paper poppies

When you hear the word poppies do you immediately think of opium fields and flying monkeys? If so, you’ve probably watched too many Wizard of Oz reruns. I’m talking happy, brightly-colored flowers. Spring bouquets that add a pop of color to a mantle. And you don’t have to only enjoy them in season. By making your own tissue paper poppies, you can keep them around much longer. 

There are lots of tutorials for making paper flowers floating around in cyberspace, but one of my favorites is tissue paper poppies from liagriffith.com.  I thought I’d give it a try (with a few twists of my own), and here’s what I learned.

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supplies used:

• tissue paper in a variety of colors
• bleach
• 1.4 inch foam balls
• floral stem wire
• floral tape
• hot glue gun & scissors

step 1 – prepare the tissue paper

Lia Griffith suggests dipping the ends of tissue paper strips into a mixture of bleach and water. This step is optional, but it adds depth to the flower petals. You can buy ombre colored tissue paper, which is a good substitute for this step. However, I gave the bleach a try. I learned that different types of tissue paper absorb the bleach differently, some less than others. Nonetheless, I was happy with the result.

step 2 – build the flower

I followed Lia’s tutorial fairly closely, but I did use a smaller foam ball to create the pods. I’m not always a strict rule follower, so I didn’t use exact measurements for the circles I cut for the petals. I played around with different sizes and shapes. I also used only pink and yellow tissue paper for the petals; next time I think I’ll strategize more and perhaps use some beautiful red petals with brown and crimson cores.

tips

Keep a hot glue gun handy. Although floral tape is sticky, I reinforced every step with a dab or two of hot glue. Finally, be patient. These poppies are not as quick to make as the crumpled tissue paper pom poms you probably made in high school. So gather your supplies, find a movie on Netflix, and enjoy the process. You’ll gain confidence as you go along. 

The biggest compliment is a little share – please pin the photo below!