Whether you’re trying to come up with a creative gift idea for your mother or a DIY project that you and your child can do together, crafting paper flowers is the perfect idea. They won’t wilt, they don’t have to be tended to like real flowers, and they can be any color under the sun (as well as patterns!). But perhaps best of all, because they are a gift that comes from the heart, they are sure to be deeply cherished long after Mother’s Day is over.
If you want to learn how to make paper flowers, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, I’m going to walk you through two of my favorite DIY paper flower craft ideas that moms of every generation are sure to love.
Simple Spiral Roses
If you’re learning how to make paper flowers for the very first time, this flower is a great selection for your Mother’s Day DIY paper craft. These paper flowers resemble roses, but they aren’t as intricate as some of the other DIY paper roses that you might find. They’re simple, sweet, and sure to make a statement without all of the sweat and tears. All you need is:
- Scrapbook Paper for the Flowers (Note: one piece of paper = one flower, so think of how many flowers you want in your bouquet so that you can better judge the amount of paper you’re going to need)
- Scrapbook Paper for the Leaves
- Pen or Pencil
- Scissors
- Floral Wire
- Glue Gun & Glue Sticks
Cutting the Paper
Start by cutting your scrapbook paper into a 6”x6” square. Next, draw a spiral starting at the center, moving outward until you reach the edge of the paper. For a sleek contemporary look for your flowers, keep the line perfectly circular. For a more natural, imperfect look, you can add a slight wave as you draw. Make sure that you don’t make the spiral too tight because the amount of space between each line is going to be the height of your petals once you’re finished.
Once you’re done drawing the spiral, trim off the excess construction paper on the outer edge so that nothing is remaining but the circular spiral shape. Then cut along the spiral line so that you’re left with one long strip of paper.
Creating the Flowers
Here’s where your paper flower will really start to take shape. To transform this strip of paper into a spiral flower, hold the edge that was at the outer rim of the original paper in your fingertips so that you can roll it between your fingers. In the beginning you should roll the paper tightly, but as you get to the end of your paper, start to loosen it up just enough so that the center of the spiral can create a mostly flat base. Use your hot glue gun to secure the base by gluing the top of it to the rest of the flower.
To attach the stem, take your floral wire and bend the last half or quarter inch of it into a 90 degree angle. Then hot glue it to the bottom of your paper flower’s base. Cut out a leaf shape from your other scrapbook paper selection, and glue that to the base as well, gently hiding the glue from the secured wire. To add an extra touch of flare to your leaves, you could also choose to give them a single accordion fold at one end so that they don’t look as two-dimensional.
Paper Hyacinths
If you’re ready for a more advanced paper flower tutorial, then we’ve got exactly what you need: paper hyacinths. For this DIY project, you’ll need the following supplies:
- Colored Craft Paper for the Flowers (You can use any color, but purple and pink are great options if you’re trying to match the hyacinth’s natural color)
- Different Colored Craft Paper for the Stems
- Scissors
- Glue
Cutting & Rolling
Start by cutting your paper until it measures 2” for the width and a length of your choosing (somewhere around 8” is fine). Once you have your strips cut, make a vertical fold running lengthwise along the paper at about ¾” away from the edge (make sure that you only make one fold in total).
Next, cut a fringe into the strip of paper width-wise from the side that is not folded until you reach the fold, and then stop before cutting all the way through. Try to make sure that the cuts in the fringe are evenly spaced (½” is good). Now that you’re done cutting, roll each of the individual pieces of the fringe between your fingers into a tight roll until you reach the part that isn’t cut through. Once you finish rolling one, move onto the next. After they’re all rolled, it’s time to make the stem.
When It All Comes Together
No paper flower would be complete without a stem. Grab your other piece of colored craft paper that was designated for the stems and cut a long strip (preferably 2×10”) and start rolling it from one corner diagonally until you’ve rolled the whole thing. Secure the two ends with a little glue. Next, return to the piece of paper that you already finished rolling for the petals of the hyacinth, and put glue on the backside of the fringe (the ¾” piece that you left alone earlier).
Now take the glued section of the fringe and wrap it around the stem, starting at the top and working your way down. Be sure not to cover any of the curls or leave gaps for the stem to show through. You may use more glue along the way to secure it, but try not to make it too messy or the visible globs of glue will detract from your hard work.
At this point you could choose to add leaves, or just place a dozen in a vase and let the petals speak for themselves.
Get Crafty!
Mother’s Day will be here before you know it—which is why you should go practice making paper flowers using these two tutorials. Go check out the craft supply selection at Paper Mart if you need to stock up, and check back for more creative DIY paper flower ideas soon!
Author Bio:
Carolyn Clarke is a contributing writer for PaperMart and a DIY-enthusiast based in Washington, D.C. She has been featured on many blogs for her DIY projects and has influenced hundreds of fellow enthusiasts into honing in on their paper craft. In her free time, she loves to experiment with DIY projects and scrapbook.
First Image: https://pixabay.com/static/uploads/photo/2015/05/28/09/43/hyacinth-787799_960_720.jpg
