How to Make Paper Flowers + 15 Ways to Use Them

Paper flowers are the perfectly low-maintenance way to brighten up a room, decorate for parties or make your loved ones smile. Jump on board for a paper flower crash course and get some ideas about what to do with your new skills.

By: Beth Braden

Show: HGTV Handmade

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Photo By: Cassidy Garcia; Styling by H. Camille Smith

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Paper Flowers: Nothing to Sneeze At

Leave the real flowers to the bees and get to work on a garden of DIY paper flowers. Use tissue paper, coffee filters, crepe paper, thin card stock or standard weight scrapbook paper to fold and roll your way to flowery centerpieces, dahlia wall decor and other whimsical accents.

More ideas: Craft a Party-Perfect Blooming Backdrop on a Budget

From: H. Camille Smith

DIY Crepe Paper Flowers

Use crepe paper streamers to craft paper roses, carnations and spider mums. The stems are made of floral wire and green masking tape, and pinking shears give the folded paper petals the perfect edges.

Get the Steps: Three Ways to Make Easy Paper Flowers

From: Marianne Canada

Crepe Paper Flowers Redux

Still have some crepe paper left? Use it to try your hand at peonies, daisies and tulips as well.

Get the steps: How to Make Crepe Paper Flowers

From: Michelle Edgemont

Coffee Filter Flowers

White coffee filters are a blank canvas for a watercolor bath so you can make flowers in soft pastels or loud brights. Ever needed a blue rose? Here's how to get one.

Get the Steps: Make Coffee Filter Flowers

Cupcake Liner Paper Flowers

This paper flower DIY comes together quickly since cupcake liners are already perfectly textured circles. Think of all the color and pattern possibilities for cupcake liner flowers.

Tissue Paper Peonies

These tissue paper peonies are very convincing since they're made with faux floral stamens. No pollen, no problem — and no ants!

Tissue Paper Asters and Mums

These tissue paper flowers come together quickly because they're secured by wrapping a pipe cleaner around the center of paper strips. A few quick snips with the scissors give the petals the proper shape.

Get the Steps: How to Make Tissue Paper Flowers

Rolled Paper Dahlias

Giant paper dahlias are probably the easiest DIY on the list. Grab your scissors, some double-sided tape, plenty of scrapbook paper and a cardboard cake circle (or a cardboard circle you cut yourself) and get to work. These will look great on the wall!

Get the Steps: Easy DIY Craft: Paper Dahlias

Origami Paper Flowers

Try your hand at origami — the Japanese art of paper folding. These paper flowers are a true labor of love, but just think of all the possibilities!

Get the Steps: How to Make Origami Paper Flowers

Easy Paper Orchids

Get the tropical orchid look for a fraction of the cost when you make them out of paper.

Easy Rolled Paper Roses

Rolled paper roses are a super forgiving flower to make. Start by cutting just about any type of paper into a circle, then cut the circle into a spiral, leaving a circle at the middle. Roll it and hold it together with hot glue. Easy, peasy.

Get the Steps: How to Make Rolled Paper Roses

Perfect Paper Gardenias

Delicate gardenias lose their beautiful white hue quickly after they're picked, but the paper form doesn't lose its elegance. Find your hot glue gun; these are well worth the effort.

Easy Paper Mums

This DIY requires some work with scissors to cut out your paper mums, but the rich colors are absolutely stunning. The flower and leaf template will have you well on your way to a pot of flowers that never wilts.

DIY Paper Poinsettias

These low-maintenance holiday flowers are one less thing for you to take care of during the busiest time of the year.

Get the steps: DIY Paper Poinsettias

Ways to Use Your Paper Flowers

The obvious place to use a paper flower is in place of a real one — they're great for bouquets, centerpieces and corsages, but their versatility and relative hardiness (compared to their fresh-cut counterparts) means you can get creative with them. What if you used paper flowers to decorate gift bags, top a cake or create a paper flower photo backdrop?

Get the steps: Craft a Party-Perfect Blooming Backdrop on a Budget

Paper Flower Door Wreath

Who needs a pocket full of posies when you can put them on a wreath and hang them right on your front door?

Get the Steps: Make a Paper Posey Spring Wreath

Paper Flower Gift Box Embellishments

Skip the bow and use a paper flower on top of a gift box.

Frilly Paper Flower Valentine's Decor

Welcome guests to your Valentine's Day party with the whimsy of tissue paper flowers. Create big ones for an overhead statement, and use smaller ones as accents on party favors.

Get the Steps: Make Paper Flower Party Decor

Add Flair to Plain Gift Bags

Personalize solid color or kraft paper gift bags with quick and easy accordion-fold paper flowers.

Get the steps: How to Add Tissue Paper Flowers to a Simple Holiday Gift Bag

Crepe Paper Roses and Hanging Branches

Turn your DIY paper roses (or any other paper flower!) into outdoor decor when you hang them over your patio table. That's one way to dress up a summer dinner party.

Honeybee Pinata with Paper Flowers

These purple tissue paper flowers look like the real thing. Not much into bees for your garden party? You could always make the entire pinata one big flower bouquet.

Get the Steps: Make a Honeybee Garden Pinata

Paper Flower Lanterns

Cheap paper lantern + cheap paper flowers = big money looks in your home or on your patio.

Get the Steps: Make Pretty Floral Paper Lanterns

Paper Tulip Centerpieces

One of the crafts in Paper to Petal: 75 Whimsical Paper Flowers to Craft by Hand by Rebecca Thuss and Patrick Farrell is these amazing paper tulip centerpieces. Tiptoe through the tulips year-round!

Get the Steps: Paper Flowers How-To

Paper Flower Basket

Using DIY paper flowers is a great way to dress up an Easter basket, but the concept really works for any basket.

Get the Steps: How to Make a Paper Flower Easter Basket

Blooming Paper Flower Backdrop

Need a place to take pictures on Mother's Day? Want the perfect backdrop for a bridal shower cake table? Paper flower wall: all the beauty, a fraction of the price and none of the pollen.

Get the Steps: Craft a Party-Perfect Blooming Backdrop on a Budget

From: H. Camille Smith

Paper Flower Garland

Decorate for a wedding shower with paper rosebud garland. Create your paper rosebuds and then hot glue them to ribbon before hanging.

Wedding Confetti Cones With Paper Flowers

For your DIY paper flower wedding chair accent, gather the following materials: printable scrapbook paper, scissors, ruler, pencil, double-sided tape, crepe paper, floral tape and hot glue.

Get the Steps: How to Make Wedding Confetti Cones

Paper Bouquets for Flower Girls

A paper flower bouquet isn't going to wither like fresh-cut flowers, and that means it's a great souvenir for your flower girl to enjoy long after the ceremony is over. Don't limit it to just the kids — the entire bridal party could get in on this!

Get the Steps: How to Make Paper Flowers for a Wedding Bouquet

Paper Flower Bridal Bouquet

If your bridal party bouquets are paper, you don't have to worry about what flowers are in season when you get married, and you sure don't have to worry about busting your budget. Win-win.

Paper Flower Cake Topper

Skip the bride and/or groom figurines and save money on your floral budget by using paper flowers as your wedding cake topper. Don't stop at matrimony — recycle this idea for baby showers, bridal showers and fancy dinner parties.

Get the Steps: Turn Basic Tissue Paper Into a Party-Worthy Flower Cake Topper

Paper Flowers: The Ultimate Amateur Craft

Seriously — anybody can master paper flowers. We recently challenged some of the non-crafty HGTV team members to a paper flower challenge. If they figured it out, you can too.

Watch the Video: Paper Flower Challenge

How to Make Paper Flowers + 15 Ways to Use Them

Related To:

Shop This Look

Paper Flowers: Nothing to Sneeze At

DIY Crepe Paper Flowers

Crepe Paper Flowers Redux

Coffee Filter Flowers

Cupcake Liner Paper Flowers

Tissue Paper Peonies

Tissue Paper Asters and Mums

Rolled Paper Dahlias

Origami Paper Flowers

Easy Paper Orchids

Easy Rolled Paper Roses

Perfect Paper Gardenias

Easy Paper Mums

DIY Paper Poinsettias

Ways to Use Your Paper Flowers

Paper Flower Door Wreath

Paper Flower Gift Box Embellishments

Frilly Paper Flower Valentine's Decor

Add Flair to Plain Gift Bags

Crepe Paper Roses and Hanging Branches

Honeybee Pinata with Paper Flowers

Paper Flower Lanterns

Paper Tulip Centerpieces

Paper Flower Basket

Blooming Paper Flower Backdrop

Paper Flower Garland

Wedding Confetti Cones With Paper Flowers

Paper Bouquets for Flower Girls

Paper Flower Bridal Bouquet

Paper Flower Cake Topper

Paper Flowers: The Ultimate Amateur Craft

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How to Make Crepe Paper Flowers

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