How to make flowers out of tissue paper
Turn plain tissue paper into beautiful flowers with Lisa Jay's step by step tutorial.

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Filling your home with spring flowers feels like the ultimate way to welcome in a new season, and introduce a bit more colour into your everyday surroundings. These paper blooms let you have the best of both worlds, with dreamy spring hues you can keep as long as you like. Plus, they’re a beautiful way to show a friend some kindness, as they’re just as pretty as the real thing.
Once you’ve got the basics, start making your tissue paper flowers and pop them in our clay vase DIY. From table decorations to evergreen wreaths and garlands, let your inner florist shine with Lisa Jay’s tutorial. If you enjoy making these paper flowers then try making our DIY paper flower tutorials which include everything from a paper flower bouquet and quilled flowers.

You will need
- 90g crepe paper in Light Pink, Rose, Peach Blossom Pink, Dark Cream, Yellow, Orange, Light Olive and Dark Olive (we used Cartotecnica Rossi)
- 180g crepe paper in Natural Rose, Yellow, Pumpkin, Orange and Coral Charm Peony (we used Cartotecnica Rossi)
- Florist stem wire in 24, 20 and 18 gauge
- Five wooden beads, 1cm (⅜”)
- All-purpose glue
- Bone folder
- Pliers
- Wire cutters
- Find the templates in Mollie project templates issue 130

How to make flowers out of tissue paper
You Will Need
- Crepe paper
- Florist stem wire
- Wooden beads
- Glue
- Bone folder
- Pliers
- wire cutters
Step 1
For the first anemone, use the templates to cut three of each petal shape from the Peach Blossom Pink paper, one fringe from the Dark Cream paper, and one centre circle and five leaves from the Light Olive paper. Make sure to cut each shape with the grain of the paper running from top to bottom, as this will help when shaping the petals. The different paper weights determine how much you can stretch them, with the 180g paper having a little more give than the 90g paper.
Step 2
Repeat Step 1 for the other four anemone, this time cutting the fringes from Dark Cream paper, the centres and leaves from the Light Olive paper, and the petals from the Rose and Light Pink paper.
Step 3
Fringe the centres, cutting along one long edge of each one roughly two-thirds down, then curve the uncut long edges with a bone folder or scissor edge
Step 4

Cut five stems from the 20-gauge florist wire, then glue a wooden bead to the end of each wire stem. Cover each bead with a centre circle and glue it in place, then roll a fringed centre onto the base of each covered bead, with the curved edge facing inwards. Gently open out the centres.
Step 5

Use the bone folder to curve the top and bottom of each petal in the same direction, as shown, then gently stretch the centre. Glue three small petals under the fringed centre on each anemone, making sure they’re evenly spaced.
Step 6

Add three medium petals underneath the small petals, staggering them so they fill the gaps in the first layer. Next, add three large petals underneath those, staggering them to fill the gaps. Use the bone folder to curve the leaves, then glue five leaves evenly to each anemone base, drooping them downwards
Step 7

For the first tulip, use the templates to cut three petal shapes from Natural Rose Yellow paper for the inner petals, three petal shapes from Pumpkin paper for the outer petals, and one fringe from the Dark Cream paper.
Step 8
Repeat Step 7 for the remaining four tulips with the following paper combinations: three Natural Rose Yellow inner petals and three 180g Orange outer petals, three Coral Charm Peony inner petals and three Natural Rose Yellow outer petals, three Pumpkin inner petals and three Orange outer petals, and finally three Pumpkin inner petals and three Coral Charm Peony outer petals.
Step 9

Fringe the tulip centres and curve the edges with the bone folder as per Step 3. Cut five stems from the 24-gauge florist wire, then roll and glue a fringe onto each of the wire stems, with the curved edge facing outwards.
Step 10

To shape the petals, hold the middle between your thumbs and index fingers, then gently pull horizontally to stretch the paper. Do the same vertically to form a long, cupped shape, then glue three inner petals around a centre, aligning the bottom of the petals and the fringe.
Step 11

Add a second layer of three outer petals staggered between the inner petals, then gently open up each individual flower.
Step 12

For the first peony, use the templates to cut one fringe, six small petals, 16 medium petals and 10 large petals from the Dark Cream paper, and five sepals from the Dark Olive paper. Repeat twice more, this time cutting one set of petals and fringe from Yellow paper, and one set from Orange paper. Fringe the centres as per Step 3, then gently twist them between your fingertips. Cut three stems from the 18-gauge florist wire, then roll and glue a fringe onto each of the wire stems. Ruffle the fringes by gently pressing them down.
Step 13

Cut one or two small V shapes into the top edge of each petal as shown, making different cuts in each one for a more natural finish.
Step 14

To shape the petals, hold the middle between your thumbs and index fingers and gently pull horizontally to form a cupped shape. To ruffle the edges, gently pinch them along the top, and stretch them in either direction. Put six medium petals to one side.
Step 15

Glue six small petals evenly around a fringed centre, overlapping them slightly. Continue adding ten of the medium petals and all ten of the large petals in the same way.
Step 16

Glue the remaining six medium petals to the base of the flower, curving them in the opposite way so they droop downwards. Next, glue the five sepals to the base, spacing them out evenly, then fluff and open the peony by gently pushing the petal layers apart.
Step 17

Arrange the flowers into a posy at different heights, then trim the stems to your desired length with the wire cutters. To wrap the stems, cut a 1.5 x 15cm (⅝ x 6″) strip of Light Olive paper across the grain for each of the anemones, and a 1.5 x 15cm (⅝ x 6″) strip of Dark Olive paper for each of the tulips and peonies. Stretch a strip of paper fully, dot it with glue, then wrap it around the stem at a 45˚ angle, working from top to bottom, and dotting it with glue as you go. Gently re-curl and reshape any petals to finish.

We hope you’ve enjoyed learning how to make flowers out of tissue paper. For more fun papercraft projects check out our inspiring scrapbook ideas and our quilled butterfly DIY.