Tissue Paper Flowers: The Ultimate Guide

Learn how to make tissue paper flowers with the help of this step-by-step photo and video tutorial. This is your ultimate guide to making, hanging, and decorating with tissue paper flowers!

Have you ever made tissue paper flowers? They are such an easy, inexpensive craft and can be used in so many different ways. This article is the ultimate guide to everything you want to know about tissue paper flowers. I’m sharing ALL of the information you need in one place!

How do you make tissue paper flowers?

Instructions

1. Stack several layers of tissue paper neatly in front of you. (Refer to sizing chart below)
2. Starting at the short end, accordion fold 1 inch sections of the tissue paper until the whole length of the tissue paper is folded together.
3. Secure the center using a stapler. Be sure the staple goes through all layers of the tissue paper.
4. Use scissors to shape both ends of the tissue paper. Scroll down a bit to see a chart of different ways you can cut the ends and how the flower will look.
5. Fan out the folds and begin separating each layer. Fluff and shape the flower until it looks pretty.

Just in case any of that was confusing, I’ve put together a short video tutorial so you can see exactly how to make tissue paper flowers.

Tissue Paper Flower Video Tutorial

How do you make BIG flowers out of tissue paper?

You can easily make tissue paper flowers any size you want by adjusting the starting width of your tissue paper and how many layers you use. The larger the flower, the more layers it needs. Here is a handy reference chart to give you an idea of sizing. The first number is how wide the tissue paper is after you’ve accordion folded it. The second number is how many layers of tissue paper you should use.

How do you make different tissue paper flower shapes?

It’s easy to change the look of your tissue paper flowers by changing the way you cut the ends and how thick you make the folds. I folded tissue paper flowers four different ways below and the four resulting flowers look completely different!

I cut very large petals on the first flower and folded slightly thicker folds and the resulting flower is fluffy and larger scale. The second flower is the very classic scalloped edge. The third flower has pointy edges and the fourth flower has fringe-cut edges.

Another way you can change it up is by folding more than one color of tissue paper together like I did in the last flower example above. Layer a smaller strip of tissue paper over a larger strip to have a different colored flower center or layer different colors that are all the same size for a striped or ombre effect. There are so many different possible variations. Let your imagination go wild!

How do you make tissue paper pom poms?

In my mind, tissue paper flowers are flat on the back and tissue paper pom poms are ball-shaped. There are two ways to make a tissue paper pom pom that is nice and round. You can either make two flowers the same size and attach the flat sides together to get a nice sphere –or– double the number of tissue paper sheets you start with. Sometimes this still leaves the finished shape a little less than perfectly round, so I prefer attaching two flowers together.

How do you hang tissue paper pom poms?

Here are several ways to hang your newly-made tissue paper pom poms:

• Before fluffing the tissue paper (between steps 4 and 5 above), tie a ribbon or fishing line around the middle of the folded tissue paper right where the staple is. After you fluff the tissue paper, the string will be accessible for hanging. I love these clear Command Hooks (affiliate link) that are specially made for party decor. I used them to hang the tissue paper flowers and paper lanterns in one corner of my craft room. See the photo below.
• Use masking or packing tape to attach flat-backed tissue paper flowers to the wall temporarily.
• If you would like to display the tissue paper flowers long-term, use push pins or Command Strips to attach them to the wall. Tape may come undone over time. Just hide the push pins in the fluffy parts of the tissue paper and they won’t even show.

Where’s the best place to buy tissue paper?

Dollar Tree is my favorite place to buy tissue paper, but if you are planning to make a hundred tissue paper flowers for a wedding or something, I suggest buying it from Amazon because they have the best color selection. There are plenty of different sellers, but the target price you’re looking for is about 5-7 cents per sheet. Dollar Tree’s tissue paper is 4 cents per sheet, but it comes in limited colors.

How do you decorate with tissue paper flowers?

This is the fun part! There are so many different ways to use tissue paper flowers. Below are a few creative ideas from around the web. Click on the links below each picture for more information about each tissue paper flower project. If there’s no link, the original source is no longer available.

See why I love tissue paper flowers so much? They are just so inexpensive and versatile and pack a visual punch! Go ahead and give them a try the next time you have the creative itch.

If you like these tissue paper flowers, check out my tutorial for making flowers out of cardstock paper. They turn out so cute!