What you need to make beautiful crepe paper flowers

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Have you seen the absolutely gorgeous crepe paper flowers on Instagram and Pinterest? 

I have been wanting to try making them for years but I was intimidated because the ones I saw were so beautiful.

In March, Lia Griffith was celebrating National Craft Month by giving out a mystery box of supplies from her shop every week.  

I was lucky enough to win the final box given away.  Keep reading to see what was in the mystery box. Hint: It was loaded!

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Felt Paper Scissors – Craft Materials and Tools Shop

Most of the products I show or mention in this post were in the prize box that I won from Lia Griffith from her National Craft Month Giveaway on Instagram.  I am so excited to have won these amazing products.

What I now know is that it is so much easier to create beautiful flowers when you have the right instructions and the right supplies.

Making my first crepe paper flower

I was so excited to receive the box, I created my first flower right away following the steps in her book Her instructions are easy to follow and they include the list of supplies needed and photos of the steps to go along with the written steps. 

I chose an Iris because It only had a few template pieces, and it was a pattern that had two piece petals that were glued together with wire inside which is something I had really been wanting to try.

Since I was just making one flower and only had three pattern pieces I just put a piece of copy paper over the pattern in the book, traced it, and then cut them out.  

Next, I cut out the tissue paper making sure to follow the direction of the pattern piece on the crepe paper as Lia explains. Her instructions work with the crepe paper so the flowers turn out so natural looking.

I cut my wire and glued the wire and the petals together

I shaped the petals and colored them with the Pan Pastels.  I used Bright Yellow Green to brush down the center of the petal from about the middle to the bottom.  Then Magenta Tint to give it a lighter color from the middle of the petals down, and finally Light Gold on the bottom

Then I glued the wired petals to the thicker floral wire which is the stem.

Next I wrapped the stem with floral tape and added the leaves.
Since I did not have green floral tape available, I used some pink floral tape and colored it green using an alcohol ink marker.

Finally, I shaped the leaves by stretching and gently twisting the crepe paper and bending the wired petals into the shape of Iris flower petals.

What you need to make crepe paper flowers

I wish I hadn’t waited so long to try making crepe paper flowers.  You can get started with just a few basic supplies, or you with more supplies you will be able to create unbelievably realistic looking blooms and flower arrangements from paper. 

Here are the absolute basic supplies needed to make crepe paper flowers

Crepe Paper
Scissors
Glue
Floral wire 16 or 18 Gauge 

That was all I used to created this pretty purple Crocus (and Lia Griffith’s crocus template).
I used strips of crepe paper instead of floral tape to wrap the floral wire.

You can try to find some templates or instructions online but after going through Lia Griffith’s book, I highly recommend the book.
The way she created the patterns for her flowers and how they work with the crepe paper are what make them turn out so beautiful. 

It is definitely a book for people like me that have never made crepe paper flowers before, but there are plenty of projects for continuing to develop your skills, or for someone with experience.

The book begins with an explanation of the different types of crepe paper.

Then, she explains and shows different materials and tools needed to create the flowers in her book. She shows what, why, and how she uses the different supplies to give her flowers a realistic look.

There are 21 flower patterns included in the book and a set of text weight paper leaves that you can trace and cut out yourself, OR she has included a link to download PDF files to print and cut by hand AND she has included SVG cut files so you can cut the crepe paper out using a rotary blade installed in your Cricut Maker or Silhouette Cameo 4.

Finally, she even goes into detail on how to create arrangements with your flowers from boutonnieres to garland to centerpieces and more! 

Just follow the step by step instructions to make beautiful, realistic looking crepe paper flowers.

Additional supplies for creating gorgeous crepe paper flowers

When you are ready to expand your skills you can add more supplies. 

You might want to order them when you order your basic supplies though because once you start creating even the basic flowers, you will want to make more.

Crepe paper:
Heavy, Extra Fine, or Double Sided, in assorted colors

You can now buy single color packs of Lia Griffith’s crepe paper! This is so great for making garlands, bouquets, and arrangements where you want to make multiple flowers the same color, or if you want to make giant flowers.

Floral wire 24 or 26 gauge Green and White
(if you only get one color, go with white)

Floral Tape
(Cream colored tape can be colored with markers)

Glue
PanPastel Pigments
Paper Balls
Markers
Oven Bake Clay

Tools:
Micro-tip scissors
Needle Nose Pliers/Wire Cutter 
Paper Curling and Scoring Tool
Hot Glue Gun 
Paint Brushes
Sponges
Cutting Mat

Optional:
Silhouette cameo 4 with rotary blade or Cricut Maker with rotary blade

Making crepe paper flowers is a whole hobby in itself.  You can make a flower here and there for fun or create big beautiful arrangements and backdrops.  

“Just remember, what makes mother nature so beautiful are her exquisite imperfections.”

Lia Griffith

I repeated that to myself many times while creating my flowers.

What a surprise!

Back to the contest, March is also my birthday month (probably why I like crafting so much).  My birthday had just been the previous week and I had placed my first order of crepe paper from Lia Griffith’s website (I actually received the mystery box before I got my order, it all happened so fast).  

I saw Lia Griffith’s post on Instagram about the contest.  Since I already follow her, I just had to like the post and I tagged my sister to show her the awesome contest. Two days later I received a DM that I was the winner! By Saturday I had the box full of $300 worth of craft goodies from Lia Griffith’s shop.

It was so incredible opening the box.  I recorded an unboxing video to share in the joy.

Here are the amazing tools and supplies that were included in my mystery prize box.  Most of these supplies and some other helpful supplies for crepe paper flower making are linked above or available here on Amazon.
Some of the supplies in the photo and other Lia Griffith products are available in her shop.

Crepe Paper Flowers: The Beginner’s Guide to Making and Arranging Beautiful Blooms Book
Cutting Machine Crafts – Cricut, Sizzix, or Silhouette: Die Cutting Machine Projects to Make with 60 SVG Files Book
Lia Griffith Crepe Paper Peony Kit
Lia Griffith Heavy Crepe Paper Pack Botanical Garden
Lia Griffith Extra Fine Crepe Paper Pack Secret Garden
Lia Griffith Extra Fine Crepe Paper Pack Metallic
Lia Griffith Extra Fine Crepe Paper Coral
Lia Griffith Waxed Tissue for Food Treats
Lia Griffith Camellia Flower Kit
Lia Griffith Dahlia Flower Kit
Lia Griffith Frosted Craft Paper Pack Melon 
Pan Pastel Artist’s Painting Pastels 7 color pack 
Fiskars Needle Nose Pliers/Wire Cutter
Fiskars Rotary Cutter
Fiskars ⅛” Hole Punch
Fiskars Micro Tip  Easy Action Scissors
Fiskars Comfort Detail Knife
Fiskars Silicone Mat
Fiskars Self Healing Desk Mat
Fiskars Folding Self Healing Mat with Silicone Pad
Fiskars Gel Pens
Fiskars Spring Stamp Set
Cricut Acrylic Ruler

For even more projects, help, and to be part of a community of crafters, you can join Lia Griffith’s monthly membership to learn a variety of craft projects you can make every month.

Make your own crepe paper flowers

I hope you are inspired to try making crepe paper flowers.  Once you get the supplies needed and learn some basic steps, you can start creating your own beautiful handmade flowers that you can enjoy for seasons to come. 

Crepe paper flower inspiration

Some of my favorite paper flower artists on Instagram:

LiaGriffith
FlowerandJane
JessieatCraftedtoBloom
IngaIlzePeterson
TheLovelyAve
PinkandPosey

A flower I am really looking forward to making is a crepe paper Peony. Which flower are you most excited to make?

Best,

Megan

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