Making Fabulous Paper Flowers with Tissue Paper

This is a tissue paper flowers craft project that is so simple, it can easily be done by children 6 years and up.

You and they will love it, as each flower takes only minutes to produce and looks stunning!

Craft Supplies Needed

Crepe paper or tissue paper
Twist ties, Scots tape or rag pipe cleaners
Scissors

Uses for Tissue Paper or Crepe Paper Flowers

* As a bouquet or single flower
* To decorate a room for a party
* To give away as a Valentine
* To embellish a present
* As a Spring classroom project

* Attach them to child’s dress-up outfit, or tie the pipe cleaner ends on a pony tail.
* As a garland for a little girl’s room
* To decorate a dining room table
* For mother’s day (in red, pink, orange & white)
* For father’s day (in blue & green)
* As a prop for a school play (which is why I am making them), and
* I am sure you can think of other applications also.

Craft Project Instructions

1. Cut 3-4 pieces of crepe paper or tissue paper of 14×16 cm approx (rough is ok)

2. Pile the tissue paper, smallest on top

3. Fold the pile of tissue paper like an accordion using narrow folds

4. Use a tie-twist or a pipe cleaner to tie around the middle of the paper
(now it looks like a bowtie)

5. Fold the bow tie in half by pulling the ends of the crepe paper towards each other

6. Gently separate each sheet of crepe paper

7. Give a good squeeze at the bottom of the flower and shape it with your hand.

Your beautiful flower has emerged.

Tips for Successful Crepe Paper Flowers

1. I prefer tie-twists rather than rag pipe cleaners as that make for an easier-to-fold bow tie.
It’s also more ‘environmentalist’ to reuse old twists.
2. If you separate the sheets all the way back to the fold, you get a nicer flower
3. Use your hand to round out the shape at the end. Crepe paper is easily molded.
4. I find that the folds should not be too large to get the best looking flower - aim for 0.5 - 1 cm wide
5. A roll of crepe paper is usually 50 cm wide, fitting 3 pieces of 16 cm.
So, cut your strip of crepe paper14 cm wide.

Alternative Crepe Paper Flower Creations

* Make multicolored ones by placing a 4th contrast color piece on top of your pile for the center. (tip: make this paper size 2/3 of the other pieces for a more natural flower look)

* Play around with 3 tones of colors, adjacent to each other on the color wheel.

* Sculpt the left & right edges of the paper pieces, particularly suitable for the tissue paper ones. This gives a little more sophisticated look.

* You can make them with or without stems. If you don’t use a stem, use green pipe cleaner for a finished look.

* You can cover a pencil in green paper and attach the flower at the top, for a really cool pencil for you. Or, if you buy dad a new fountain pen for Father’s Day, this would make a really beautiful presentation.

* You can attach them to a larger tree branch, and make a flowering ‘tree’. See the last picture in the tutorial. If you click on the image, it shows you a larger version.

* Make a jeweled garland and space out the crepe paper flowers and the tissue paper leaves. See picture above on the left.

Where to Buy Tissue Paper

The online bargain for quality tissue paper to suit this project can be found here at Blick Art Materials:


24-Sheet Package (for as cheap as $1.99!)



(Click links or image to investigate and order)

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