Flowers bring decorative splashes of colour to your house or flat, instantly lifting your spirits and creating a pleasant atmosphere. Unfortunately, real flowers don’t last very long. If you want to brighten up your home more permanently, our DIY tip for crafting decorative paper floral boughs is for you. Branches adorned with home-made paper flowers stay beautiful forever, and the joy already starts with the making!
Our simple and child-friendly tutorial gives you step by step instructions on how to easily craft these beautiful paper blossoms. Their inner and outer petals and the stamen in the middle are made from three different layers of coloured paper, giving the blooms a three-dimensional effect.
Choose the colours for your flowers to suit your taste or the season – our step by step guide will help you create your own blossoming artworks in just a few minutes. Have fun making your very own decorative paper floral boughs!
You will need:
- Round origami paper (diameter 10 cm)
- A4 coloured paper, yellow
- Cutting mat
- Cutting ruler
- Cutter
- Scissors
- Craft glue
- Hot glue
- A branch, apply colour if you like
- A vase
Instructions
Fold the petals
To make the outer and inner petals, fold the round origami paper into quarters and unfold it again. Then use scissors to cut a line along one of the folds to the centre of the paper. If you don’t have origami paper to hand, you can use thin coloured paper instead: place a glass onto the paper, trace a circle around it and cut it out.
Fold back and forth
From the cut line, start folding the paper back and forth over itself to make small “pie slice” shapes.
Glue the flower together
Next, use crafting glue to fix the blossom you have made. If you find you have folded too many sections to match up correctly, you may have to cut off a section.
Cut your blossom into shape
Once the glue has dried, refold the blossom into “pie slices” so you can cut its edges into the desired shape. In the example below, we chose a rounded shape for the outer petals and a pointed shape for the inner petals. But that’s entirely up to you!
Please note: When cutting the inner petal, be sure to make it a little shorter so it doesn’t cover up the outer petal.
Cut the paper for the stamens
To make the inner stamens, first use the ruler and cutter to cut the yellow coloured paper into strips; they should be approx. 3 cm wide and 20 cm long.
Cut finely
Fold each strip of paper over twice and use the scissors to make very fine incisions to about 4 mm from the edge. Then unfold the strip of paper, roll it up and place it in the centre of the paper flower.
Assemble the flowers
If you like, you can now stick your paper flowers together with crafting glue: place the largest paper circle on the outside to form the outer petals, then add the smaller one, then the stamens in the centre. Completed blossoms are easier to attach to the branch, but you can also glue your flowers together and to the branch at the same time.
Attach the blossoms to the branch
Glue the blossoms to the branch, which you may wish to prepare beforehand e.g. by spraying it white. Or for a more natural look, leave it as is. You can cut off the lower end of your blossom to create a larger adhesive surface. We recommend using hot glue for fixing the blossoms to the branch: hot glue dries more quickly and is therefore faster to work with. How many blossoms you decide to attach will depend on the size of your branch and your personal preference.
Decorate
Now all you need to do is place the flower bough into an appropriately sized decorative vase, and voila: permanent floral display!
© Images: m² raumkonzepte
Making your own floral boughs with paper flowers is more than just a creative way to pass the time; the end product is a charming, highly decorative work of timeless beauty that will bring you lasting pleasure. With their individual designs and lively colours, these home-made paper flower decorations create a fresh and cheerful atmosphere in any room. If you want to craft with children, our DIY tutorial provides simple, step-by-step instructions ensuring that even the youngest crafters can achieve beautiful results.
Give it a try and add a personal touch to your home with these hand-made works of art!