Making Crepe Paper Flowers – The Secrets to Creating Stunning Blooms

I have a love for making paper flowers – all kinds. But I started with making flowers from traditional cardstock. Over time I came to learn and love crepe paper flowers as well. Today I will teach you all the essential supplies you will need to create these DIY paper blooms that are both realistic and last indefinitely.

The Best Crepe paper for Making Crepe paper flowers

Traditionally, I love to work with cardstock for many of my paper flowers, but crepe paper makes any flower imitate its real-life counterpart. This is because crepe paper mimics delicate flower petals better than cardstock.

Cartefini Crepe Paper

So what is the best crepe paper for paper flowers, and where can you find quality crepe paper? I have a few different resources I have used, but my number one go-to is Cartifini Crepe Paper.

Cartifini has lots of colors to pick from, but they also have different weights (thickness) of paper as well – like this heavyweight crepe paper and lightweight crepe paper options.

Lia Griffth Crepe Paper

Next to the Cartefini brand, I love the Lia Griffth brand. One of the benefits of the Lia Griffth brand is that it has continuous grain and does not have the machine grain that some other brands have.

Just Artifacts from Amazon

Just Artifacts is the most affordable crepe paper for making flowers. They have many colors and sets to choose from, making this brand ideal for those just getting started.

How to Cut Petals for Crepe Paper Flowers

Cutting your crepe paper is not like cutting cardstock – the reason being is that there is a grain to the paper. With crepe paper, you always want to cut the petals so that the grain is running vertically along the length of the petal.

Cutting Crepe Paper Petals with Scissors

Crepe paper can be cut with scissors or a cutting machine but let’s first talk about cutting the petals with scissors. First, make sure you have a good sharp pair of detail scissors. To make the process faster when cutting by hand, you can fold the paper and cut 2 petals at once.

Cutting Crepe Paper Petals with a Cricut Machine

Now, if you own a cutting machine like a Cricut Maker, then you can use the Rotary blade to cut crepe paper which makes the process much faster. There are certain rules and tips you need to know for cutting crepe paper on a Cricut.

Cutting with the Grain of Crepe Paper

As I mentioned above, crepe paper has a long grain to it. You need to always cut the length of your petals with the grain of the paper. When cutting with scissors, make sure to turn the template so the ridges of the grain run vertically. When using a cutting machine, place the grain going from top to bottom on your Cricut mat. I find that the fabric grip mat or the standard green mats work best with crepe paper.

Adding Distress Inks and Pigments for Depth and Color

Shading and distressing crepe petal create next-level realistic blossoms. My favorite options are Tombow Distress Inks and Panpastels.

Use ink daubers or ink blending brushes to spread your color from the bottom center of the petals up the center. With ink, the color will dry, but with pan pastels, the color can shed, so after you distress the petals, make sure you spray them lightly with a clear acrylic sealer.

How to Curl and Stretch Your Crepe Petals

The best part of using crepe paper is stretching and curling the petals to look identical to real-life petals.

The two ways to shape your petals:

1. Hold the petal between your thumbs and index fingers, and gently press your thumbs away from each other, cupping the petal. The goal is to shape the middle of the petal – not to stretch the edges.
2. The second option is to use a scraper tool to curl the edges by pressing the tip of the petals around the scraper tool while combing it from the center to the edge of the petal.

Other Supplies for Making Crepe Paper Flowers

There are lots of other supplies that make crepe paper flowers come to life. Here are some of the other resources I always have on my craft desk when making DIY crepe paper flowers.

• Brush markers – Brush makers work great for adding color to the tips of petals or leaves – it can be an alternative to distress ink or pan pastels.
• Floral Tape – To wrap your stems or build your petals, you will need floral corsage tape.
• Mod podge – Mod podge is great for the process of laminating your petals.
• Floral Wire – Wire in 18 gauge to 24 gauge size is best for crepe flower making.
• Clippers – Wire clippers are important for trimming your stems down.
• Rotary blade – Trim down your large rolls of crepe paper with a rotary blade and straight edge.

Beginner Crepe paper flower tutorials

So we have talked about supplies and some techniques, and now I want to show you some of my favorite beginner-friendly crepe paper flower tutorials.

DIY Magnolia Crepe Paper Flowers

Magnolia flowers are quite beautiful, and this Magnolia crepe paper flower tutorial is a great beginner project, and their simplistic beauty is ideal for weddings or showers.

Crepe Plumeria Tutorial

Get started on your crepe blossom journey with this super easy and free tropical plumeria flower template. I have a step-by-step tutorial and free template download there as well.

Crepe Hibiscus Tutorial

Tropical blooms like this hibiscus flower template tutorial are always a favorite of mine because of the vibrant colors.

Crepe Lily Paper Flowers

If you want to learn how to create traditional fresh blooms, take a look at my White Crepe Lily Tutorial.

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