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This paper poinsettia is made from five squares of paper, a pair of scissors and a little glue. No punches, no templates and no shaping tools. Cardmaker Sarah Trebilcock folds each square into a wedge, cuts one curved line, and pleats in the veins. When you open it up, the petals already have that ruffled, dimensional look. Stack a green leaf layer and three or four red layers, add a few gold beads to the middle, and you have a flower about 3 1/2 inches across.
Use paper, not card. Card is too thick to fold into a wedge and cut cleanly. Double sided scrapbook paper works well because the colour shows on both sides of the petals. Green for the bottom layer, red for the rest. Sharp small scissors, tweezers, a strong precision glue and some beads, gems or pearls for the centre are all you need.
Each square is half an inch smaller than the one before. That spacing lets every layer peek out from under the next. For a bigger flower to sit on a wreath or a gift, start with a 6 inch square and keep the same half inch steps. For a small one on a card, start at 3 inches.
Folding the square into a wedge stacks all five petals on top of each other. One cut through the stack shapes every petal at once, the same way you cut a paper snowflake. The pleats you add before opening run through every layer too, so each petal gets its own veins and a gentle cup without curling or ball tools.
Glue one to the front of a Christmas card. Tuck a few into a wreath or garland. Use them as gift toppers instead of bows, or scatter them down the middle of the holiday table. They are light enough to hang on the tree with a loop of thread glued to the back.
Try easy paper flowers or paper roses next. Add paper snowflakes to your Christmas decor, put your poinsettia on a Christmas card, or paint a poinsettia.
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Fold five paper squares into a layered 3D poinsettia. An easy project: about 30 minutes. Materials cost about $1 to $2. You need 6 things, including precision craft glue, gold beads, pearls or gems and small sharp scissors. The 10 steps start with cut Graduated Paper Squares for the Paper Poinsettia, fold the Paper Poinsettia Square Into a Triangle, find the Centre Fold Lines on the Paper Poinsettia Triangle and fold the Paper Poinsettia Triangle Into a Narrow Wedge.
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Cut five squares of paper: 4, 3 1/2, 3, 2 1/2 and 2 inches. Make the biggest one green for the leaves and the rest red for the petals. These sizes give a flower about 3 1/2 inches across. For a bigger or smaller poinsettia, change the starting size and keep the half inch steps. Use paper, not card, so it folds cleanly.
A paper trimmer gives you straighter squares than scissors.
Start with the biggest square. If your paper has a right side, place it facing up. It goes inside as you fold but ends up on top when you open the flower. Fold the square in half corner to corner to make a triangle. Then bring one point of the long edge over to the other and pinch a tiny crease to mark the centre.
Only pinch the centre mark. A full fold here leaves an extra line in the petals.
Take the top point of the triangle down to the centre mark and pinch a small crease where it falls. Then fold the straight edge up at a right angle to meet the top point and pinch again. You are only finding lines here, not folding everything flat. These little marks show you where the next folds go.
Sarah draws on the paper so the camera can see the marks. You do not need to.
Keep the centre point in place and swing the straight edge across until it meets your marked point. Crease it. Flip the paper over and bring the other edge across to meet the first fold. A little paper can show past the edge. You now have a narrow, layered wedge with three folds on one side and two on the other.
Keep the side with three folds on your right when you cut.
Near the bottom of the wedge, cut a small nick into the side with three folds. This nick is your stop line. The bottom point holds all the petals together, so you must never cut past it. If you do, you end up with loose petals instead of one flower. Trim off any uneven bits at the open top so you know how much room you have.
Small, sharp scissors make the nick easier to control.
Start as close to the top as you can. Angle the scissors and cut steeply down in a curve, cutting through all the folded layers. Keep curving round until you reach your nick. Cut away all the fold lines on that side so the petals separate at the tips. Your cut makes a long pointed petal shape. Every one will be a little different, and that is fine.
Cut freehand. Flowers look more natural when the petals are not identical.
Before you unfold anything, grip the wedge with tweezers at an angle, running from the base up toward the tip. Bend the paper around the tweezers and squash it flat. Then fold back the other way. Keep folding back and forth like a concertina. These small pleats become the veins and give each petal its ripples without any shaping tools.
No tweezers? Pinch the pleats with your fingers or a fingernail.
Gently open the layers. Unfold the three sections, then open the remaining piece in half to show the last two petals. Some petals will be folded the wrong way, with a mountain fold instead of a valley. Flip those over. Then pinch the tip of every petal so they come to a point. Your green layer of five veined leaves is done.
A poking tool or the tip of a pencil helps open the tight inner layers.
Repeat the same folds, cuts and pleats with each red square, from largest to smallest. Open each one, flip any petals folded the wrong way and pinch the tips into points. The red paper is thinner than the green, so it pleats more easily. You should end up with three or four red petal layers in falling sizes.
Once you have done one, the others go quickly. Sarah talks through the second one faster.
Put a dot of glue in the centre of the green leaf layer and press the largest red layer on top. Turn it so its petals sit between the leaves. Keep stacking the red layers, smallest on top, turning each one a little. Finish by gluing a cluster of gold beads, pearls or gems in the centre for the flower's middle.
Let the glue grab for a minute before adding the next layer.
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How to Make a Paper Poinsettia (Easy Folded Christmas Flower)
E6000
E6000 Craft Adhesive, Clear (3.7 oz)
The industrial-strength craft glue that bonds glass, wood, ceramic, metal, fabric, and concrete. The one adhesive most craft projects reach for.
Gorilla
Gorilla Dual-Temp Full-Size Hot Glue Gun
Dual-temp so it handles delicate florals and heavy materials alike. A precise nozzle and built-in stand make it the everyday craft-table gun.
OLFA
OLFA 18" x 24" Self-Healing Cutting Mat
The pro-standard cutting surface. Gridlines for square cuts, self-healing so blades never leave grooves, and big enough for paper, fabric, and leather.
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