affordable and easy to find. A selection of crepe paper in vivid hues, florist’s wire, floral tape, scissors, and binder clips will do the trick.
To make a large, multicolor flower, start with heavy-duty crepe paper in a 180-gram weight. It’s stretchy and stronger to withstand the folding and pulling that’s necessary to make a big bloom like this (about 20 inches in diameter).
Choose 5-7 colors of crepe paper that will look good layered together and cut 30-inch pieces from the roll.
Starting at the short end of each piece of paper, fold it accordion-style into 2-inch pleats. When you reach the end of the paper, secure the folded piece with a binder clip. Repeat for all the pieces.
With clips in place, cut each successive color down about 1-1½-inch from the preceding size so that you end up with a series of progressively smaller papers. Using scissors, shape the ends of each folded paper. You can cut into a point, a rounded shape, notch the ends, or fringe them. We used a pair of shredding scissors to create a fringe for our center purple paper.
Centering the papers, lay them atop each other from largest to smallest.
Starting at one short end, accordion-fold the entire stack of papers and secure with 16-gauge florist’s wire.
Spread the paper stack out into a fan shape on both sides.
Gently reach into the folds at the center and pull out the fringed paper to create the flower stamens.
Working layer by layer, gently pull out each successive color to create the petals and fluff around the previous paper.
Shape your paper flower until you’re happy with the outcome.
Looking for a simpler and quicker version? Try this easy little bloom using a lighter-weight crepe paper.
Cut 2 pieces each of three bright colors of crepe paper. Our papers are about 12 x 18 inches, which will give you a roughly 12-inch finished flower.
Stack the pieces of paper and, starting at the short end, fold all of them accordion style.
Secure your folded papers with a binder clip.
Fold the stack in half, secure, and cut the ends into a point, notch, or semi-circle.
At the fold, cut a small notch on each side of the stack.
Unfold the stack and wrap 24-gauge florist’s wire around the papers at the notched center.
Starting with the first layer, fluff the paper out to create the petals. Pull gently to avoid tearing the lighter paper.
Mix different styles and sizes of paper flowers for a festive look, or limit yourself to one style and color palette for a more restrained presentation.
If you want to use your bloom in a vase where the wire will be visible, wrap the wire in green floral tape and add lengths of wire onto blooms if needed for a full bouquet.
Otherwise, use the wire to secure several flowers to a chandelier, tree branch, pergola, or other structure. Mass the blooms for greatest effect. See how paper flowers added a fiesta atmosphere to an outdoor party here.
© Caruth Studio