Last week I featured a tutorial for paper flowers but now we are on to BIGGER paper flowers. These large paper flowers would be great on a tablescape like this one or even as a centerpiece or they would also look great hanging.

Here is the tutorial found at Scissors:

Supplies needed: templates, 24″ x 36″ thick paper, pipe cleaners, scissors, pencil, hole punch, double sided tape.

The template for the largest flower, labeled “one,” requires two pieces of 8 1/2″ x 11″ paper, so first step is to print out all of the templates, second is to tape the “one” template together. Now trace the templates on your 24″ x 36″ piece of paper.  There is also a template included to show you how to maximize your piece of paper.

Cut out each shape, and then cute a 1″ to 1 1/2″ slit in the bottom of each petal.  You are cutting this slit so that you can “boat” the flowers by folding them and giving them a more structured shape.

Now that you have cut the slit, attach a piece of double stick tape to one or both sides of the slit, and bring one side over the other to create tension in the paper (“boating” the flowers).  Next punch holes about 1″ up from the bottom of each petal.  For the larger petals, punch a hole about 2″ in from the sides.  For the small petals, you will be punching closer to the edge.

Start by putting together the innermost smallest petals.  You will make two bunches of three petals each for the smallest petals.  Use the pipe cleaner to attach the petals by looping through two pieces of pipe cleaner and then twisting them on the back.  Make one bunch tighter than the other with no space between the petals to serve as your innermost bunch.

Then take the smaller, tighter bunch and put it through the one with a little more spacing to create one joint flower.  Twist the pipe cleaner in the back to secure.

Making the middle and largest petals is very similar.  Use two pieces of pipe cleaner to secure the petals as shown above, leaving a center hole so that you can attach each new layer.  For the largest flower petals, you may need to twist two pieces of pipe cleaner together to make a longer piece.

Put the small bunch you already put together inside of the medium bunch, attach the pipe cleaners by twisting. Do the same now with the medium bunch and put them throw the large bunch, twist pipe cleaners as needed.  We kept our pipe cleaners long so that we could use them to manipulate and stand the flowers, but feel free to cut them  after twisting if they are getting in the way.

And here are the finished flowers!  The instructions are the same for all shapes, and it looks best to mix up your shapes, colors and sizes slightly to get an effect like this:

Here are the templates for your downloading pleasure:

Download RPSPointedFlowerTemplate Download RPSRoundedFlowerTemplate Download RPSScallopFlowerTemplate