Crafting Large Paper Flowers For Wedding Decorations

Paper flowers are a unique and budget-friendly way to decorate your wedding. They can be crafted in a variety of ways to create different styles, from tissue paper flowers to coffee filter flowers and crepe paper flowers. With some coloured paper, glue, scissors, and a template, you can make your own paper flowers to add a handmade, personal touch to your big day. Paper flowers can be used in a variety of ways, from bouquets and boutonnieres to floral garlands, centrepieces, and even flower crowns for the bridal party. They can also be used as photo props or backdrops, adding a whimsical touch to your wedding decorations.

Paper flower bouquet

Paper flowers are a beautiful and unique way to decorate your wedding. They are perfect for adding a handmade, personal touch to your big day, and they can be a more budget-friendly option compared to fresh flowers. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to make a paper flower bouquet for your wedding:

Materials:

• Quality, stiff yet flexible paper in various colours
• Sharp scissors
• Cardboard
• Glue
• Stapler
• Rotary cutter (optional)
• Acrylic ruler (optional)
• Self-healing cutting mat (optional)

Step 1: Make a Petal Template

Find a clear image of the flower you want to create in a book, magazine, or online. Use the image as a reference to create templates for the petals using cardboard. Make three sizes of templates: small, medium, and large. Roses and peonies are great options due to their shapely and layered petal structures.

Step 2: Cut and Shape the Petals

Using your coloured paper, cut out a bunch of petals in different sizes. Before gluing, give them shape and dimension. You can do this by folding each petal in half to create a vein and then gently shaping the outside edges with a bone folder. Alternatively, try curling the tips of each petal in or out, or cutting a slit in the bottom of each petal, crossing the two pieces, and securing them with glue to make the petal stand up.

Step 3: Assemble Your Flowers

Cut out a small, round piece of cardboard as the centre base of your flower. Begin gluing the largest petals onto the cardboard base, overlapping them to fill any gaps. Each layer will have smaller petals, and the smallest petals will form a tight bud in the centre.

Step 4: Create a Tighter Bud (optional)

Take a strip of paper and roll it into a cone shape to form a tight, swirled bud. Secure it with glue and attach it to the centre of your flower.

Tissue Paper Flowers (alternative method):

If you want to create a different type of paper flower, tissue paper flowers are a great option for a wedding bouquet. Start by layering two large sheets of tissue paper and folding them in half twice to create a triangle. Trim off the extra rectangle of paper and separate the layers to get eight individual squares. Fold the paper accordion-style, staple it in the centre, and trim each edge to create the flower petals. Carefully separate and fluff the layers to form the flower. You can also create smaller tissue paper flowers by cutting down the size of your squares.

With these simple steps, you can create a stunning paper flower bouquet for your wedding. Get creative with your choice of colours and flower types to make your bouquet truly unique!

Tissue paper flowers

Materials:

• Tissue paper in your chosen colours
• String, yarn, fishing line, pipe cleaners, or twist ties
• Ruler or measuring tape
• Scissors
• Rotary cutter, acrylic ruler, and self-healing cutting mat (optional)

Step 1: Stack the Tissue Paper

Place two large sheets of tissue paper on top of each other. If using regular tissue paper with more folds, you can cut it to create two large sheets.

Step 2: Fold the Tissue Paper

Fold the tissue paper in half and then in half again. Find the corner with all the separate pieces of paper (not the folded edge) and fold it to the bottom edge to create a triangle. Trim off the extra rectangle, then open up the triangle to create a square. You should now have eight individual squares.

Step 3: Create an Accordion Fold

Fold the paper accordion-style. You should end up with six or seven folds.

Step 4: Staple and Trim

Staple the centre of the accordion fold. Then, trim each edge to create the flower petals. You can create different styles of petals by cutting rounded, pointed, or inverted rounded shapes.

Step 5: Separate and Fluff

Carefully separate the layers of the flower by pulling from the inside of each layer. This will help prevent tearing. Continue fluffing the layers until you have a full flower.

Tips for Making Smaller Flowers:

To make smaller tissue paper flowers, cut down the size of your squares. Here is a guide for how many sheets of tissue paper to use:

• 12" wide and up — 8 layers
• 8"–11" — 6 layers
• 4"–7" — 5 layers
• Smaller than 4" — 4 layers

Floral garlands

Tropical Flower Garland

Create a stunning fresh-flower garland with a cascade of additional flowers that can be used as a photo backdrop or as a table runner.

Tissue Paper Garland

If you want to use bright colours not found in nature, you can make these tissue paper flowers in any colour of the rainbow.

Ruscus Table Garland

Dress up a table with some lush leaves. This garland uses Israeli ruscus greenery.

Floral Garland Wall Hanging

This garland can be used as a centerpiece in a nursery, but the colour scheme will work in any room. The artist made it with artificial delphiniums, dahlias, and roses.

Paper Waterfall Garland

The flowers in this garland are made from a paper template, so you can vary the colours, shapes, and lengths any way you want.

Accordion Tissue Paper Garland

This garland features big, bold flowers that can be customised to fit the colour scheme of any party—each flower only requires five sheets of accordion-folded tissue paper.

Paper flower centrepieces

Paper flowers are a beautiful and unique way to decorate your wedding. They're budget-friendly and add a handmade, personal touch to your big day. Here are some ideas and instructions for creating paper flower centrepieces for your wedding tables.

Types of Paper Flowers for Centrepieces

There are many types of paper that you can use to make flowers for your wedding centrepieces. Tissue paper is a popular choice as it is budget-friendly and easy to work with. You can also try crepe paper, which gives a romantic look, or coffee filters for a more realistic flower. For a unique look, try using watercolour and paint your own paper to make flowers.

Choosing the Right Paper

The success of crafting paper flowers hinges on having flexible yet stiff, high-quality paper. Quality scissors are also a must to get crisp, neat edges on your petals. You can create a template for your petals using cardboard and then trace and cut them out of your chosen paper.

Making the Petals

You can cut your petals by hand or use a cutting machine. If you're cutting by hand, you will need a sharp pair of scissors. Create petals in three different sizes: small, medium, and large. Before gluing, give them shape and dimension by folding each petal in half to create a vein, gently shaping the outside edges with a bone folder, or curling the tips in or out. You can also cut a slit in the bottom of each petal, cross the two pieces, and hold them together with glue so the petal stands up.

Assembling the Flowers

Cut out a small, round piece of cardboard as the centre base of your flower. Begin gluing the largest petals onto the cardboard base, overlapping them to fill any gaps. Each layer will have smaller petals, with the smallest petals forming a tight bud in the centre. To create a tighter bud, take a strip of paper and roll it into a cone shape, then glue it to the centre.

Displaying Your Centrepieces

You can display your paper flower centrepieces on their own or combine them with fresh flowers for a unique and colourful display. Place them in mason jars, or attach stems made from pipe cleaners or sticks. For a whimsical touch, create "rivers of flowers" by arranging long strands of flowers down the centre of each table.

Paper flower backdrops

To make large paper flowers for a wedding backdrop, you will need high-quality, flexible yet stiff sheets of paper, sharp scissors, and glue. You can also use tissue paper, coffee filters, crepe paper, or cardboard.

First, decide on the type of flower you want to make and find a clear image to use as a reference. Create templates for the petals using cardboard in three different sizes: small, medium, and large. Cut out the petals from the paper, following the templates. You can also cut and shape the petals to give them dimension—fold each petal in half to create a vein, curl the tips in or out, or cut a slit in the bottom of each petal and cross the two pieces to make it stand up.

Next, assemble the flowers by cutting out a small, round piece of cardboard as the centre base. Begin gluing the largest petals onto the base, overlapping them to fill any gaps. Each layer will have smaller petals, and the smallest petals will form the tightest bud in the centre. To create a tighter bud, take a strip of paper and roll it into a cone shape, gluing it to the centre.

Finally, hang your paper flowers on a wall using sticky tack or double-sided tape to create a beautiful backdrop for your wedding.

Frequently asked questions