Make your own pretty paper tulips and give them as gifts or decorate for a fun floral party. Once you learn how, these paper flowers are quick to make and look lovely. They're perfect for gift giving or even gift decorating!
I love tulips! I'd replace my grass and fill my year with hundreds of tulips if I could! I'm not sure my HOA would love the idea, so instead, I've designed this printable template to make paper tulips instead. Craft a bouquet of tulips, fill a vase… no water required. Make as many as you'd like!
How to Make a Paper Tulip
Make paper tulips with paper using just a few supplies. You'll need a printer to print out the template and then you can create any number of tulips for a wide variety of occasions.
Materials
- Paper Tulip Printable by Jen Goode (download below)
- White paper
- Printer
- Glue
- Scissors
Note about glue: This project goes much quicker if you have a fast drying craft glue. I like to use use Aleene's quick dry tacky glue for these kind of projects.
Instructions
While this is a printable craft, there is one unique aspect to note. The printable comes with a full red printable sheet to use as a second print.
You'll print this sheet on one side of your paper and then flipping the paper over to print the tulip petals.
This way, your tulips will be full color, both front and back of each petal. You can skip this step if you are concerned about ink use.
- Print the tulip printable on white paper. Print the flower shapes page, then flip the paper over and print the color blocks. This will create color pieces on both sides of your paper tulip.
- Cut out all the paper tulip pieces. For quicker cutting, you can fold the paper in 3 and cut 3 tulip petals at a time.
- Create the tulip flower head. Fold each petal in half vertically. Then fold the bottom 1/2″ 90 degrees. Glue this little flap in place. This will create a single scoop shaped petal. Layer and glue all the petals in place to create the flower head. Start with two petals, overlapping at the bottom to create kind of a bowl. Add more petals, one at a time. Alternate where you place the petals so they look more natural. It's ok to press and scrunch the bottom of the flower to keep the petals in place.
- Create the stem. Using the long green rectangle cut 3 1/2″ lines at one end. Fold the strip on the long side 2 times, glue the flaps together. You can then press on the folded edges and the paper should pop open creating kind of a tube. Fold the little cut flaps down and add some glue.
- Attach the stem to the flower. Press the stem flaps (that you just added glue to), to the bottom of the flower. Trim any excess paper.
- Add leaves to the stem. Fold the leave vertically. Apply a little glue to the bottom inch of the inside of the leaf. Press glued leaf to the stem where you'd like it.
See below for instruction photos and a quick video to demonstrate how to assemble these pretty tulips.
Printing Alternatives
There are two additional options to printing this entire project.
- Use the printable as a template. Print the petals and leaves only, cut out the pieces (You'll only need one petal). Then, trace around the shapes onto colored paper, cut and follow assembly instructions as directed above. I recommend paper, not cardstock.
- Print the petal/leaf only template and then either color the other side of the paper, glue to sheet of colored paper or leave white for a contrast look.
Watch this video to see a little more detail for putting these flowers together.
148.63 KB | 26 Downloads
Use this tulip printable as a template to make more paper tulips in different colors, paper patterns or even fabric.
Simply cut out the shapes and then trace them on to other materials. I don't recommend using cardstock for this project, basic printer paper works best.
I hope you have fun making your own paper tulips. Change up the size, add extra embellishments like ribbons or glitter. Make one or make a few dozen. These tulips are also a great group project you can make with friends. Enjoy!
More Flower Crafts You Might Like
4 mini flower coloring cards – free printable by Jen Goode
I love that we can bring the beauty of tulips into our homse without waiting until Spring.
With this simple paper tulip craft, you can create your own colorful blooms to brighten up any space. Whether you're making a bouquet for yourself or surprising a friend with a thoughtful gift, these paper tulips are a fun and easy project to tackle.
So grab your supplies, print out the template, and let's start crafting! It's a simple, enjoyable activity that anyone can try. I can't wait to see what you create!
