How to Make Crepe Paper Flowers (Easy DIY Wall Flowers)

Start with the base that everything glues onto. Trace a circle about 4 inches (10 cm) across on thick cardstock or cardboard, then cut it out. Oksana used a candle lid as a template, so grab any round household object that's about that size.

The base has to be rigid. If you use thin, flimsy paper here, the finished flower sags and falls apart once all the petals go on. A firm circle keeps the whole bloom holding its shape on the wall.

Use heavy, wood-quality crepe paper for this. Lightweight crepe won't hold the shape of large petals. Cut the sheet in half, then cut two strips: one 7 inches tall and one 6.5 inches tall. From those strips, cut rectangular blanks 3.25 inches wide.

You want fifteen 7-inch blanks and ten 6.5-inch blanks, so twenty-five petals total. The taller ones become the outer rows and the shorter ones fill the center, which gives the bloom its layered depth.

Fold a blank in half lengthwise. Cut in about half an inch from the bottom edge up toward the middle, then round off the top corner. Open it up and you have a symmetrical petal with a narrow base and a rounded top.

Work through the whole stack the same way. Keeping the fold as your guide means every petal comes out the same width, which matters once you start layering them into rows.

Gently twist the top edge of each petal to add a little movement. The more you scrunch and twist, the more ruffled and realistic the petal reads, so shape it to the look you want. Leave them flat for a cleaner style.

Crepe paper has a front and back. The front is the more saturated side, so keep it facing you. Take two petals at a time and stretch only the middle, cupping the paper. Go slow and even so you don't tear it.

Flip the base circle over so you're working on the back. Glue on the first five petals, spacing them evenly around the edge so the gaps between them are about equal. A hot glue gun holds crepe paper fast and dries almost instantly.

This first ring sets the outer diameter of the flower. Take a second to eyeball the spacing before the glue sets, since every row above builds off this one.

Turn the flower back over and add the second row of petals, placing each one over a gap in the first row. Keep working inward row by row, stepping a little closer to the center each time so the layers stack up like a real bloom.

From the fourth row in, lift the petals up instead of laying them flat. Pinch the paper in the middle of the base to stiffen it, bend the bottom edge, then glue it pointing up and toward the center. That's what gives the flower its full, domed look.

The center has two parts. For the pistil, take three paper strips about 4 inches long and just under an inch wide. Twist each one tightly right in the middle, stretch both ends, and fix the twist with a dot of glue. Glue the three pieces together into a small cluster.

For the stamens, cut a strip 12 inches long and 3 inches tall. Fold it a few times and snip a fringe along one edge, leaving about half an inch uncut at the bottom. Twist and curl the fringe, then wrap the strip around the pistil, keeping the bottom edges level.

Set the finished pistil and stamen center into the middle of the flower and glue it down well. Press it firmly so it sits snug against the innermost petals and doesn't wobble.

That's the whole flower. A large crepe paper bloom that reads soft and dimensional, ready to hang on a wall, back a party backdrop, or cluster with a few more in different colors.