DIY Paper Carnation

Carnations get such a bad rep, they are cute and versatile flowers that can complement any bouquet.

While I’ve made the rolled carnation type of paper flower before, I wanted to redesign something that gave a little more control over how the petals offset each out.

So I came up with a semi-rolled layered paper flower template that hopefully looks closer to the real thing.

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Materials for Paper Carnation

Cardstock – it is really important to use medium weight cardstock with colored cores for this one. Otherwise your flower petalls will look super frayed. Here are some of my favorite brands:

Recollection Assorted Starter Pack – Basic assorted colors, great starter pack, perfect weight for most papercraft projects
Metallic Shimmer Assorted Set from Amazon – This set is a little lighter in weight but the colors are beautiful in 3D
Cardstock Warehouse Brand on Amazon – I love the quality of all the matte colored cardstock with Cardstock Warehouse. It is my go-to brand for individual matte colors that I might need
Stardream Metallics Line – For paper crafts, the Stardream line is the go to for a metallic shimmer finish. It is the perfect sheen to make any project pop. The core is also colored is which hard to find for metallic paper.
Assorted Pink Set from Paper Paper – This is a must-have for paper flower makers. The variety is perfect to create a bouquet.
Assorted Purple Set from Paper Paper – This is another must-have for paper flower makers. I love the variety of finishes in this pack.
Metallic Variety Set from Paper Paper – I don’t know any avid paper crafter that doesn’t use Stardream metallics line of shimmer paper. It is the only metallic cardstock line that I know of that has such variety and has colored cores.

Glue – I like to use either a polymer-based glue or a hot glue gun for this project:

Cutting Machine – I use a Cricut. Check out my recommendations for Cricut machines and accessories for beginners for more info.

Templates – This paper carnation template is available for free both in SVG and printable formats in my resource library.

How to assemble the Paper Carnation

Step 1: Cut out the templates

I used a blue light grip mat for this paper flower. It is intricate but still doable on the lighter grip mat.

Step 2: Fold the petals,

I like to do a gentle crease down the middle of the petal vertically.

Step 3: Start with the smallest topmost layer of the cutouts.

I like to glue this smallest layer into a bulb first. Then I glue that to the the base of the next largest layer.

Step 4: Glue the petals to the bulb

I then glue each petal to the center bulb.

Step 5: Glue the petal strips into a loop

The less glue the better, the faster it dries.

Step 6: Continue with the rest of the layer in the same manner.

I like to go from the smallest layer to the base largest layer. As I glue each layer to each other, I try and offset the petals. This is a very forgiving template design so it doesn’t have to be positioned perfectly.