A few weeks ago, I set off on a mission to make tissue paper flowers. Wow! What a trip! Before I started trying to make these tissue paper flowers, I had to do some research. So I did. I read about it and read about it and read about it some more. I was certain I could do it! But, like with all my crafts, I have to practice it before I can make a blog post. And this time, I did a test run during one of my Crafting Unscripted Sessions on YouTube. You can watch it here. Well, needless to say, it turned out to be a complete disaster! The Flowers DID NOT TURN OUT AT ALL! Turns out, that making tissue paper flowers is much harder than you would think! So, let’s pull up our socks, and give this a go!
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Supplies needed to make tissue paper flower
Ok, let’s review what we need to make these tissue paper flowers:
- Tissue paper – The amount of tissue paper you need will vary. For the flowers that I am making, you will need 8 sheets of tissue paper cut to 5″x5″ squares. This can be made from one large piece of tissue paper that you get in a gift bag or in a tissue paper pack. You can use all one color or use multiple colors.
- String/Yarn/Ribbon – I used matching yarn to tie my flowers together, but you can use string, or even staples. As it turns out, I don’t have a staple so that was not an option for me.
- Scissors or Paper Cutter – This is for cutting the tissue paper and yarn.
- Flower Stems – I used these stems, they are easy to bend and blend in nicely with the flower.
- Glue – if you are attaching stems to your flowers, I recommend gluing them onto the stems with hot glue and a glue gun.
Now that we have all our supplies, we can start to make this craft!
Making a Tissue paper Flower
Ok, so we’re going to start at the very beginning. I know that sounds stupid, but hear me out. Not everything is self-explanatory… so starting from basics.
Preparing your Tissue Paper for Tissue Paper Flowers
Start with one piece of tissue paper. I am working with an 18″ x24″ piece. This works well to give me 5″ squares.
You want to fold the paper in half, then in half again, and then one more time. This will give you 8-layers of tissue paper.
Now, depending on whether you started with a square or rectangle, you will need to cut the surplus off to make this piece into a square.
Finally, you need to cut all the folded sides. Depending on how well you folded this, you can either run the tissue paper though a paper cutter on all 4 sides, or you can use scissors to cut all the sides.
I ran my paper through a paper cutter and cleaned up the edges to have a 5″ x5″ square.
Now the tissue paper is ready to make a flower.
Folding your Tissue Paper Flower
Now for the fun part. Folding!
This is straightforward, so long as you can keep the paper together.
You want to fold the paper accordion style.
We are using a 5″ square. The first fold should be about 1/2″ to 3/4″ from the edge.
Then, Then, flipping the square over, fold it again, then fold it again until the whole paper has been folded.
When you are doing this, you want to make sure that all the tissue paper is together.
Secure the middle of your Tissue paper Flower
Once you have folded the tissue paper, it is time to secure the middle.
I used yarn that matched my tissue paper and tied it around with a knot. If you have a stapler, you can staple it in the middle.
Cut the Ends of the Tissue Paper
The style of the end of the paper will dictate what kind of flower you end up with. There are many options. Some examples:
- Leave the ends un-cut to have a wavey flower.
- Cut the ends into a triangle and get a Dahlia or a Daisy.
- Cut the ends into a semi-circle and get a rose or a peony.
- Cut the ends into strips, like a fringe and get a carnation.
Hopefully, this graphic will help.
Make the Tissue Paper Flower
Now that we have the tissue paper folded and secured, it is time to unfurl the flower.
This is mostly simple. Taking one layer of tissue paper out of the bunch slowly and pull it towards the center.
Then, do the same with each layer.
As you pull each layer out of tissue paper, they will no longer come out as far on account of the tissue paper on top of it. So the last 2 layers will have very little room to be pulled on. This is normal.
Then, repeat this for the other side of the flower.
Once you have both sides unfurled, you might want to massage the tissue paper to give the flower a bit more shape.
Add a stem to your tissue paper flower
I like to add stems to flowers so I can put them in a vase, but this is not required. These tissue paper flowers can stay on a tabletop or mantle without a stem.
But if you are like me and want a stem, let’s keep reading.
I bought these stems that have a thinner, uncoated end. These are great for bending. Using plyers, I folded the stem over on itself and gave it a little squish.
This was the perfect size to fit between the 2-sides of the flower petals where the tissue paper was secured.
Once in place, I applied some glue under the flower to attach the stem.
You can add some greenery under the flower at the base where the stem meets the flower. I didn’t do this as I enjoy flowers from the top.
And that’s it! Your Tissue Paper Flowers are Complete!
Things I learned while trying to make tissue paper flowers
This craft was much harder than I thought it was going to be and so, there was a lot of learning happening here.
- When making tissue paper flowers, you need to make sure that all the sides are cut. You can’t have folded edges and expect this to work. You need to cut all the pieces of tissue paper.
- There is such a thing as too few pieces of tissue paper in the tissue paper flower! If you have too few, your flower will look sad and misshapen.
- Conversely, you can have too many pieces of tissue paper in your flower! If you have too many pieces of tissue paper in the flower, you will not be able to pull the paper apart as nicely and it will start to get all crazy looking… and not like a flower.
- If you use too little tissue paper, you can fold up the stem and tighten the flower a bit. This can help, but it all depends on the look you are going for.
- I like adding stems to flowers. This way, I can put them in a vase and have them out on display. I hooked my stems through the middle of the flower and glued them. I didn’t need to glue them, but if I didn’t and I shook the flowers for any reason, they would slip off and no longer be attached.
- With stems, you can add a green backing behind the flower to hide the connection and make it look real. I didn’t do this as I look at flowers from the top, not the bottom, so I opted not to make any. If you want to do that, you can cut out a circle, clip it on one side to create a slit into the center and attach it to the bottom of the flower.
- I find that using tissue paper that has come from a gift that is already crinkled is easier to work with.
Frequently Asked Questions about Tissue Paper Flowers
How can you make tissue paper pom-poms?
Tissue paper pom-poms are made the exact same way as these tissue paper flower. Cutting and folding is all the same, however you won’t need a stem.
Why are my tissue paper flowers not turning out?
There is no magic trick to making tissue paper flowers. But there are some things that can go wrong when making them. The main culprit for this was an incorrect number of tissue paper pieces for the size of the tissue paper square.
I have played with some sizes and found that the below sizes worked with the suggested number of tissue paper pieces. But I suggest you try it out yourself as this is a range and can change from tissue paper to tissue paper:
- 5″-6″ flower 6-8 pieces
- 7-8″ flower 8-10 pieces
- 9-10″ flower 10-12 pieces
I wanted to show you the difference between number tissue paper sheets. The top row of each flower has 8 sheets, and the bottom row has 6 sheets. Both flowers look great, but the one with 8 sheets looks more full. When making flowers, you will need to practice to see which look you prefer the most.
Can you use too much tissue paper when making tissue paper flower?
Yes, yes you can! When I was experimenting making these flower, I used 12 or 14 pieces of tissue paper with a 5″ x 5″ square size, and the flower turned out looking like a weird ball of fuzz. I was unable to pull the flower apart, and things got very thick and busy and in the end, it did not look like a flower.
Can you use too little tissue paper when making tissue paper flowers?
Yes, you can! If you do not use enough tissue paper, the flower will not look like a flower. It will look more like several pieces of tissue paper together in a bunch.
You can save the flower! If you fold the middle and retie/staple a bit higher, you can have a smaller flower that will look half decent.
How Do I arrange more colors in tissue paper flowers?
If you want to make multi-colored flowers, such as a peony, you can layer multiple colors of tissue paper together. However, the trick is, you want to have the top 2-3 layer smaller than the bottom layers. This will allow you to have a smaller center.
You can also cut the ends of the layers differently to give the flower a different look.
How to use Tissue paper Flower as Decorations
I like to use tissue paper flowers as just that, flowers. But that is not the only thing you can do with these flowers. Tissue paper flowers can be used for so many other types of decorations. To list a few:
- In a vase
- Hanging from the ceiling
- Sitting on top of a table
- Attached to gifts
- Make flower arches
- Make flower walls
- Hanging from ribbon, like a curtain,
- As wall decors
- Cake toppers
- Make them into birthday numbers
- Decorate doorways
- And so much more!
Whatever you can dream of, you can do it with these flowers!
Did you enjoy this flower tutorial?
Did you enjoy learning how to make tissue paper flower? If so, let me know! If you have any tips or ticks on how to make these flowers better, let me know as well!
Do you enjoy paper crafts, if so, be sure to check out my other paper crafts here.
If you want to learn how to make more flowers, check out my other flower posts here.
