Pom-Pom Paper Flowers

I’ve always wanted to paint crepe paper to look like flower petals. Have you? I get these ideas in my head sometimes and I just have to try them so that I can make room for more ideas! I made these in June and gave them to a few of my favorite teachers. Through trial and error, I think I found a technique that works well. There are a few steps involved, but none of them are all that hard. And how cute are the flowers in their little vase?

This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for your support!

SUPPLIES: 

~ Crepe paper (there are different types, the one I ordered was thicker and more coarse – I think this helped because the petals didn’t get floppy)

~ Scissors

~ Watercolors

~ Twigs

~ Yarn (I get inexpensive yarn at Michael’s)

~ Pom-pom maker (smallest size)

~ Hot glue gun (optional)

~ Floral tape

PROCESS:

Step one: Cut out petal shapes. I made two sizes, but you don’t have to. You can print out the photo above to use as a template. The small petals were about 3.25″ tall, and the big ones were about 4″ tall. Each flower takes four petals. I used three different colored crepe paper because that’s what came in the bag. But you can just use one. After they are painted, it doesn’t make that much difference.

Step two: The magic of crepe paper is that there are teeny little folds so that when you flatten out the folds, the paper bends. It’s easier to see in the video that I made (scroll down), but basically you flatten out the petal before painting so that it buckles and looks like a real petal. Pretty cool.

Step three: Paint your petals! I used two colors on each petal. Actually, I used three on one of them. The messy diagram above shows the exact colors I used for each petal. My paint strokes were painterly, leaving a bit of a jagged edge. Watch the video to see the technique!

Step four: Make your pom-poms. I love using pom-pom makers, but you can do it any way you want. Make sure when you trim the yarn to leave two long pieces.

Step five: Secure the pom-pom with a little glue. I used a hot glue gun. Then wrap the long pieces of yarn around the stick and tie it in a knot.

Step six: Cover the yarn with some flower tape.

Step seven: Wrap each petal around the twig. Scrunch them at the ends and overlap the next petal as you go around.

Step eight: When the petals look good around the twig, wrap the bottoms with some more flower tape. The flower tape is sticky and should stick to itself.

Here is the video I made of the process.

Voila! Now you have possibly the cutest little flowers on the planet. Don’t be intimidated by the steps. It takes some time, but not more than an afternoon. Make a bunch of petals at once and then make a bunch of pom-poms, and then put them together in an assembly line. You can even watch some Netflix to complete your crafter-noon!

Let me know if you try this 😉

xo, Bar