where to buy paper flower supplies?
It can be really hard to find the right paper flower making supplies and materials if you don't know what to get or where to look! So I've pulled together some of my favourite crepe papers, tools and materials to help you get started making paper flowers.
See the drop down menu's below for the materials I recommend. And then choose your location to find a list of suppliers close to you.
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Ta Muchly!
what you'll need - the basics
Crepe Paper
You'll need a selection of good quality crepe paper. I recommend either German or Italian crepe.
There are various weights of paper available, and you should definitely give them all a try to find your favourite! But to get started, I suggest you use the German Heavyweight Crepe if you can get it. Italian 180gsm is a good alternative if not.
You'll want a petal colour and a green for your leaves. It's also best to match the green with your floral tape if you can.
Glue
You can use either tacky glue or hot glue for making paper flowers. I generally prefer to use tacky glue as it gives you more time to work and adjust, plus you don't burn your fingers on the glue gun!
However, a dual temperature glue gun can be also helpful if you need to work fast, to stop the petals from slipping.
Scissors
You need a good quality pair of sharp scissors. My favourites are the ones with the fine point which cut right to the end of the blade.
It's also worth getting a blade sharpener for when the blades get dull, otherwise you may get rough edges to your petals.
I also recommend the scissors with a spring action, and/or with no finger loops as they're much more comfy to cut multiple petals with.
Pliers
Used to cut your wires to length. These don't need to be anything special, just regular household pliers from a hardware store will work great.
Floral Wire
Either paper or cloth covered floral wire. My favourite is the cloth, but both work well.
You'll want a range of thicknesses, ideally from 16 gauge (thickest) up to 24 gauge (thinnest).
16 or 18 gauge are great for stems.
20 gauge is a good all-rounder.
22 or 24 gauge are perfect for leaves and petals where you need a finer detail.
Green is the most common colour, and they typically are 18" long. However you can also get these in white which can be useful for light coloured petals, and occasionally the white wires are available in longer lengths too.
Floral Tape
We use floral tape to wrap the stems of paper flowers, and also to attach various parts of the flower together.
To get the most realistic looking paper flowers you'll need a selection of different greens and browns, ideally as close in colour to your crepe paper as you can get.
However, to get started, just one roll of green with a similar crepe paper colour will be fine.
If you prefer, you can also wrap your stems with strips of crepe paper instead. This helps to make the stems thicker, and therefore more realistic. It also makes it easier to match the colour of your stem with the colour of your leaves.
Start with the basic paper flower materials above.
Once you've made a few paper flowers, it's worth experimenting with some (or all!) of the tools below. Each of these will help to make your paper flowers look more realistic, and elevate your art to the next level!
expanding your materials
Pan Pastels
Pan Pastels are a great way to make your paper flowers look more realistic. It's amazing the difference adding just a little bit can make.
You'll need a tool to apply it with, make up sponges work great and are cheap and easy to get hold of! You'll need one sponge per pastel colour. Or you can buy specific artists brushes called Sofft Tools to use with them too.
Pan Pastels can be expensive, but they last for a VERY long time. So choose your colours wisely to make sure you get the most use out of them (greens, browns and pinks/purples give alot of versatility.)
Alcohol Ink
Alcohol inks are a great and relatively inexpensive way to dye your crepe paper.
You can add shading and gradients to make your paper blooms look more realistic, or you can completely change the colour of the paper so that it's no longer a standard off the shelf shade.
Althought the bottles are small, they last a long time.
You'll also need some isopropyl alchohol to mix it with, which is available from most pharmacies or grocery stores. I also recommend a mop brush (large fluffy artists paint brush) to apply it with, and a jar or pot to mix in (I use an old jam jar/mason jar.)
Mod Podge
I love to add a layer of Mod Podge to most of my leaves, the extra layer of glossiness makes them look much more realistic, and also helps to make them a bit more durable too.
I usually prefer to use the matte finish, but either matte or glossy will work well.
UV Spray
Depending which crepe paper you use, sometimes the colour can fade if your paper flowers are displayed in direct sunlight. (Pro tip, German heavyweight crepe is colour fast and so doesn't fade as easily!)
If you're using another paper, particularly the Italian, it's best to spray your paper flowers with a layer of UV Protector spray to help reduce the fading.
It can also be helpful to use a layer of UV spray if you've added alot of colour to your paper, such as pan pastels or alcohol inks. Even if you're using the German crepe, the additional materials you add are not necessarily colour fast too.
Cricut Maker
If you plan to make a large number of flowers, or even just some of the more intricate petals, a Cricut Maker is a game changer.
To be able to use the Cricut Maker for paper flowers, you need to stretch out the paper to 90-100% first, so it's not the best fit for every flower, but certainly for something like hydrangeas or eucalyptus foliage, it works incredibly well!
If the Cricut is a good fit for a particular flower, I've added it as a template option, so you can download the SVG file to use with the Cricut.
You will need a rotary blade (a knife blade wont work with crepe paper).
I like to use the strong grip mat (purple). You could also use the fabric grip mat (pink).
I also have the basic tool set. I use the scraper tool to make sure my paper is fully stuck to the mat, and the spatula to help lift my petals or leaves off without damaging them.
TIP - You could also use a credit card in place of the scraper tool.
The best thing about using a Cricut Maker to make paper flowers, is that it frees you up to work on other parts of the paper flower while your machine is doing all of the tricky cutting for you! It's also slightly quicker than cutting by hand (even if you just sit and watch it! Trust me I tested it, video on my YouTube channel!)
Using a Cricut Maker is also helpful if you suffer from repetitive strain injury or carpal tunnel when using scissors.
Acrylic Paint
Acrylic paints are a great way of getting a wider range of colours for your paper flowers. You can use them to colour wash the entire sheet of paper, to add gradients, and just small details - all of which add up to a much more realistic looking paper flower.
It's worth getting a set of artists brushes with several different sizes too.
Watercolour Paint
Watercolours are another great way to make your paper flowers look more realistic. These paints tend to dry with a more varied colour, rather than just a flat solid colour, which is much more life-life. You can also add some really nice details, such as at the edge of your petals with them.
Look for a set of artists brushes that is designed specifically for watercolours to help you blend the paint more easily.
Prismacolor Pencils
There's a big difference between the pencil crayons you used as a kid and Prismacolor Pencils! They have a soft core rather than traditional lead pencils, so the pigment is incredible. They're easy to blend, and are also lightfast so they wont fade. They can be pricey, so look out for sales, but it's definitely an investment that is worth making!
Markers
Another option for adding details to your paper flowers is to use alcohol markers. Copic markers are by far the best available, but can be very expensive, so to begin with look for a starter set and then upgrade when you feel ready.