Craftberry Bush

Crepe Peony Tutorial

Crafts & DIY· flowers· paper· Paper Crafts· Photography· spring

I have been playing with paper again and creating pretty little flowers. 
No rhyme or reason…just my tulips were looking a little lonely and because…
…I ran into this photo in my inspiration folder last week.
 This photo was posted last year on one of my favourite sites
I wanted to challenge myself to see if I could make a flower
 similar to the one pictured above. I think it’s pretty close,
don’t you?  I like the way the stamen looks pretty realistic.
I wanted to make variations of peonies and after some trial and error.
I finally figured out how to make this pretty little one as well. I think this
one is my favourite, perhaps because it took me the longest to figure out.
Clearly, I was over-thinking it as I failed to realize I had
used the method several times before.  I will share the
tutorial of this particular flower later in another post.
I wanted to have varying shades of pinks, yellows and oranges,
 so I decided to dye white crepe paper instead of using the already
colored paper.  On my previous attempts to make crepe flowers,
 I used watercolor and a more complex method (see it here).
What I did this time is much faster and yields similar results.
So let’s get started…
Crepe Peony Tutorial
Materials:
White crepe paper
Yellow and Red food coloring
Microwave safe plate
Scissors
Floral wire
Floral tape
Hot glue gun or quick drying glue
Yellow embroidery thread
Double sided tape

1. Add food coloring to a deep dish full of water. I used three drops of red and two drops of yellow for the outer petals and three drops of yellow and one drop of red for the inner petals.  Experiment with the amount of food coloring to achieve the look you want.
2. Cut a 4″x4″ square of crepe paper across all the folded layers and dip into the food coloring mixture. Make sure that the color penetrates through all the layers.
3. Allow paper to drip dry for a couple of minutes. I simply hang the paper off the side of the bowl.
4. Place paper on a microwave safe dish and heat for 30-40 seconds at a time (time for drying will vary according to thickness of paper and make of microwave).  Please make sure you monitor the drying process and do not exceed more than 40 seconds at a time. The paper will burn in the centre if left in the microwave for too long.
5. Once paper is dry, cut several petals at once (not pictured) making sure the grain runs with height. 
6. Sculpt petals using cupping technique. You do this by holding either side of a petal with your thumbs and forefingers. Slowly stretch the entire width of the petal with both hands, using the thumbs to push into and cup the petal and the forefingers to stretch the paper away from the thumbs. 

7. To make the stamen, wrap the embroidery thread around your middle and index fingers approximately 9 times.
8. Slip thread off fingers and cut top and bottom loop.
9. Tape thread onto double sided tape as shown; set aside.
10. Form a ball from a scrap piece of crepe paper and wrap with another piece of crepe paper as shown.
11. Insert floral wire in the centre and tape around with floral tape.
12. Take the double sided tape and thread and tape around stamen.
13. With glue gun or quick drying glue, start gluing petals around stamen (I started with the lighter shades of yellow).
14. Continue with the pink petals and glue all around until desired size is achieved.


These put a smile on my face…:) 

I hope they do the same for you! 
Thank you so much for taking time to visit. 
If you have any questions about the tutorial, please leave
 a comment and I’ll answer within the comment section
 in case someone else has the same question.
Have a great day!
much love,

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Comments

  9. I saw these in my news feed this morning, I thought beautiful flowers! I was them again in my news feed this afternoon with the heading, make these! What the what, I thought they were real, JUST AMAZING!!!!

    Reply

  16. Lucy, these are stunningly realistic looking. I just bought two books on making crepe paper flowers and I can’t wait to give it a try.

    Your petals here are so pretty and delicate, I hope I can get mine to look half as good.

    Always a pleasure to see your lovely projects and get inspired.

    Have a great week and happy spring!

    Lisa

    Reply

  27. Hi! I loved this so much I’m thinking about doing this as center pieces for my wedding!!! Could you share how to make the little flowers too??? And if you have any other DIY flower project, I would ABSOLUTELY appreciate it!

    Thank you!!!!!

    Reply

  30. Love your flowers, simply stunning! Could you share what brand of crepe paper you used on the peonies please? I’m having trouble getting good results with the crepe I’m using. Thanks

    Reply

  32. I was totally speechless as I looked at your awesome creations. Your site is a gift to my heart! Thank you so much!!!!!

    Reply

  33. Querida!
    Eu nunca vi flores de crepon tão lindas e maravilhosas! parecem de verdade ou um truque fotografico! Elas são tão maravilhosas que eu não acho que eu seja capz de fazer.
    Eu usei o tradutor do crome e analizei as fotos mas ainda estou com dificuldades.
    eu realmente gostaria de faer as suas flores, voce teria como ajudar-me? tem algum video ou mais fotos?
    obrigada!
    Parabéns pelo trabalho é sensasional!

    Reply

  34. Hi. I’m curious as to how many flowers you think could be made from one roll of crepe paper. Could you guess at a possible number for me?

    Reply

  35. LOVE THESE! I am wanting to make some flowers like these for my daughter’s birthday! But, I can’t figure out an easy place to buy crepe paper, where do you get yours?

    Reply

  36. Hi Lucy, I just found you and your wonderful blog! Well, actually I started looking for peonies after reading an article on Colossal. I don’t know if you read it. Her name is Tiffanie Turner and she makes gigantic crepe flowers. Anyway, I’m busy, trying to write a blogpost about flowers and art. My blog is not yet!! online but I really want to refer to your peony tutorial. Thanks for sharing,

    Reply

  37. I think what you typed was actually very logical.

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    Reply

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  42. Looks very realistic! I’m new to paper flower crafting. I would love to try this and hoping you can post a video tutorial soon. Thank you for sharing your talent

    Reply

  44. Wow, this tutorial is absolutely stunning! I never would have imagined that crepe paper could transform into such a delicate and realistic peony. The step-by-step instructions are so clear and easy to follow, making it seem like even a beginner like me could give it a try. Thank you for sharing this beautiful project, it has definitely sparked my creativity and I can’t wait to try making my own crepe paper peonies. Keep inspiring us with your amazing crafts!
    – Becky Gomez

    Reply

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