crepe paper poppies (tutorial)

Paper flowers are just so pretty. There are many different versions, different materials, different methods and each one is as charming as the next.

(via instagram)

Yesterday I pulled out my very old crepe paper flower kit that I bought as a college student from a mail-order-catalog called Martha By Mail. Remember that little gem of a business? Loved it. (here’s a fun blog post memorializing the catalogs)

The kit came with crepe paper, flower templates and a booklet with instructions for several types of flowers.

Yesterday, I spent some time making poppies and they turned out so pretty, I thought I’d share how you can make them, too.

Here’s what you’ll need:

crepe paper / petal template (see below) / floral stem wire / floral tape / scissors / glue

Let’s talk for a second about crepe paper: you’ll want a few complimentary colors in varying shades. Each flower uses two colors for the petals, plus brown for the stamen and green for the leaves. You can find crepe paper at your craft store, or online here or here.

STEP ONE // make the pistil & stem

Roll a piece of crepe paper into a small ball. Place wire at base of ball and wrap it in a square of paper, gathering corners together and twisting down the wire. Wrap with floral tape to hold together.

STEP TWO // add stamen

Cut a 1 x 2 strip of brown crepe paper. Fold in half and again. Snip a fine fringe and unfold. Repeat with cream colored crepe paper, making it slightly longer.

Dab glue on brown fringe and wrap around pistil. Continue with cream fringe.

STEP THREE // make petals

Make four double layer petals with peach and cream paper (peach on top).

Layer one peach petal over one cream petal. Sculpt petals by gently pinching and pulling the top and through center.

STEP FOUR // Add petals to stem

Dab glue at base of each petal. Wrap around stem. Add next petal opposite and then fill in with last two.

Wrap base with floral tape to secure.

STEP FIVE // add leaf

Cut leaf out of green crepe paper. Sculpt gently. Attach to stem with floral tape.

Finished!

A whole bouquet in varying colors looks so sweet in a little jar.

I’ll be using a few of these poppies to give to the kids’ teachers for teacher appreciation week next week and as a gift topper for mother’s day gifts this weekend.

Just one more way to make dainty paper flowers!

For more flower inspiration, this book is on my must-buy-very-soon list.

It’s so beautiful. See more details here.

If you’d like to make a bouquet of poppies, feel free to use my pattern.

The template for the poppy petal is found in the Archive (our library of downloads, freebies and templates). Please sign in (or sign up!) to the archive for instant access.