This Crepe Paper Roses Tutorial is Pretty Sweet!

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A Super SWEET Crepe Paper Roses Tutorial!

I’m trying something completely new..a crepe paper rose craft! What do I call a decorative vase with nothing in it? Lonely. A lonely vase needs a friend.

Sometimes in the spring, I’ll find wildflowers growing and pick them to put in the vase (filled with water) but of course, these don’t live indefinitely. (Yep, that’s me, one of those weirdo nature lovers)

When it gets too hot to be walking around where I live, which is usually around mid-May, no more flower picking. Now the question is where to get some flowers?

Pin for Later? 🌹

Dun-dun-dun…I’m going to make some, that’s what! I’ve never made paper flowers before, so this is a first time.

About five different kinds were shown…I decided on roses.

🌹 Roses are tricky to paint, but they are universally viewed as symbols of beauty; even the dried petals get a second life!

Materials List

Want to join in? Great! I watched an amazing course on Bluprint that was all about making flowers out of paper; it included downloadable templates for the petals and leaves! If you become a subscriber you can get those as a nice bonus 😊.

In addition you’ll need some crepe paper – there is light and heavy weights, which will both work well.

Regarding the paper’s colors, think about the different colors roses come in naturally…Red, pink, white, peach, and yellow…ALL are good colors to use 🌹

Heavy Crepe Paper, English Garden Color Scheme Floral Tools Wire Cutter Stem Wire 22 – 26 Gauge Premium Crepe Paper Rolls – Shades of Pink

Other materials include:

a pair of pliers
Craft scissors
Some crafting glue (Aleene’s Tacky Glue is a good one for this)
Some floral wire or some that is a good thickness (like 18 gauge)

Steps to Make Crepe Paper Roses

I’ve cut my wire piece….it’s 18 gauge, and yes it’s red, but eventually I am going to wrap it in green crepe paper so it will resemble a natural stem in real life. I have cut out all my petal templates for this project, and am good to go!

First task is to create the inner piece of the flower (it’s commonly known as a “stamen”) I’m no florist, but if you look at flowers close up in real life, you know they have that dark center that the petals radiate from.

I’ve taken a piece of the red crepe paper, and have colored it a little bit darker color. Take a piece of your crepe paper, and cut it into a rectangle shape like this, about 5′ in length….and gently stretch it…crepe paper is flexible, and made to be stretched a little.

You will also notice that it’s got vertical ridges in it. If you want to color over your piece, go with the grain, and color it vertically.

Tip: You can also spray paint the paper…like the edge to create an ombre effect. A light sweeping stroke is enough. (Think I will do that next time!)

Now fold it in half and take your scissors and cut a layer of fringe along one half up to the line where you creased it. It should look like this.

Get your glue and dab a tiny bit going on the edge of the piece in the non-fringed area. Take your wire stem piece and start wrapping the fringed piece, beginning with the glued edge, just twirl it around until it gets to the end. The fringey part should be sticking out like this.

Now I’m going to show you something really cool…if you have any yellow crepe paper, or you can do what I did. I have some colorful party napkins and one of them is yellow. Cut a strips off the edge and cut it into tiny confetti sized pieces and just let them fall into the paper plate.

Squirt some glue into the plate and dip the fringey end of the budding stem into t eh glue and then dip into the yellow confetti – Congrats, you now have the equivalent of that yellow stuff you see in the middle of flowers…don’t know if its pollen, or what but doesn’t that look real?

Set it somewhere it will stick up so it can dry….now we’re going to tackle the petals. Roses are the ultimate in layers…To pull this off well, you need to have different size petals in multiple rows to create a realistic effect. You should also consider alternating your colors of crepe paper too.

Have you ever seen a real rose up close, you notice it has light areas and dark areas naturally occurring? That’s what we want to go for.

If you become a subscriber of Bluprint’s community of amazing craft courses, including this one, not only will you get access to the helpful templates, BUT you’ll also get 15% off kits and materials…now that’s a sweet-smelling deal!

I’m beginning with the template for the first petal and I need to cut 9 of them. To save time, get a long strip of paper and fold it in thirds lengthwise, and then fold it down the middle.

You want to cut a half petal shape around the folded crease so when it’s opened, you get a petal shape. Kind of like when you make snowflakes out of paper by folding it and cutting different shapes and unfolding it to reveal the full shape.

I’m using pink paper and I ran across it with one of my fabric markers using the broad side in a dark pink, to add highlights. Once you have got all the petals cut dab glue on the middle crease of the petal and attach it to the stem right around the fringe area. Repeat with the other petals.

Pro Tip: As you build up the layers of petals, try to increase the petal size by a little bit more with each layer.

Creating the Stem

Now we’re going to craft the leaves…three or four that flank the rose on the underside. I used triangular skinny green paper pieces to create these. Glue them on last.

To tackle the long stem…you may have some stray green crepe paper….if there are any long strands take one and dab a little glue on one side, and then attach to the underside where the leaves went. Spin the rose in one hand while you hold the paper strand in the other, so the paper will cover it evenly.

Glue off the end piece….Last thing we need to do, after letting the glue dry, is some finishing touches.

Add the Finishing Touches

The petals of your newly made crepe paper roses may be a tad stiff, so we’re going to do a little tweaking of the petals to make them look more natural.

You can use the blade of your scissors, and /or a pencil or chopstick, and wrap the petals and leaves under to give them a naturally curled look.

Did You Miss Something?

Wow…that rose is looking pretty sweet! Just one or two is eye catching. This vase of mine is kind of dainty looking, so I thought two roses was just right, Only thing I wish they had was a sweet fragrance…LOL. I guess you can’t have everything ❤️️