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Everything You Need to Know for Making Easy Paper Flowers

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Two images showing the creation of a variety of paper flowers with a image text overlay that reads everything you need to know about making paper flowers.

In this post, you will learn answers to many beginners frequently asked questions when making paper flowers.

I have been making paper flowers for over 10+ years now and have earned the name the Queen of Paper Flowers in my little corner of the internet. This post is always evolving base on any recurring questions I may receive from customers and readers here on the blog! I’ve got your back, crafty bestie!

You can shop all my designs on my direct site, Catching Colorflies Designs, or in my Etsy shop!

FAQs For Making Easy Paper Flowers

What kind of paper should I use?

Use high-quality cardstock for the best results. I’ve used 176gram/65lb weight. You can find a variety of colors and textures at most craft stores. I use Hobby Lobby & Michaels craft store. And here is one online source I love to use: Cardsandpockets.com

To view ALL my paper resources, read this post on the Best Paper For Paper Flowers.

How do I hang my flowers if I can’t attach them to walls?

I have a variety of ways to hang giant paper wallflowers. I always recommend mounting tape, command hooks, or wire on the back. However, for some of you, that may not be an option if you are using an event space. In this case, I recommend going to your local hardware store and using PVC to build a lightweight frame. You can then cover it with fabric or attach a thick poster board and then attach all your flowers as desired with a hot glue gun. For hanging flowers on fabric, use pins.

How many sheets of paper will it take to make one flower?

A colorful fan of cardstock for paper flowers.

The amount of paper needed to make paper flowers will depend greatly on the style of paper flower you are creating, as well as if you are a beginner, using a cutting machine, or cutting by hand. I have written approximations below so you can prepare them when making your paper flowers.

Giant paper flowers, in general for me, require the following number of 8.5 x 11 cardstock:

  • An extra-large giant flower will take about 16-17 sheets
  • Large giant flower with about 10-11 sheets
  • Medium giant flower, about 5-6 sheets

For rose designs, the amount of paper will increase because we have to build out the rose centers. I recommend planning on adding 20% more paper to the values above for rose designs.

For smaller designs that may be made for a wreath, vase, or to create a paper bouquet, you will use much less for each flower but will probably create more flowers in general since they are smaller.

A colorful paper flower bouquet in a white vase next to pieces to create a flower arrangement.

For small flowers, I generally use the following amount of cardstock:

  • 1-2 pieces of cardstock for the petal layers
  • If there is a center, then 1-2 pieces may be needed.
  • 1-2 pieces for leaves if added

What other supplies will I need?

A blue glue gun spreading glue onto a hot pink paper flower petal.
  • Of course, quality cardstock as mentioned above.
  • If you are not using a cutting machine like Cricut, then you will need a sharp pair of craft scissors (this is important, dull scissors will not make clean-cut edges)
  • Glue gun & sticks. I love my pretty Surebonder high temp glue gun.
  • A wood dowel or bone tool for curling the paper petals.
  • Small designs can be brought to life even further by using my specially designed Paper Blooms shaping mat and toolset! This is optional but a great addition to your craft tools.
  • Patience, everybody makes mistakes and needs time to learn a little. If your first flower doesn’t turn out perfect, just try again!
  • You will notice other supplies in some of my videos, such as pan-pastels, floral wire, etc. For a full in-depth look at my paper flower supply arsenal, read this post!
Multiple colors of inks and pan pastels along with a stamper on a white table.

How do I stem a small paper flower?

Some of my small flower designs build the stem right in, like this full-bloom peony. There are many others that do not, so I have created a step-by-step tutorial here that can help you learn how to stem any small flower!

Looking to stem giant paper flowers? Try using copper tubing for a curvy stem or PVC pipes to create stems!

Can you help me learn my Cricut machine?

I love helping crafty besties at the start of their Cricut journey! I can show you how to upload an SVG cut file here to Cricut Design Space. To make sure you are learning your Cricut the RIGHT way, join my FREE Cricut Freedom Workshop here! Also, check out 16 Questions Every Cricut Newbie Asks!

What if I don’t have a cutting machine?

Don’t worry; I do my best to design petals (especially giant flowers) that are simple enough in nature to hand-cut.
For small bouquets flowers cutting machines are recommended for certain designs that are intricate, although I do provide an outline of the petals if you wish to print and hand-cut the small flowers. Of course, this process takes some extra TCL and patience. But if you are ambitious, then go for it!

Abbi holding a coral paper flower in her work studio.

Please make sure you print using the PDF format for hand cutting. Print on a heavy 50-65lb cardstock (laminate if you can) and use the templates to trace and cut on any paper. This is meant to be a trace-and-cut approach.
You can run each piece of cardstock through your printer using the PDF option; however, this process takes extra time and could cause a printer to jam.

What sizes do you offer?

Most of my traditional giant flowers make a 17-18 inch flower in diameter. Some exceptions, like Ella rose, Hawaiian flower, and Emery, make between a 19-22 inch flower.

For small paper flower designs, most will measure about 3.5-4.5 inches, with a few exceptions, such as the Sunburst Dahlias, which measure over 6 inches. Exact measurements are always written in the description so you know if it is right for you!

I want to make a shadow box. What flower templates do you recommend?

For shadow box crafts, paper rosettes are ideal. Other small designs can work too but it is recommended you resize them to be smaller with the help of a cutting machine, like Cricut.

Small pink and orange paper rosette flowers for shadow boxes.

How do I make my giant flowers extra, extra-large?

I get some crafty besties who want to go really large on their giant flowers. Hey, go big or go home, right?
If you wish for your flowers to be larger, you can always add an additional layer using the extra-large petal; this usually increases the size by about 2-3 more inches. You can also increase your base and add extra layers that way.

The best method for enlarging the petal templates themselves, if you don’t have a cutting machine, is to either send them to a printer for enlargement or use the PNG image included to enlarge to your desired size in a Word doc or a similar program.
Please keep in mind that you can generally only buy nice colored card stock in 8.5×11 or 12×12 so don’t enlarge the templates so big that you can’t cut the petals out.

Can I sell the flowers I make with these templates?

Many colorful paper flowers with image text overlay that reads small business seller's license for Catching Colorflies Designs.

Selling the flower designs created by Abbi Kirsten Collections at Catching Colorflies is allowed only under a Seller’s license agreement.
You will need to purchase the license from Catching Colorflies Designs prior to selling any flowers.
The main rules with the Seller’s license are that you must sell these flowers either through a personal site, e-commerce site, blog, social media account, or offline event business.

  • Designs may not be re-sold on Etsy because this would put me in direct competition with my own work. The ONLY exception to this if you include the flower design as a piece of another product – for example, a shadow box that contains paper flowers or a wood sign with a paper flower on it.
  • Templates may never be resold under any conditions. Selling physical flower kits to teach local classes is allowed with express permission from Abbi Kirsten Collections. Email me at [email protected] to get approval.
  • Perks of using our templates for flower making including a chance to be featured on our social media! Tag us @abbikirstencollections. The current number is over 400,000 combined followers on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest!
  • I also occasionally feature Seller in our email newsletter – this reaches nearly 200,000 email inboxes!
  • All copyrights ultimately remain with Catching Colorflies & Abbi Kirsten Collections.
  • A single line of credit is much appreciated when using the templates (though not required).

Interested in the seller’s license? Purchase yours here! If you have any questions, please contact me at [email protected].

How do I access the files when I purchase in your shop?

Your zip files can be found right after payment clears. We will send an email with a receipt that can take you to your files. Please always check your spam and promotions folders. If you are on Etsy you can also find them under your Etsy account > purchases.

Please download it on a computer and not a phone. If you need help unzipping the files because you are using a mobile device, please simply contact me through the shop and let me know which file type you prefer (PDF or SVG), and I will email them to you personally!

Abbi creating a lavender paper flower with image text overlay that reads how to make paper flowers.

Hey, Crafty bestie! I’m Abbi!

Abbi Kirsten Collections. Abbi smiles in her craft room, surrounded by paper flowers and supplies organized on the wall.

I’m thrilled you are here! I have spent the last 10+ years making messes and magic in my home studio to make the world a more colorful place, one craft at a time! I’m on a mission to nurture the creative magic inside your soul and bring that bursting imagination inside you to life with easy-to-learn tutorials. If you haven’t yet, be sure to join the subscriber community to gain access to all my freebies or visit my signature design shop, Catching Colorflies!

A collage of three images showing pastel paper flowers with image text overlay that reads your top paper flower questions answered!

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