You can make all kinds of flowers from tissue paper. They look especially nice when grouped together in a paper bouquet. They also make perfect gifts for Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day, or thoughtful accompaniments to get well cards. (And they’re great for people with allergies!)
You can often find packs of colored tissue paper at dollar stores. Since the only other supplies you need are pipe cleaners and scissors, tissue paper flowers can be a cheap kids’ craft project. Young kids will have fun crumpling the tissue paper, while older children (and crafty adults) can enjoy carefully creating realistic flowers.
Things You’ll Need:
- sheets of colored tissue paper
- green pipe cleaners
- scissors
Carnations
This is the simplest tissue paper flower, but even though it’s easy to make, it still looks great. You can make carnations in a variety of colors and sizes.
- Cut about eight circles from tissue paper.
- Optional: Cut small slits in the edges of the circles to make them look more like petals.
- Stack the circles on top of each other.
- See the directions below for attaching the flowers to stems.
Daisies
These cheerful flowers can be traditional white and yellow, or any colors you chose. For a finishing touch, you can cover the end of the pipe cleaner with a small piece of yellow tissue paper so it blends in with the center of the flower.
- Cut at least six large circles from white tissue paper.
- Cut deep slits in each circle to make the petals, without cutting all the way through the center.
- Cut two or three small circles from yellow tissue paper.
- Cut small slits all around the yellow circles to make fringe.
- Stack the small yellow circles on top of the center of the white circles.
- See the directions below for attaching the flowers to stems.
Roses
Roses look especially nice in red and pink, or you can even search online to find the meaning of each color.
- Cut six to eight circles with scalloped edges. You can use a scalloped scissors for this, or just cut curves around the edges the way you would sketch a cloud.
- See the directions below for attaching the flowers to stems.
Attaching the Flowers to Stems
- Poke the end of a pipe cleaner through the center of the circles. (If it’s too difficult to poke through all the layers at once, you can add them one or two at a time.)
- Fold over the top of the pipe cleaner to hold the petals in place.
- Scrunch up the paper and fluff out the petals to make them look like a flower.
More Tissue Paper Flowers
For even more tissue paper flower ideas, check out the book Tissue Paper Flowers by Barbara Kane [Klutz, 2000]. It has patterns and instructions for all kinds of tissue paper flowers, such as lilies and daffodils, and even includes a kit with green pipe cleaners and assorted tissue paper.
