Kid Friendly

Paper Peonies

April 10, 2015April 10, 2015 by Lynn Driver

Hey there! I’m Lynn, from Riggstown Road. I’m a homeschooling mom to 5 kiddos, so I love kid-friendly crafts, like these pretty Paper Peonies that my younger kids and I made. They are super easy and fun to make.

One of my favorite things about spring has always been the way my little ones bring me flowers they’ve picked as soon as the flowers start blooming. Children just love giving gifts, and they especially love giving things they made themselves.

Here’s an easy way you and your children can make a pretty bouquet to brighten someone’s day. It’s cheaper than purchasing live flowers, and these last much longer. 😉

You only need a few supplies, and I love that it’s things you probably already have. It’s a great way to use the old tissue paper you saved from the last birthday party. (Am I the only one who does that?)

Table of Contents

SUPPLIES:

Tissue Paper
Floral Tape (1 roll=1 bouquet)
Scissors (regular and patterned edge)
Bendable Drinking Straws
Glue Stick

PREPARATION:

Cut tissue paper into strips, about 6 inches or so wide.
Snip off some 4-inch pieces of floral tape (at an angle) to use as leaves.

DIRECTIONS:

(Kids can do this part!)

Fold one piece of tissue accordion-style. (My daughter says, “like a fan.”)
Cut each end of the folded paper with the patterned-edge craft scissors.
Now make 3 cuts in each end with the regular scissors. Cut through all the layers, and make the cuts about 2 inches deep.
Push in the sides of the paper to the middle.
Fold the paper in half, ends up, so that the “petals” are all together. Hold the bottom tightly and fluff petals a little.
Place a straw (bend-y side up) in a little groove of the bottom of the flower.

(Grown-ups do the next part.)

Hold firmly while you wrap very tightly with floral tape, going round and round several times. (Do not cut the tape off roll yet. Also, be sure straw is not too near bottom of flower, or the straw will slip out of tape later and cause the “stem” to fall off.)
Continue wrapping the straw with the tape. Twirling the stem helps. (Kids can help twirl!)
If you want leaves, hold a snipped-off piece of tape in place where you want it, and just wrap over it and keep going. This is what I think makes the flowers look really…well, real.
Keep wrapping until you pass the end of the straw, cut the tape; add some glue to the tape and wrap it around itself, and pinch tightly to seal.

And there you go…a pretty paper flower!

After the first one or two, they go really fast. Soon you’ll have a whole bouquet.

Make these sweet flowers at

home
church classes
homeschool co-ops
school groups

for a big impact with little effort or expense, but lots of fun!

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