Close up of the center of a pale pink crepe paper poppy with numerous yellow stamens and a green pistil. 
Crepe paper makes gorgeous handcrafted flowers with incredible detail and texture. Credit: Class Crafting Crepe Paper Flowers: Poppies by Heather Grimstead 

Like real blooms, crepe paper flowers come in every shape and color. Artists can make realistic paper floral arrangements or whip up something yet unknown in nature. 

Crepe paper flowers as DIY home or party decor leave a lasting impression. Get ready to amaze your friends and family!  

How to Make Crepe Paper Flowers

To make flowers from crepe paper you need a basic sense of floral anatomy. In general, your paper craft flower will include: 

  • Petals
  • A pistil, stamen or bud
  • Stem
  • Leaves 

You’ll master each part when you learn to make crepe paper flowers step by step. 

What Is the Best Crepe Paper to Make Flowers?

Weight is the most important factor in the structure and durability of crepe paper flowers. It’s measured in grams per square meter (“gsm” or simply “g”). The higher the number, the heavier the paper.  

For example, 180 gsm crepe paper is thick and tears less than lighter paper. It tends to stretch more easily and hold its shape longer. At the same time, it doesn’t necessarily work for small, delicate flowers. 

On the other hand, 40 gsm crepe paper is fine and tears easily. Certain kinds stretch well, but the smaller folds make it harder to shape. It’s ideal for small details such as buds and tiny, fringed petals.    

Tissue paper is extremely lightweight crepe paper (often under 30 gsm). Still, handmade tissue paper flowers make excellent, if more casual, decorations. 

Perhaps you’re wondering how to make crepe paper flowers from streamers, as rolls of crepe paper are in most stores and super affordable. While the material could work for practice pieces, streamers are limiting due to their narrow shape and relatively low quality. For lasting pieces, sheets of crepe paper are superior to streamers.  

Your other paper supply options include:

  • Double-sided, or doublette, crepe paper is two pieces of crepe glued together. It is thick and doesn’t stretch much, so it quickly gets expensive. The upside is its two sides of different colors.  
  • Metallic crepe paper won’t necessarily make the most realistic flowers but can certainly elevate style for the right occasion. 
  • Water-resistant crepe paper usually comes in 140 gsm and won’t bleed color if it comes into contact with moisture. 

Many artists prefer Italian and German crepe paper for flowers. Popular brands include Cartotecnica Rossi, Carte Fini and Lia Griffith.

Other Flower-Making Materials

Beyond crepe paper for the blooms and buds themselves, you’ll need materials for stems and other structural elements:

  • Floral wire
  • Floral tape
  • Scissors
  • Glue
  • Flower petal templates 

Cricut machines cut materials like paper and vinyl for various craft projects. Artists may create Cricut paper flowers when filling large orders to save time and ensure accuracy. 

Ideas for Giant Crepe Paper Flowers

What’s more magical than giant crepe paper flowers? Imagine making an entire garden to walk through! 

Craft massive blooms for:

  • Bridal or baby showers
  • Weddings
  • Nature-themed birthday parties
  • Permanent home decor
  • Unique homemade gifts

Honor the seasons when you:

Cherry Blossom Crepe Paper Flowers

Cherry blossoms are delicate and perfect for a range of occasions. Emily Paluska offers a paper cherry blossom lesson in her papercraft flower lesson. In five steps you can make 10 blooms on a branch.

A smiling artist holds up her finished crepe paper cherry blossom branch with pale pink flowers and green leaves.
Emily shows us what the finished crepe paper cherry blossom branch will look like. Credit: Class Papercraft Flowers: Beautiful, Lifelike Florals Anyone Can Make by Emily Paluska

You’ll need:

  • 10 white paper rectangles, about two inches long and one inch wide
  • 20 gauge white floral wire
  • Glue
  • Ground turmeric
  • 13 strips of pale pink paper, about one foot long and one inch wide
  • Sharp scissors
  • Petal template
  • 10 green paper squares, about one inch
  • 13 thin strips of green (same green as squares), about one foot long, no more than an inch wide
  • Extra sheets of green for the leaves
  • 18 gauge craft paper wire, about 18 inches
  • 6 strips of brown paper, about one foot long and one inch wide

1. Stamens

The stamens are clusters of white stems with powdery, yellowish tips.

  1. Cut fine fringe down two-thirds of the long edge of the 10 white rectangles.
  2. Twist the fringe gently with your fingers to make tiny stems.
  3. Dip the ends of the twisted fringe in glue and then into the turmeric.
Close up of an artist dipping white fringed crepe paper into glue and ground turmeric while making crepe paper cherry blossoms.
Dip the tips of fringed crepe paper into glue then turmeric to make realistic cherry blossom stamens.   Credit: Class Papercraft Flowers: Beautiful, Lifelike Florals Anyone Can Make by Emily Paluska
  1. Glue the bottom, uncut edge of the rectangle and wrap tightly around the white wire.
  2. Repeat for the other nine white rectangles.
An artist holds up a tiny cluster of white and yellow crepe paper stamens. They are for the center of her crepe paper cherry blossoms.
Emily shows what the finished bunch of crepe paper cherry blossom stamens should look like. Credit: Class Papercraft Flowers: Beautiful, Lifelike Florals Anyone Can Make by Emily Paluska

2. Petals

Each cherry blossom has five petals.

  1. Fold the 10 pink strips accordion style for five layers.
  2. Use a petal template guide to cut through the layers. 
  3. Shape the five petals into a gentle cup with your thumbs and forefingers. 
  4. Dot glue at the bottom of a petal and gently stick it to the stem, lining up the petal bottom with the stamen bottom. Don’t press too tightly on the bottom of the petal.  
  5. Attach the other four petals the same way, each halfway overlapping the previous one. 
  6. Attach the fifth petal overlapping the fourth halfway. Tuck the other half of the fifth petal in front of the first petal to create a continuous, spiral type arrangement.   
  7. Firmly press the petals to the stem once all five are in place. 
  8. Open the petals while the glue is still wet to ensure correct positioning.  
  9. Repeat for the other nine strips and stamens for 10 flowers. 
An artist carefully opens the petals on a new crepe paper cherry blossom.
Once the petals are glued in place, open them while the glue is still wet to ensure each piece is exactly where you want it.  Credit: Class Papercraft Flowers: Beautiful, Lifelike Florals Anyone Can Make by Emily Paluska

3. Stem

The green stems attach flowers to the branch. 

  1. Cut the 10 green squares to look like rows of grass.
Close up of an artist cutting long triangles into a small, green crepe paper square to look like a patch of grass.
Snip angles into the green crepe paper squares to make them look like rows of grass. These will be small leaves that curl up under the petals.  Credit: Class Papercraft Flowers: Beautiful, Lifelike Florals Anyone Can Make by Emily Paluska
  1. Dot glue along the uncut, bottom side of the square.
  2. Wrap the grass square around the stem just below the petals. The grass blades should cup the underside of the petals.
An artist points to small, green paper leaves she’s placed on the underside of crepe paper cherry blossom petals.
Emily demonstrates how the tiny rows of grass wrap around the stem to gently cup the cherry blossom petals.  Credit: Class Papercraft Flowers: Beautiful, Lifelike Florals Anyone Can Make by Emily Paluska
  1. Dot glue along the 10 green strips of paper and tightly wrap the strip down the stem, beginning where the green grass square ends.
  2. Repeat for the other nine stems. 

4. Buds and Leaves

The buds and leaves join the blooms along the branch. 

Your buds should look like cotton swabs:

  1. Dot glue along a thin pink strip and attach one end to the top of a small length of wire. Hold for a minute for the glue to set. 
  2. Wrap the strip around the top twice so it’s well anchored. 
  3. Pull the strip over the top of the wire to make a rounded end, like a cotton swab. 
An artist wraps a thin strip of pink crepe paper around the top of a wire to make cherry blossom buds.
Wrap a strip of pink crepe paper over and around the floral wire tip to create a cotton swab shaped cherry blossom bud.  Credit: Class Papercraft Flowers: Beautiful, Lifelike Florals Anyone Can Make by Emily Paluska
  1. Press the rounded pink strip to the top of the wire. It’s alright if it looks messy. 
  2. Wrap more of the strip around the top to cover the mess and make a smooth cotton swab shape.  
  3. Dot glue along a thin green strip and attach an end to the bud, leaving some pink peeking out at the top.
  4. Wrap the green strip a few times around the lower bud, then continue down the wire. 
  5. Repeat for two more buds and stems.
View from above as an artist wraps green crepe paper around a tiny, pink paper cherry blossom bud.
Notice how a little of the pink bud peeks out from the top of the green crepe paper Emily wraps around the stem. Credit: Class Papercraft Flowers: Beautiful, Lifelike Florals Anyone Can Make by Emily Paluska

You’ll have eight leaves – three large and five small:

  1. Fold a piece of green paper accordion style for three layers and cut out three large leaves according to a template. 
  2. Repeat to make 5 smaller leaves.
  3. Gently shape the leaves into a cup with tips pointing downward.

5. Put the Branch Together

It’s time for the final product:

  1. Dot glue along the brown strips of crepe paper.
  2. Wrap one strip smoothly and tightly along the entire length of the craft paper wire. 
  3. Bend the first inch or two of the wire for a natural branch shape.
  4. Dot glue at the bases of the three large leaves. Attach them in a triangular pattern about an inch below the bend with the points downward.
  5. Wrap another brown strip around the leaf bottoms to secure and blend them into the branch. 
  6. Bunch five blooms about two inches below the leaves, ensuring stems are flat together against the side of the branch. Wrap a brown strip tightly and smoothly around all six pieces of wire.
An artist holds five crepe paper cherry blossoms against a faux branch, preparing to attach the stems with more paper.
Emily presses the five cherry blossoms against the branch, preparing to attach them with more brown crepe paper.  Credit: Class Papercraft Flowers: Beautiful, Lifelike Florals Anyone Can Make by Emily Paluska
  1. Repeat step 6 with the three buds, about three inches below the flowers at the front of the branch. 
  2. Glue two small leaves on either side of the buds, attaching and blending with more brown strips as needed. 
  3. Bunch the remaining five blooms two or three inches below the buds and leaves, attaching as you did the first bunch. 
  4. Glue the bases of the three remaining small leaves in a triangular pattern around the bottom five blooms (tips pointing downward). Attach and blend with more brown strips as needed. 
  5. Use brown paper strips to cover the paper craft wire entirely, including both ends. 
  6. Gently bend the branch for a natural look, and bend flower stems as needed to suit your design. 

Marigold Crepe Paper Flowers

Crepe paper marigolds are the perfect addition to your Día de los Muertos rituals. The yellow-orange blooms may include stems but work as simple flowers sitting on an altar. 

You’ll need (all crepe paper in yellows and oranges):

  • 1, 10-inch crepe paper strip, about an inch wide
  • 4, 11-inch crepe paper strips, about two inches wide
  • Craft paper wire, about one foot
  • Floral wire
  • Sharp scissors
  • Glue

1. Make the Center

Create tiny petals at the center of the marigold.

  1. Fold the 10-inch strip in half and cut a fine fringe down the entire 10 inches (NOT from the folded edge), about halfway into the width.
  2. Dot glue along the uncut length of the folded strip. 
  3. Wrap tightly around one end of the craft paper wire (paper should stick out past the wire). Fluff out the fringe center petals.

2. Make the Petals

Repeat these steps for each of the four, eleven-inch strips. They will all fit on one wire. 

  1. Fold the strips in half along their entire length, then fold in half the other way three times to get 16 layers of one-inch wide crepe paper.  
  2. Cut a half-inch wide fringe down the entire length of the 16 layers of paper (NOT from the folded edge).
  3. Round the corners of the fringed pieces to make them look like small petals. 
  4. Unfold the strips completely. They should still be 11 inches long and scalloped on both long edges. 
  5. Run glue down the middle of the strips, and place floral wire over the glue. Fold the strip over the wire 
  6. Gently bunch the folded scalloped strips together along the wire to make one long, tight strip of petals. Be careful not to tear the paper.  

3. Put the Marigold Together

Put the petals around the center.

  1. Wrap the wire of bunched petals around the center, adding glue to the folded base of petals as you go. 
  2. Wind the excess floral wire around the craft wire to secure it.
  3. Fluff out the petals as needed.
  4. Cut the craft wire so the bloom can sit on your altar or other surface.  

Enjoy Your Durable Decor

Crepe paper flowers last for ages if they stay dry and untouched. It’s tough to beat them as a creative outlet and versatile decoration. Have fun astounding your friends and family with your fancy new skills!  

Written By
Katie Mitchell

Katie Mitchell

Katie lives in Michigan with her husband, kids and pets. She enjoys cooking, travel and live music.

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