How To Make 3 Cool Paper Flowers

Do you love flowers?

Are you fed up with spending loads of money on fresh flowers?

Do you feel like being a little creative?

Do you want to give someone a special handmade gift?

If you answered "yes" to any of the above then how about making some gorgeous and elegant paper flowers that can be given as a single stem, a bouquet or an addition to some paper wrapping. There are seriously some cool flowers you can make out of paper, check out the ones below - they are so simple yet effective, they will have all your friends and family asking where you bought them!

Simple Paper Rose

I just love paper roses, they are so cute and girly. They make a great gift and what is great this one is so easy to make.

First you need paper (I like to use recycled paper), scissors, glue, florist wire (optional - available from a craft store or your local florist).

• Make a template of a rose petal (you choose your size) and use it to cut out a number of petals (again you choose, depending on how full you want your flower to be).
• Crumple up the petals and then flatten them back out - this gives them a cool rustic look.
• Take one petal and roll it into the shape of a flower bud (this will act as your centre). Glue the base to hold it in place.
• Next build up your flower with the remaining petals, making it as big as you wish, make sure you glue each petal to your centre to hold it in place.

If you wish you can add a stem using florist wire and securing it with green florist tape.Your end result will amaze you, you will be left with a gorgeous looking paper rose with a bit of a shabby chic twist that can be used to decorate cards or make your own handmade paper flower bouquet.

Basic Tissue Paper Flower

Tissue paper flowers are one of my favorites! They are so pretty and probably one of the easiest things to make. Their use is versatile - my personal favorite being wedding decorations such as hanging garlands and table centerpieces.

• You will need tissue paper, scissors, a stapler, florist wire.
• Take the tissue paper and cut it into squares (you choose the size).
• Place 6-10 squares of tissue on top each other, make sure they are even.
• Fold the tissue paper into an accordion (about 1 inch apart)
• Fold your accordion in half to form a crease and staple at the bottom making sure you leave a little gap at the bottom where the wire can be inserted through the hole.
• Repeat the above actions 4-6 times.
• Open up the accordions and make them a little fluffy.
• Take all the accordions and connect at the bottom to form a ring and pull tight to form your full flower.

Open them up with your fingers and ruffle them up a bit and twist the wire at the bottom to secure them.You will end up with an elegant flower that is very full which will pass as a professional looking decoration.

A Unique Paper Rose

There are many ways to make a paper rose and a personal favorite of mine is the following. I took this idea from Martha Stewart and added my own unique twist to it.

• You will need a light card (I use cartridge paper), a pencil, scissors, glue, twigs (optional)
• Take your card 4x4" or 6x6" (you can experiment with your preferred size - I find the smaller ones look more effective!)
• With your pencil draw a spiral on the square that covers the whole card.
• With your scissors, cut along the lines that you drew on the squares and you should end up with a spring like piece of card.
• From the outside of the spiral begin rolling it up tightly until you have rolled it to the very end (along the way add little dabs of glue to secure it in place - I prefer clear craft glue).

At the end of the roll secure it with glue again and it is as simple as that, you're done!Your final result will surprise you a compact looking, perfect rose with many petals. I randomly attached them to twigs to make a beautiful centerpiece that got so many compliments that I was taking orders from my friends.

So, there you have it, not all paper flower making is complicated, in fact it is dead easy! If you want to learn more about the fun and exciting hobby, check out makepaperflowers.net.