Tissue flowers are so easy to make and cost very little! I have been making them for over twenty years and never get tired of making or putting smiles on the faces that see them. They are a colorful addition to any party and also a great favor to handout to kids. Ten easy steps, that is all, take a look!
1. Buy different colored tissue paper.
2. Lay out tissue paper flat.
3. Choose 1-2 sheets per color that you want to use. I would suggest not using more than 8 sheets.
4. Set aside the excess tissue paper and layer the colors you have chosen on top of one another. The colored tissue you place on the bottom will appear in the center of your flower and the paper on top will appear as the outermost color.
5. Make sure the tissue papers you have piled are as exact corner to corner as you can get them.
6. Start at one end of the short side of the tissue paper and fold it over about an inch. Grab the fold and now fold it again the opposite direction. Continue folding back and forth, making your folds as exact as you can to the one you did before the whole length of the paper. Make sharp creases in the paper each time you fold.
7. You should have a long folded accordion of tissue paper. Fold it in half and place an elastic in the middle. If you can get the elastic around twice, then do it.
8. With the elastic in place, spread out the tissue paper on each side of the elastic. The folds should still be there.
9. Taking your time, pull the top piece of tissue paper up on one side towards the elastic. Try to pull the tissue paper as close to the middle as you can. Continue to do that to each layer of tissue paper and watch your flower grow.
10. If you find that when you are finished pulling all the layer towards the center elastic that the last layers you pulled aren't connecting to the other side, carefully pull the tissue paper together and staple the pieces together.
Finishing touches:
Give your flower a stem: Buy a long dowel at your local hardware store and thread it between the elastic. Kids can carry them around or you can put the dowels into the ground as lawn art...until it rains!
Take different colored ribbon, tie it around elastic, and let long lengths of the ribbon hang down from the center of the flower. Curl the ends for a fun look!
Other Ideas:
Before you do step #8, take a pair of scissors and shape each end of the folded accordion of tissue paper. Give each end jagged edges or a rounded curve. Doing that will creatively bloom your flower with a different design!
Staple two flowers back to back to make a flower ball. They are bigger and even cooler!
Cut the long accordion piece in half and make smaller baby tissue flowers. These are great because you can attach a stem, put them in a decorative pot and give as gift.
I have done this project over and over with kids, it never disappoints, it is a low cost activity, a lot of fun for all ages, and doesn't take a long time to create!
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