How to Make Large Paper Flowers

By
Caylin Harris
Caylin Harris
Caylin Harris
Caylin Harris is a crafter, stylist, and writer with over 10 years' experience creating easy DIY projects. She has created craft and DIY projects for The Pioneer Woman magazine and the "Naturally, Danny Seo" TV show on NBC.
Learn more about The Spruce Crafts' Editorial Process
Updated on 08/20/20
how to make large paper flowers

The Spruce / Caylin Harris

Project Overview
  • Total Time: 1 hr
  • Yield: 1 flower
  • Skill Level: Beginner
how to make large paper flowers
The Spruce / Caylin Harris 

Making your own wall art is so much easier than you think. These paper flowers add a whimsical touch to a child’s bedroom or playroom either hanging on the wall or tucked into the corner of a bookshelf for decoration. More resilient and affordable than the real thing, these paper versions quickly become party staples, especially for decorating the walls for wedding and baby showers. Just one flower makes a big impact on a party wall which is perfect for photo opportunities.

The success of crafting paper flowers hinges on having flexible yet stiff enough high-quality sheets of paper to make these flowers. Quality and sharp scissors are a must to get the edges of the petals crisp and neat. You don’t have to work with single petals if you don’t want to—you can instead create full flower shapes with three or five petals that will help make layering easier.

large paper flower materials
Caylin Harris / The Spruce

What You'll Need

Equipment / Tools

  • Pencil
  • Scissors
  • Hot glue gun
  • Bone folder
  • Sticky tack or double-sided tape

Materials

  • Sheets of colored paper
  • Sheet of cardboard

Instructions

  1. Make a Petal Template

    Decide what flower you will make by finding a clear image in a book, magazine, or online. Use the image to create templates for the petals using cardboard.

    Make three sizes of templates for your petals. Small, medium, and large templates work best.

    Best Flowers to Make

    Roses and peonies are the perfect inspiration for this craft because of their shapely and layered petal structures.

    paper flower inspiration
    The Spruce / Caylin Harris 

  2. Cut and Shape the Petals

    You'll now create a bunch of petals in a few different sizes.

    Petal Shaping Ideas

    Before gluing petals, give them shape and dimension. Here are three ideas:

    1. Fold each petal in half to create a vein and then gently shape the outside edges of the petals with a bone folder.
    2. Curl the tips of each petal in or out.
    3. Cut a slit in the bottom of each petal, cross the two pieces, and hold with glue so the petal stands up.
    Making paper flower petals
    The Spruce / Caylin Harris 

  3. Assemble Your Flowers

    1. Cut out a small, round piece of cardboard as the center base of your flower. You will glue petals onto this piece of cardboard. 
    2. Begin gluing the largest petals onto the cardboard base.
    3. Overlap petals to fill gaps as you glue them down.
    4. Each layer will have smaller petals.
    5. The smallest petals will form the tighter bud in the center.

    Create a Tighter Bud

    Take a strip of paper and roll it into a cone shape to form a tight, swirled bud, then glue it to the center.

    Gluing the flower petals
    The Spruce / Caylin Harris 

  4. Finish and Hang

    Hang your flower on the wall using a piece of sticky tack or double-sided tape.

    Hanging your paper flower
    The Spruce / Caylin Harris