Hi everyone! Happy Friday! I am going back and re-making some of my previous tutorials. Today I am sharing my tutorial on how to make giant paper flowers for a paper flower backdrop. You can make a few to use as decorations, or make a whole bunch to fill an entire wall to use as a photo backdrop at an event or wedding.

UPDATE:

The link to the free template is below the list of supplies.

To order other style paper flower templates from me, click here!
To learn how to make the leaves, click here!

I’ve provided templates for the petals, but they’re really not necessary. With these flowers, you can draw petals in any shape you like! Just make sure make each petal layer smaller than the last. I made these flowers with three layers, but you can always add more or less! In addition, you can also experiment with different types of centers and leaves. So think of this tutorial as just getting down the basic technique.

Disclosure: the following links are affiliate links. If you use my link to make your purchase, I will get a small commission. It does not affect the price you pay. Thank you for using my link. Please note these are products I personally use, but you don’t have to get this specific brand/type for this project.

For supplies, you’ll need:
– Paper – I used 9 sheets of 60lb 8.5″x11 US letter size cardstock. You can try this out with regular copy paper first until you get the hang of it, but I think it looks best with heavier cardstock.
– Scrap piece of cardstock to use as the base
– Hot glue gun
– Scissors – these are my two favorite scissors, but any will work:

Click here to download the free template.

To order other paper flower templates from me, click here!
To learn how to make the leaves, click here!

Here is the video tutorial:

And here is the written tutorial:

First, take your paper and fold it in half, width-wise, and cut.

I have made the template so that the large petal will fit into this half-sheet, and that the smallest petal will fit into a quarter-sheet. you will use 6 half-sheets for the large petal, 6 half-sheets for the medium petal, 3 half-sheets for the small petal, and 3 half-sheets for the flower center.

Stack 6 half-sheets, trace the large petal and cut out.

At the base of the petal, cut a 2″ slit. This will create two flaps.

Flip the petal so that the widest part is on the bottom. Roll the petal away from you, to create a curl.

Now flip the petal back so the base with the two flaps is at the bottom. You will glue the flap so that it overlaps the other. By doing this, it will cause the petals to sit at an angle instead of laying flat. For the outer layers, you do not want your petals to angle too much, so do not overlap the flaps too much. As you move in, the petals should stand straighter, so for your medium and small petals, you want to glue the flaps so they overlap more. If this part is not clear, please see the video for a visual demonstration.

Add a little bit of glue to one flap

and overlap the other. Remember: for the largest petals, you do not want to overlap the flaps too much, or the petals will stand up too straight. Do this to all 6 of the large petals.

Now, you’re going to attach all 6 large petals to form a bowl shape. Add a line of glue to the edge of one petal.

Attach the next petal on.

Continue adding on petals to form a bowl.

Repeat all the steps above for the medium and small petal. Remember: the small petal will fit on half of the half-sheets, so take 3 half-sheets, fold them in half, and then cut, in order to get 6 quarter-sheets for the small petal.

You should end up with 3 petal bowls.

Flip over the largest bowl and glue a small piece of scrap cardstock to the bottom to act as a base. In this exampe, I just used this pink cardstock because I happened to have some leftover.

Now, add some glue to the bottom of the medium bowl and insert it into the large bowl. Next, add some glue to the smallest bowl and insert into the medium bowl.

To make the center of the flower, take your last 3 half-sheets, and fold it in half length-wise.

You are now going to cut a fringe, but make sure you cut from the side that is folded. Don’t cut all the way through; leave about a .5″ gap from the edge.

Once you have fringed the 3 sheets, separate them and begin rolling them up. Use some glue along the way to keep it in place.

Once you have finished rolling up the first sheet, attach it onto the next sheet and continue rolling. Do this until you have rolled all 3 sheets together.

This is what your center should end up looking like. You can use your fingers to separate the fringe and fluff the center up.

Now all you have to do is add glue to the bottom of the center and add it to your flower!

This is a very versatile technique and you can get so many different flowers just by changing the petal shape, size, color, and the center.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this tutorial. If you do decide to try this out, I’d love to see your work!

UPDATE:
To order paper flower templates from me, click here!
To learn how to make the leaves, click here!