Paper Irises are super simple to make and can add that extra flair to any craft or DIY home decor project.
I finally found a camp for my son to attend the past couple of weeks. He is happy to finally be out of the house. I am happy he is out of the house. Everyone is happy. He loves his new camp instructor and her name is Iris.
Since Iris is making everyone happy these days, I thought I’d make a little something for my son to give to her as a thank you gift.
That little something turned out to be paper Iris flowers for Iris. (I’m sure she has probably gotten way too many Iris bouquets in her lifetime but this one is extra special!)
I was pretty happy to the end result and it was really easy to make which was part of the requirement since my son is the one making it for his teacher.
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Materials for Paper Iris Flower
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 – Depending on how you are using the end flower, I have a few recommendations. I personally used a hot glue gun for the ones in the photo mostly because it was faster with the stem.
- Art Glitter Glue – All-purpose non-toxic polymer glue with a fine tip, dries fast with minimal paper warping.
- Hot Glue Gun – My favorite cordless hot glue gun, an essential for fast petal to petal gluing
Floral wire – I just picked out what I need with this kit I got from Amazon.
Cutting Machine – I use a Cricut. Check out my recommendations for Cricut machines and accessories for beginners for more info.
Template – This paper Iris template is available in SVG and printable PDF formats for free in my resource library.
How to make a paper Iris flower
Step 1: Cut out the petals from the the template
I like to use a fresh light grip mat for this project. This flower is also simple enough to just cut by hand.
Step 2: Curl the petals
I have a little dedicated scraper. I used the softer edge of this to create a softer curl. You can also just use a credit card or any straight edge.
The smallest 2 of the 3 petal cutouts belong to the base. These 2 pieces face concave down.
Step 3: Glue the 2 base layers together
I like curling both of them but that is up to you.
Step 4: Glue the top petal to the base
Be sure to offset the petals. You can either glue the petals together to leave them open.
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