These DIY paper hydrangeas are super easy to make and can be an impressive addition to any decor craft project.
I’ve wanted to make a paper hydrangea design for a while but was held back by the need for a form mold and what I perceived to be a tedious gluing effort.
As it turned out, all hesitation was unwarranted. It was super easy to make and actually quite affordable.
Most of the hydrangeas I see bloom during the summer time and take on anything between white to pink to lavender. However, living in California, this continue for quite a while into the fall and I get to see a who new varietal that vary from mauve to maroon.
Going back to the form part, I didn’t want to have to buy a dome or have to cut a Styrofoam ball up to make this project. I ended up making a form just with some tissue paper which was super easy and not to mention affordable.
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Materials for DIY Paper Hydrangea
Cardstock – I prefer medium weight colored core cardstock because it cuts so well with the Cricut. It is possible to cut this design by hand but it goes so much faster with the Cricut. Here are some of my favorite cardstock brands to use:
- 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.
Tissue Paper – I pulled a shade close to my petals color from this assorted set I got. In a pinch, you could probably also use just white or even newspaper although that might peek through a bit.
Glue – I highly recommend using a hot glue gun to make things go faster for this project.
Cutting Machine – I use a Cricut. Check out my recommendations for Cricut machines and accessories for beginners for more info.
Template – This DIY paper hydrangea template is available in both SVG and printable PDF formats for free in my resource library.
DIY Paper Hydrangea Tutorial
Step 1: Cut the petals from the template
I used my Cricut cutting machine to cut these templates. It took about 4 letter sized sheets of cardstock to make a 6 inch wide hydrangea ball.
I like using a blue light grip mat for cutting this design. It makes it much easier to pick off all the petals after cutting them. I just bend the mat backwards and sort of flick them off.
Step 2: Make the tissue paper form
I just sort of ball up the tissue into a dome. There’s not much more to it.
Step 3: Glue the petals onto the form
I fold up the petals a bit, place a dot of glue on the form and then aim for the center of 4 petal cutout to stick to that glue.
You can always do a first round gluing the petals on more spread out and then do a second round nestling more in between. The petals will natural prop each other up when glued close to each other.
The best part about making your own form out of tissue paper is how lightweight and flexible it is. Depending on your end project, you can make it bigger or smaller. It’s light enough to turn into wall art without too much reinforcement to the wall. There’s so many more things you can do with this light weight versatile paper flower.
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Super cute! I love hydrangeas! Thanks for sharing.