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rolled paper flowers {tutorial}

    flower-week

    Welcome to flower week – five days of simple and delightful flower projects. I could probably do three weeks of flowers because there are so many different ways to create them, but I’ve limited it to five of my current favorites.

    Before we get started, let me make a few disclaimers:

    1. I find inspiration for projects all over the place {online, in shops, in magazines}, then figure out how to re-create them on my own. Each of these projects are my adaptation of something I’ve seen elsewhere.  In other words, I do not take credit for ‘inventing’ these blossoms.

    2. Simple, inexpensive projects are my favorite. Each of the flowers this week use just a few low-cost materials and can be created by even the beginning crafter.  I hope you give them a try!

    3. My fingernails are a mess. I should probably take calcium supplements or at least get a manicure. Sorry you have to look at them.

    Okay, so let’s begin.

    FLOWER WEEK PROJECT ONE:

    rolled flowers

    Here’s what you’ll need:

    IMG_0769

    :: paper {either cover or text weight}

    :: florist wire

    :: scissors, pencil, glue gun

    STEP ONE: cut irregular circle

    cut

    This circle is approximately 8 inches, but you can do any size you wish.

    cut 2

    STEP TWO: cut spiral

    cut spiral

    Start at the outside edge and cut in a spiral fashion to the center.

    spiral

    I like a sort of bumpy shape so that the petals end up a bit irregular

    spiral 2

    If you aren’t so sure about your cutting skills, feel free to draw your spiral before cutting. I did this one with a straight edge, but you could make it bumpy as well.

    IMG_0787

    To add a little interest to my bouquet, I used a variety of yellow scrapbook papers {my favorite is that yellow dot}

    IMG_0800

    STEP THREE: roll your blossom

    start rolling

    start at the outside edge and coil tightly

    roll

    rolling

    Continue rolling until you get to the center. You’ll have a tightly coiled rosette.

    rolled

    STEP FOUR: release coil

    open

    And your flower grows.

    STEP FIVE: glue together

    glue

    Add a glob of glue to the center and press to adhere the coiled paper

    press

    TO MAKE A LEAF:

    cut a leaf shape out of green paper

    leaf

    Fold in an accordion-style fold

    fold leaf

    and adhere with a dab of hot glue.

    glue leaf

    TO ADD A WIRE STEM:

    Cut a piece of floral wire to desired size {mine are about 6 inches} and bend a small piece at a 90 angle.

    wire

    Glue wire to the bottom of the flower.

    glue wire

    Then attach the leaf to cover the wire.

    glue leaf

    IMG_0845

    When grouped together, you have a very sweet bouquet of wilt-less blossoms.

    bouquet

    flowers

    sweet bouquet

    I also tried these with sheet music.

    sheet music

    And attached to a wreath form covered in linen.

    music flowers

    Aren’t those the cutest paper rosettes?

    To help make things easier for you, I created a printable instruction sheet with all the steps in illustrations.

    Click the image above to download!

    I’ll see you tomorrow for another flower project.

    238 thoughts on “rolled paper flowers {tutorial}”

    1. Pingback: Sharing With You | The Urban Woman

    2. Pingback: Sharing With You | The Urban Woman

    3. I want to thank you so much for sharing your wonderful talents with everybody. Don’t worry about your nails, I was a manicurist for 30 years and your nails look better than mine!!!!

    4. I love your style and really appreciate that you share so much with us!! Looking forward to this flower tutorial as I see that you are working on fixing it. Starting to get my ideas for decorations together for all of the holidays ahead!! You have inspired so many ideas! Thank you so much!!
      Cheers, Colette

    5. Yeah, the pictures are still not working! Id really love to use this tutorial, but so much information is in the pictures! Please tell me this will be fixed soon! :)

    6. So enjoy….glad to find you again! Trying hard to get your rolled paper tutorial and the pics will not come up.? Is there anything I can do? I am passing your blogname around as fast/much as I can! My husband graduated 3yrs. ago and at graduation I gave your blog name to family there attending…keep on!;) ~Blessings

    7. Hi there — I saw in a recent blog post that you had changed servers for the blog. Please note that the pictures for this post are not coming up. Plus there is some random weirdness in the text, such as “Aren’t those the cutest paper rosettes? Start rolling …”

    8. I recently made a bouquet of paper roses for Valentines and my partner loved them!

      So much so she now wants me to make them for our upcoming wedding…!

      I was just wondering though (for us Brits) can you please tell me what grammage of paper is best for making these? (I’ve tried to understand your text weight and cover weight but to no avail!)

      Thanks

    9. I love this idea. I will be have a luncheon in a few years and my flowers are roses and I love music…this would be great for a center piece…Thanks.

      Judy

    10. Thank you so much for your tutorial on these beautiful flowers. Im going to try to make some. Will let you know the results. Blessings

    11. I love this!! Thank you so much for sharing and for such detailed instructions and beautiful photos. I can’t wait to make an elegant bouquet for my baby girl’s nursery.

    12. I just made dozens and dozens of these lovely flowers out of various baby prints and put them in mason jars with moss as centerpieces for a baby shower my friends and I hosted. They were a huge hit…so much so, my sister has asked me to do the same for her shower in October. Thank you so much for the amazing idea.

    13. These are so pretty. One of my friends decorated her room with these, and I have a blank wall in my apartment that would look absolutely lovely with these to decorate~

    14. I belong to a group called the Kitchen Crafters. We meet every other Monday afternoon for two and a half hours. I was so excited to be bringing directions for a new craft our group had never seen. The directions were simple and everyone took home some lovely works of art!
      THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH!

    15. I made these for centerpieces for a Market Place Ministry Luncheon. I needed something easy (they are!), cheap (I used up lots of paper scraps left from other projects) and not too overly girly (paper pattern choices), since the luncheon was a mix of male and female business types. These turned out so cute! I used all the small vases, jars, and bottles I could find, filled them with 6 or so flowers each and put them atop burlap squares. Looked great! Thanks Emily, I know this tutorial was posted a bit ago, but with it circulating on Pinterest I think it will be around for awhile. Wonderful!!

    16. Perfect for a good bye gift to our daycare provider as we graduate to pre school. She will absolutely love these. Thank you for the gift idea!

      1. Your website is so gorgeous!

        Your tutorials are photographed so well, its so nice to be able to look at photos and learn how to make so many beautiful things without having to read
        ! I know i learn so much easier this way.

        So happy i found your site,and only about 10 minutes ago,yea!

    17. Thank you for sharing your gift of crafts.. I love the roses. You made it so simple to understand and it actually turned out right the first try!

    18. love, these flowers. made some but can not get them to stick to the styrafoam wreath – the green hard kind, not the white softer one. tried tacky & hot glue – slid right off even after holding each one on for several minutes. would love comments/suggestions, hints, magic pixi dust, etc. soooo frustrated! want one! ! ! ! ! (:

    19. I used Scotch quick dry adhesive since I don’t have a glue gun and it worked great! it takes a little longer for the floral wire to adhere to the paper, but waaayyy less messy. I’m using these for boutineres for my wedding!

    20. I made a couple of these bouquets, one for my parents’ Anniversary and one for my Grandmother’s birthday….paired with a twine covered mason jar vase, they were a hit! Turned out beautifully with bright colors just for spring! Thank you so much for sharing!

    21. Thank you so much for sharing this tutorial, your bouquet looks awesome. I tried making these following your tutorial and the flowers looks beautiful and these are so easy to make.

    22. Thank you for sharing this.

      We are real short on cash, right now, so I just made a dozen of these for my wife for Valentine’s Day.

    23. Thank you for such a great tutorial. I have been seeing these all over and had a few questions. You answered them brilliantly. Thanks again!

    24. these are so beautiful..thanks for sharing..I am making one now out of old Christmas giftwrap and newspaper for the round base..my flowers doesn’t look uniform though because I cut them as I go without a template..I never thought of making one until I saw your wreath and how beautiful they look..

    25. OMG! that is beautiful, and easy, to work with viewing TV!…also you can tint the border of the petals for a more natural appearance, using the same color of the paper, but a little darker. love them!

    26. I have seen this tutorial many times but never so clearly explained /presented.

      Great Job!

      Thanks! I pinned this on Pinterest; hope it brings you some good traffic : )

    27. These are very lovely. I’m sure my mom would love a wreath of these in pretty Christmas colors. I agree with Bethany – Can you tell us how to attach the flowers to the wreath?

    28. I really love the sheet music flowers. I bet it they would look wonderful made from book pages or newspapers, especially if they were in foreign languages.

    29. Your tutorial for rolled paper rosettes is the most straight forward one Ive seen, and I’ve scoured many! Thanks for being thorough!!

    30. Oops. I met to say “I am also interested in learning how the flowers are attached to the wreath.” Thank you so much!

    31. I’m also in learning how the flowers are attached to the wreath. Also which size of a wreath form did you use? I love this is project! It looks so simple and so pretty!

    32. Your roses are AMAZING!! I dont know why but when I let go mine don’t unroll as nicley as yours. Am I rolling them to tight?

    33. I love these!! I am totally inspired to do a wreath for Fall. Paper flowers might not be the best idea for a wreath on the front door. Will fabric flowers translate in the same way? Like the look of the rolled flowers too, but like these better.
      Thank you!!!

    34. im 12 years old and i wanted somthing to spice up my room without a cost my family and i love 2 do scarpbooking so we had alot of scaps and i did this all by myself piece of cake and it looks great i also added white rocks at the bottom of the flower vase I <3 IT!!!! thanks

    35. we did not have a glue gun, it didn’t work out so well without one…so we suggest if your planning to make these, make sure you have a glue gun before you start.

    36. How would one go about attaching these to a wreath that would ensure they didn’t fall off? I love love love these and want to try them in a wreath.

    37. I love your blog. It’s so fulfilling on so many different levels! I’m going to attempt these paper flowers and glue them to board to make out a name for my friend’s baby girl’s nursery! Wish me luck! I wouldn’t have had this idea if I didn’t come across your blog! Thanks!

    38. LOVE these! So beautiful!
      I made these in Dr. Seuss colors for my son’s first birthday party and I cannot wait to set the table with them!
      Also, I love your site and I think I may be addicted…and super jealous of your creativity, craftiness, and Ah-mazing style!
      Thanks!

    39. LOVE LOVE LOVE and so easy! I’m starting to make some for a baby shower… they may end up being a wreath. Thank you so much for sharing. I’m heading out to buy some more fun prints in the colors I need. OH and I think I’m going to make some for a centerpiece for my dinner table!

    40. This was a great tutorial. I shared it with a bunch of people after posting some pictures of roses I made on facebook. Thanks!

    41. You are an inspiration to my creative side! These are beautiful and perfect for a lonely vase i have sitting on my dresser.

    42. this was harder for me than it looked…..so i dont kno if im doing something wrong! its really hard to get my flower to uncoil so i tried pulling it apart a little, but they just do nootttt look good!

    43. How pretty! A bouquet of flowers that will never wilt. Your imagination is not limited to the numbers of bouquets you can make using all sorts of recycled and new papers.

    44. These are absolutely beautiful! I love the idea of paper flowers, but many of the other beautiful ideas I’ve seen have been comlicated, and I’m too impatient. This is nice and simple, and just as lovely. Thanks for sharing.

    45. You could also teach children how to do this with glue sticks and regular white paper (Printer paper) that they color and design one. My younger cousin loves coloring the pages and having me cut them out. I let her role the roses and glue them for her. Kids like the craft. Your sheet music roses are beautiful.

    46. OMGsh!!! This is way super cute and I just made my very first one and am quite proud of it!!! I am going to make these and use them for my bouquet in my wedding in December and am going to make one for my MOH too :) I am super excited!! Thanks for posting how to do this!!

    47. I LOVE THESE!!! I’m making them as table decorations in all kinds of bright colors for a party I am throwing!! I can’t wait for everyone to see them!! Thank you!!!!!

      1. Don’t you mean SIMPLE to make…
        Anyways this was great i made it 4 my mum and dad 4 their anniversary now its sittin on the buffet.
        It looks gr8.
        :D
        Thanx

        1. Don’t you mean FOR, SITTING, and GREAT?

          Just a thought before you correct others’ mistakes.

          Yours truly,
          The Grammar Bandit

    48. This is my first visit to your blog! So glad I found it. Can’t wait for the rest of the week. Loved today tutorial! Thanks for sharing.

    49. I am hosting a little party for my friend who is getting married next month. All of the bridesmaids are coming and we are each going to make little bouquets using this tutorial! I am so excited to see how they will turn out. Thanks for this super easy idea that is so lovely!

    50. I had fun making these with my 5 year old son (who kept exclaiming that the flowers he made were “so cute”), 8 year old daughter, and 13 year old daughter. Thanks for giving us a family project that turned out beautifully!

    51. Emily, I just wanted to let you know that I featured your paper roses on my blog {redberrybarn.blogspot} today. I am in charge of crafts at a Girl’s camp this summer and I want to do this project! Love it!
      Have a wonderful day!

    52. So cute! I teach 2nd grade. I had my kids take the coffee filters that we dyed with water colors on Monday and use those to make the flowers. They turned out so much cuter than the flowers I have done in previous years. Putting them in the vases we decorated will make the best Mother’s Day gift. Thanks for the great idea!!

    53. Wow, I absolutely love these flowers!!!! They are soooo addicting too! Made several to fill a decorative jar….so cute!! Thanks for the tutorial!

    54. For a mothers day gift from my kids to their grandmas I’m had them draw pictures and scribble on some leftover craft paper. Then I cut them up and used it to roll the flowers. It turned out awesome and a great way to pass along my kid’s art (they are 1 and 2 ). I can’t wait to give them as gifts!

    55. These are so cool Emily…i’ve made a bunch of them for a mothers day high tea i’m having at our church cafe this sunday…no fresh flowers around so thought I’d use them to decorate the plates/tables…thanks so much for the idea…must go and post couple pics on my blog now ;) Loving your tutorials..thankyou. And your hands! DON’T BE SO WORRIED! I should take pics of the flowers in my hands so you can feel better about yours ;)
      blessings to you today
      from downunder… xx

    56. LOVE this idea! I made the flowers last night and hope to finish the bouquet in the few days! My mom is going to love it! Thank you! Love your site!

    57. Wow, another stunning project! This is teacher appreciation week at my son’s school and tomorrow we are supposed to bring a flower for each teacher. We spent yesterday afternoon making gorgeous paper flowers for each one and my son loves them! I used skewer sticks painted green instead of the wire because that was all I had on hand. I’m so happy to have found your blog- this is the 2nd project I’ve done since I found you just a few weeks ago. xo!

    58. you are a lifesaver! my husband told me today that he needed 16 mother’s day”gifts for his direct reports. i made 16 of these paper rosettes and wired them to some treat bags. easy, and beautiful. thank you!!

    59. Thank you for this post. I read it Monday evening only to wake up Tuesday and realize it was Teacher Appreciate (bring your teacher a flower day) at our school. I quickly and easily made two of these beautiful flowers for my daughter to give. The teachers loved them. Thank you for your creativity and your easy to follow instructions.

    60. My mom and I just picked up a TON of scrapbook paper today; the rest of the week is supposed to be gray and rainy, so we are going to make flowers to put all over the house! I am SO in love with this project; love your gathered flower project, by the way, and can’t WAIT for the rest! It’s perfect timing for this crazy rainy week!! :)

    61. Very fun, thanks for the instruction, I am going to make the sheet music one for my piano teacher’s birthday package.

    62. SO CUTE! I can’t even tell you how excited I am for flower week! :)

      Emily, I just have to tell you… I just now read your twirl post and it has blessed me so much. I pray the same for my daughter. You have been such a light to me through your words and tutorials. Thank you for your inspiration and beautiful example.

    63. Emily these flowers are adorable and I’m crazy in love with the wreath with the music sheets. You are so talented and your directions are excellent. I definitely will be giving this a try. Today I followed your applique directions to make a pillow for a good friend. Once again I found your directions so easy. Thank you so much for such a fun and enjoyable blog. This is a must see blog for me. rj

    64. I’m so excited for Flower Week! I just made your polyester satin flowers for a Mother/Baby gift and they were such a breeze! These are just a sweet… thanks for all your wonderful posts!

    65. I love love this! I love making cards and am always buying paper whenever I find some on sale. I now have a big pile that needs to be thinned out. Paper rosettes here I come!

    66. Thank you so much for sharing! I have a feeling by the end of the week you will have out done yourself! These will be so much fun to make and so much fun to give away-I can’t wait to see your post tomorrow :)

    67. Emily, These are so cute. I love this project b/c I do not need to sew. One day I will take a sewing class. I can’t wait to make some for Mother’s Day. Thanks for sharing!! You are the best!!

    68. you are KILLING me!! SO SO cute & I am SO happy that it’s flower week! Bless your heart, you’re just brightening up our gray :) Thank you!

    69. I absolutely LOVE this tutorial. I practiced on a scrap piece of paper I had lying around on my desk and loved it so much that I’m heading to the craft store on my way home today and picking up some colored paper that will go well with my living room… Full bouquet of paper flowers soon to come :) Some of the simplest techniques can create beautiful works of art.

    70. I absolutely LOVE these! I made about 200 ribbon flowers for my wedding centerpieces and they took FOREVER! I wish I had seen this before then… I love the style of these!

      Ps. I am currently painting one of my bedroom walls with your stencil wallpaper tutorial! Thank you for that as well :)

    71. These are really fun & inpiring! Just the kind of thing I want to make this week…don’t know if I’ll find time in my final exam week though, since I have lots of school work left and have to clean our whole house for the family to come over for our graduation this weekend…but it would be nice to have such pretty gifts for our Mom’s on Sunday. I made a simpler bouquet of scrapbook paper flowers with a fold&cut snowflake technique to go with the present I got my mom last year. She loved them :) and yours are so much better…thanks for sharing the tutorial.

    72. OMG!!! I am in love with these!! With Mother’s day right around the corner, I can draw out the spirals and my soon to be 6 year old can help make flowers for grandma and meemaw!! Plus I am a musician as well as crafter so the sheet music idea is really AWESOME!! Thanks so much for sharing this. Looking forward to more flowers as the week progresses!!

    73. Beautiful!…can’t wait to get started…Thank you for your generosity in sharing :)…and never apologize for your crafty hands…they are beautiful :)

    74. Your posts are always so timely! I am hosting Mother’s Day Brunch for all of my husband’s family, and these will be the perfect decorations. I can not wait to see the next 4 days of your crafts. I just wish you’d send out a supply list now, so that way I don’t have to keep dragging my 9 month old all over buying craft supplies :)

    75. Love it! I’ve been searching for something new to do on my front porch for spring – the wreath would be perfect.

    76. I made a bunch of these at Christmas time….wreaths and various things. They were great for topping packages too.

    77. I LOVE your wreath. What a great idea. It is beautiful and looks really easy to do. Thanks for the inspiration!

    78. I’m obsessed with that wreath!! love, lOve, LOVE! Off to Michaels to get some paper and start crafting for Mother’s Day! Once again, thank you, Emily for the inspiration!

    79. So pretty! Thanks for sharing! Just wish I had the time to do these before we pack up our house and move again. I’ll have to file it for a later date.

    80. LOVE LOVE LOVE!
      I am CONSTANTLY looking for a great DIY wreath for our front door! I can’t wait to project this for a sweet spring wreath (so glad I have a TON of scrapbooking paper) Thanks for the tutorial–can’t wait to see more!

    81. Adorable! I grabbed some scrapbook paper and I’ve been cutting and rolling this morning.

      Have a great day!

    82. Darling and fun idea to do with our kids! Thanks for the great instructions! Your bouquet is like a bouquet of good wishes…

    83. LOVE!!!!!!!!! what a great idea! My daughter is going to want to do this. She is all about flowers!
      Im still laughing that you were in my father-in-law’s classes in college. What year did you graduate? I will have to ask him if he remembers you! :-)

    84. I’ve been wanting to learn how to make these! Thank you for the lovely tutorial – the wreath is adorable. Looking forward to a fun week!

    85. How stinkin’ pretty! This just gave me an idea for all the mother’s day gifts I’ve got to make this week! Your projects are so precious and your creativity inspires me! I’ve continually made my house much more decoratively appealing (ha, after living very plainly for two years) since a friend introduced me to your site. Love the flowers and look forward to tomorrows project. Thanks for sharing ( :

    86. I’m loving the flowers! In a house full of boys, I can’t wait to add a little feminine touch :) I have to ask, do you keep all of these beautiful wreaths and decorations you make? Where do you store them all? Silly question, I know! But one thing is better than the next! Thanks!

    87. Great idea! So simple and looks really good. I always have a bunch of leftover paper and what a great way to use it. I am going to share this!

    88. Love the easy project!!! I am an Elementary teacher and our Music teacher is leaving us at the end of the year and I think the Music wreath will be a great going away present!!!! Love your ideas!!!

    89. I’ve been making these for a while now, and they really brighten the house. I LOVE making my own flowers; I’m so Excited about this week! Thanks for sharing!

    90. oh, this is perfect! I’m in charge of a “secret” Mother’s Day craft at Girl Scout this Wednesday. The girls will love them , not to mention the Moms! Thanks for the inspiration…always.
      d e n i s e

    91. LOVE these! So pretty that I want to drop everything and make some right this minute. And I love an easy project that I can sit around in front of the tv with and whip up something fun…. most definitely doing that this week as these will be perfect for Mother’s Day bouquets!

    92. I love that you made them look so sophisticated with leaves and all! AND those music paper rosettes on the wreath are absolutely stunning! LOVE Emily! xox!

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