
Tissue Paper Sunflowers
These have to be my favorite of all the tissue paper flowers I have made. They are easy, quick and they look real! It took me about 3 hours to make a dozen. I made them while I was watching TV one night.
Here’s Whacha Need
- Yellow and green tissue paper
- Black crepe paper (streamer paper)
- Scissors
- Floral wire
- Wire cutters
- Glue Stick
- Bamboo Skewers or pipe cleaners
- Floral tape
- Pencil
- Something with a 4 to 4 1/2 inch diameter to trace and an 1 1/2 inch diameter to trace
How’s How Ya Do It
First, make a flower template on a piece of paper. To do this trace something that is about 4 to 4-1/2 inch diameter. I used a vase.
Before I go any farther I do apologize for these pictures. It was raining hard and very dark. Lighting was terrible for taking pictures.
Continuing on…
I cut out the circle and folded it into fourths to find the middle, the traced a smaller circle (about 1 1/2 inch) in the center.
Next, fold in half 4 times then open back up. I used the creases in the paper as a guide to place the petals.
The petals were free-handed.
Do this to half of the flower the fold back in half and cut out petals.
Fold the long side of a piece of tissue paper as wide as the template. Cut leaving a folded edge. Fan fold the paper as big as the template as many times as possible. This way you can cut out several flowers at once.
Lay the template on top and trace.
Before you cut, line up all the folds and hold them in place with a paper clip. You still need to be careful to keep them lined up as you cut. Open up the flowers and press open the petals on the fold.
Fan fold the crepe paper 16 times.
Using the same thing you traced for the middle of the flower trace a circle on the crepe paper. Cut out and leave stacked.
Stack 3 flowers on top of each other making sure petals are staggered.
Lay the crepe paper circle in the middle.
I used two sewing machine needles to make holes in the center of the flower. I left the first in to help me hold everything in place while I poked the second needle through.
Remove the needles and insert wire ends through both holes.
Pull wire through.
Twist wire together all the way down. I only showed you part of the twisted wire.
Take the first layer of crepe paper and scrunch it together.
Do all 16 layers, one at a time.
One at a time, scrunch up each flower around the black crepe paper.
This was hard to demonstrate and take pictures. Using your fingers carefully spread the flowers and the outer edge of the center out. This “opens up” the flower.
Whew!!! We are half way there!!!! Done with the flower part. Now for the leaves and the stem.
Ok. First make a template of the leaf on paper. This is white paper. I think the blue from my curtains reflected off and gave this a blue tint.
Fan fold the tissue paper several times to fit the leaf template. I folded the whole sheet. Trace the template several times and cut the out. Leave them stacked.
I used 3 leaves per flower and made 12 flowers so, I needed to cut 36 pieces of wire about 3 inches long.
Dip the wire into the glue to cover as much wire as the leaf is long.
Lay wire on top of leaf.
Lay another leaf on top of that. Let dry while you make the green bud leaves.
Ok I admit it. I forgot to take pictures of each step for this, but I know you intelligent enough to figure this out. Free hand something that looks like a 6 pointed star. I did make a template first. And like before I fan folded the paper to fit so I can cut out several at a time.
Using a glue stick put some glue on the bottom of the flower.
Poke a hole in the center and slide up to glue to the bottom of the flower.
Now the tricky part. Place the pointed end of the bamboo stick at the bottom of the flower right next to the wire. You can wrap the wire around the stick if you want. Using floral tape start wrapping the wire and sticks close to the flower as you can get. Continue to wrap down the stick.
Wherever you want to add a leaf, place it on the stick and keep wrapping with the floral tape. Do this with all 3 leaves.
When you are done it should look something like this.
Man!! I think it took me longer to type up the directions than it did to make all the flowers!!! My fingers are tired!!!!
Flowers are a great way to share with others how much God love them. Just look closely at a flower and notice all the detail God puts into one. Jesus said, “not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.” (Matthew 6:29) If God puts that much attention and detail into a flower that is here today and gone tomorrow, how much more attention and detail will He put into you and your life? When people compliment you on these sunflowers cease the opportunity and share with them how God has met your needs and there really is nothing to worry about. (Matthew 6:25-34) Tell them that God takes delight in every detail of their life. (Psalm 37:23)
Hope you enjoy these as much as I do!!! Happy making!