How To Make Mexican Paper Flowers

Paper flowers have long been associated with Mexican tradition. Be it the celebrations related to Cinco de Mayo or el Día de los Muertos, you will see paper flowers all around. In almost every occasion and every gathering, people make it a point to decorate with paper flowers of different patterns and hues. These flowers give a lively and bright look to the house and uplift the mood of the dwellers. The craft of making paper flowers originated in East Asia and it was from there that it was brought to Mexico. This is the reason why the tissue papers used to make the flowers are known as "papel de china." Mexican papers flowers are very easy to craft and the raw materials can be easily availed from any local store. With a little help from elders, even children and teenagers can make beautiful paper flowers, out of colored tissue papers. All you have to have is a little bit of creativity and imagination and you can easily craft beautiful paper flowers, of various designs and color patterns. In the following lines, we have explained 'step-by-step' procedure on how to make your own Mexican paper flowers.

Make Your Own Mexican Paper Flowers

Items Needed

Paper-edger Scissors
Twist Ties
Scissors
Colored Crepe Paper (or Tissue Paper)
Markers or colored sketch pencils (optional)

Instructions

Take six pieces of tissue paper or crepe paper and make a clean and tidy pile out of them.
Cut the stack, made in the step above, in a way that it is no more than 12 inches wide. Keep the length of the stack 12 inches or more, but not less.
Starting at the top of the stack, make 1-inch folds in the entire layer. Follow accordion-fashion, in order to form a fan.
You can also make use of markers and sketch pencils to mark the outline or border of the fan. This way, it will be more accurate and you will be able to prepare the fan in a uniform manner.
Using a wire twist tie, secure the center of the fan (made in the step above).
With the help of scissors, trim the ends of the fan. You can give them an arch shape as well, so as to form a regular round flower.
You can also give ruffled edges to the fan, with the help of fancy scissors. Taking the twist tie as the center, bend the fan into half.
Separate each layer of fan carefully, beginning from the outside and moving your way inwards.
Finally, make a stem from pipe cleaner or artificial foliage and add to the paper flower. You can also spray a light mist of perfume over the ruffled petals of the paper flower.

Tip

You can embellish your paper flower with small floral wires and glitter particles. Using the floral wires, make a garland out of the flowers and use it to decorate any prominent corner of your house, like your front door, near the porch, around the banister and so on.

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