I love peonies in general but I do not love making paper peonies. They take forever and use a lot of paper.
So I challenged myself to make one better suited for beginners. A super easy one that doesn’t take an hour to make.
Good news for all paper flower newbies, this paper peony takes only 5 minute and I made 2 types!
The first one uses crepe paper and individual petals.
The second one is intended for cutting machines and can be made with cardstock paper.
Materials for Easy DIY Paper Peony
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Crepe Paper – Its seems everyone buys the Lia Griffith crepe paper. Its pretty good and you can get it from Amazon.
Cardstock – I like to use medium weight cardstock with colored cores. Here are some of my favorite brands:
- Assorted Starter Pack – Basic assorted colors, great starter pack, perfect weight for most papercraft projects
- Cricut Joy Insert Card Packs – You don’t have to use these with the Cricut Joy, they are nice material kids for cardmaking.
- 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
- Poptone Assorted Variety Pack – This is the perfect peppy assortment of colors of heavy cardstock. It’s a heavy cardstock assortment with colors I actually use frequently for cardmaking.
- Seasonal Assorted Variety Pack – This is a slight variation on the Poptone assortment and has a quite few neutrals that complement almost any accent color.
- 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.
Glue – I use tacky glue but a glue gun works too. I also use tape too but if you only want to get one adhesive out, glue works.
Paper clips – not absolutely necessary but helps hold the piece in place
Template – These free peony paper flower templates are available in both SVG and Printable PDF formats in my resource library.
How to make paper peonies flowers
Paper peonies can be made with lots of different paper types from tissue paper to crepe paper to cardstock. The method for both tissue paper and crepe paper are similar.
If you have a Cricut Maker and are interested in cutting crepe paper, check out my Cricut crepe paper flower tutorial here.
How to make both tissue paper peonies and crepe paper peonies
For both tissue paper and crepe paper, I recommend cutting out the templates by hand. It doesn’t work well with a cutting machine.
I like to fold the crepe paper accordion-style for 3 layers (which makes for 6 petals). I make 2 petals strips using templates 1 and 2. I then make the individual petals with template 3 in the same method.
Start rolling the Template 1 petal strip. I like to add a little frill tissue strip in at the core but this is optional. Secure the end of the strip in place with tape or glue.
Start on the individual petals next. Stretch the middle of each petal so that it curls.
This is wear I like to clip with a paper clip to hold it in place to dry. It doesn’t take long but it helps for a few minutes.
After Pre-stretching the middle of each petal, then start wrapping the petal strips around each other.
Glue each petals around the rolled based.
Be sure to off set the petals. I like to use a hair band at the end to hold it in place while the glue is drying.
How to Make Cardstock Paper Peony
Step 1: Cut out the templates
I like to use the light grip blue mat for this project. It makes clean up a little faster.
Step 2: Curl the petals
I use a scraper device but a credit card or scissors work as well.
Step 3: Start gluing the petal strips together in a loop
Step 4: Glue the smallest single piece cutout into a bulb
Step 5: Glue the bulb to the next largest cutout
I like to glue it to the base and then glue each petal overlapping each other.
Step 6: Continue gluing each layer working towards the largest piece
Step 7: Glue the optional outer most petals
I’ve also included some optional single petals for the last loop of petals. This is intended for you to have a little more positional control on where each petal goes.
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By now, you have noticed that I love flowers! I am so in love with them that I keep making paper flower tutorials. And, who does not love them? Flowers are great for DIY home decor and gifting! But as I have mentioned, creating paper flowers could be tricky for some especially in the beginning. So, I made this special tutorial for you beginners out there!
Peonies are beautifulul flower that is always on my wish list all year round. Unfortunately, they are only in season in the spring. But, with paper peonies, you can make them anytime you want Now, prepare yourself and prepare your material. If you do not have the materials and tools yet, just check out the links in the material list I provided.
Although this is a beginner-type tutorial, it is okay not to get it right on your first try. This still requires practice and time. Peony paper flower is easy, just take your time and understand the instructions.
In comparison to other paper flowers we have so far, you may think Peony is way difficult. But no! It is easy though the number of paper petals involved could be surprising for some. When you started trying the other paper flower tutorials, you would understand why.
As I have said, I wanted to give you an easier paper flower tutorial. This for you to learn and understand paper flower crafting. And, Peony was the perfect flower to start with. Now, let us start crafting!