(This site contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a very small commission for purchases made through these links, at no extra cost to you.)
So if you're new to paper flower making you're probably wondering what you need to get started. There's a whole host of tools and supplies that you can experiment with, but to start with at least, you can get by with a few basics. Here's what I would recommend to get you started.
Tools:
Good, sharp scissors
Ideally detail scissors which are sharp right to the point, which will help with fringing and smaller detail cuts. These are the ones I have and love. I would recommend getting some with a spring action, and without the finger grips, because otherwise your hand can quickly start to hurt when you're cutting lots of petals!
Where to buy -
CANADA - Fiskars Softtouch Microtip Pruning Snip
UK - Fiskars Softtouch All Purpose Scissors 16cm
USA/REST OF WORLD - Fiskars Softtouch Microtip Pruning Snip
Pliers
Ordinary household pliers work just fine, so you probably already have some at home. Just make sure they have the part for wire cutting. You'll use these to cut your wires to the right length, and to bend over the ends of wire to hold your flower centres.
Where to buy -
CANADA - Pliers
UK - Pliers
USA/REST OF WORLD - Pliers
Materials:
The obvious one - crepe paper!
There are lots of different options out there, but they can vary dramatically in quality. For paper flower making, really you only want to be looking at high quality Italian or German crepe. For Italian crepe paper, Cartotechnica Rossi is your best bet, and for German Werola/Lia Griffiths.
There are also different weights of crepe paper, the main ones are heavyweight, doublette, and extra fine. I'll go into detail about the pros and cons of each in a later post.
Personally I only use the Lia Griffiths Heavyweight Crepe Paper, I love the stretch it has, and most importantly, it doesn't have machine lines on like most crepe papers do. I've also had issues with colour fading with other brands.
You'll need at least one colour of crepe for your main petals, and a complimentary green for the leaves and calyx details. The Lia Griffith range comes in packs with lots of lovely colour options, so I'd recommend you start with those. There are four choices - English Garden, Tropical Garden, Botanical Garden and Winter Garden. My favourites would be English Garden and Botanical Garden.
Where to buy -
CANADA:
Tropical Garden Pack, Winter Garden Pack, English Garden Pack, Botanical Garden Pack
UK:
Winter Garden Pack, English Garden Pack, Botanical Garden Pack
UK Alternative (also from Werola, Germany, ships from UK). This is the same weight crepe, but has slight roller lines in, you may need to smooth them out slightly. However it's a good alternative if you can't get hold of the Lia Griffith range. Choose the 'florist crepe'.
USA/REST OF WORLD:
Tropical Garden Pack, Winter Garden Pack, English Garden Pack, Botanical Garden Pack
Wire
The main stem of your flower will be made from floral wire. Again there are lots of choices out there, but after alot of trial and error, I've found the best ones to be either paper or fabric covered wires. For the main stem 16 gauge works best, and for smaller details like leaves and wired petals, something like a 22 or 24 gauge is good. (The lower the number, the thicker the wire.)
Where to buy -
CANADA: 16 gauge, 16 gauge, 18 gauge, 20 gauge, 22 gauge, 24 gauge, All gauges (USA ships to Canada)
UK: 16 gauge, 18 gauge, 18 gauge, 20 gauge, 20 gauge, 22 gauge, 22 gauge , 22 gauge, 24 gauge
USA/REST OF WORLD:
16 gauge, 18 gauge, 18 gauge, 18 gauge, 20 gauge, 20 gauge, 22 gauge, 24 gauge, All gauges
Glue
There's generally two schools of thought when it comes to glue for paper flower making. Some people swear by a hot glue gun, and others - like me - will only use tacky glue. It really is personal preference, as there's pros and cons to both. But if you don't already have a glue gun at home, then I would recommend starting with the tacky glue, as it's pretty inexpensive. Again, there are lots of brands out there, but I religiously use Aleene's Tacky Glue (as I know lots of other Paper Florists do too.) I also use a small plastic pot (an old jar will do) to decant my glue into, and then apply it with cocktail sticks or tooth picks.
Where to buy -
CANADA - Aleene's Tacky Glue, Glue Pots
UK - Aleene's Tacky Glue, Hi-tack Glue, Glue Pots
USA/REST OF WORLD: - Aleene's Tacky Glue, Glue Pots
Floral Tape
You'll also need to get some good floral tape to hold the pieces of your flower together, and to finish off the stem. Make sure you get a color as close as possible to the green crepe paper you choose so that the flower looks more natural.
Where to buy -
CANADA:
Floral Tape, Floral Tape (USA but ships to Canada)
UK:
Floral Tape, Floral Tape, Floral Tape, Floral Tape, Floral Tape
USA/REST OF WORLD:
Floral tape, Floral tape, Floral tape, Floral tape
And that's it! There are lots of other bits of kit you can get to help improve your techniques as you go, but to get started at least, stick with the basics. Once you've figured out what you like and don't like about the craft of paper flower making, you can dive into the different options.
Hopefully that gives you a place to get started. Check back soon for tutorials to help you put your new tools to use!
Michelle x