I adapted one of my watercolor flower templates into this water lily paper flower.
This paper flower is made with cardstock and so easy to assemble. As with most paper flowers, I don’t intend on this looking like an exact replica of a water lily.
I remember seeing them on vacation in Southeast Asia a long time ago. They are so vibrant in color and so perfectly formed, it almost looks fake.
I guess making them in the paper form isn’t that far off.
Although, if you want to be more accurate, the flower doesn’t sit on the lily pad, its comes up from the water in stems. Oh well.
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Materials for Water Lotus Paper Flower
Cardstock – I use medium weight paper for this which is about 65lbs. 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 using Tacky Glue for paper flowers but a hot glue gun also works.
Cutting Machine – I use a Cricut. Check out my recommendations for Cricut machines and accessories for beginners for more info.
Template – I’ve included my water lily pattern in both printable and SVG formats for free in my resource library.
How to Assemble the Paper Lotus Flower
Step 1: Cut the petals out from the template
I like to use the light grip mat to make it easier for clean up. The standard grip works for this design as well.
Step 2: Curl the petals
I like using a scraper tool I got with some transfer tape. You can also just use a credit card if you don’t have a scraper.
Step 3: Stack and glue the layers
I like to go from the biggest 3 petal pair to the smallest 6 petal layer. I just add a dab of glue in the center.
Be sure to offset the petals.
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