Paper flower ornaments | How About Orange

December 10, 2008

Paper flower ornaments

I was trying to think of other ways to make easy ornaments from paper and created these last night while watching CSI reruns. They're made from cheap computer paper. How to:

1. Cut one piece of 8 1/2" x 11" paper into 1" strips (oriented landscape so you end up with 11 strips).

2. Stack them and staple them once in the center, then fold the stack in half to form a little book. (If the strips are too long for your stapler to reach the center, either trim them a bit shorter or swing your stapler open and staple the stack on a magazine or cutting mat. Then bend the staple closed.)

3. Put a little piece of double-stick tape at the tip of the first "page." Then bend it inward toward the center and stick it down. Repeat for every "page" until you have a circular flower shape.

4. Hang with invisible thread. (Yeah, there is such a thing! You can buy clear thread at a fabric store.)

Of course I had to do an orange one.

86 comments:

Veronica said...

This is perfect, just what I have been looking for. THANK YOU!

Becky Farley said...

Oh this is cool! I work at a printing company, and our Christmas tree is from all recycled paper, so this is perfect! Thank you! You're very clever!

Venus de Hilo said...

Oh, those are so pretty! I have a stash of colored papers in the office closet I hardly ever use, (and I think there's a roll of double-stick tape in there, too). And I've got a roll of nylon thread somewhere...

Jenn said...

so cute!! they look way more complex than they are!

zobars said...

they look gorgeous...excellent project to do with your kids too.

Anonymous said...

Awesome! I need to make some of these for our tree. Most of the ornaments are handmade, but I decided that it is looking a little bare. Thanks!

Andi said...

Very clever. They look great!

Anonymous said...

WOW!

I'm going to make these to decorate around my wedding/reception in January!!!!

THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Awesome! I needed some embellishments for my sister's birthday present...this worked perfectly!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/caseydukes/3098324525/

kickpleat said...

ooh, these are so pretty! i hope i have some time to make these as i'd love a whole string of them around our dining room!

Anonymous said...

wow. how simple. how lovely. and it uses both "C" words....

Classy and Cheap.

Thank you for your creativity!

Happy Holidays Jessica!

Anonymous said...

so simple and so beautiful...a great way to fill in my christmas tree :)

all over the map said...

love these. BHG Australia has a whole bunch of paper ornaments to make this month. so easy and so pretty with all the different craft papers. i like the orange one best! :)

Genevieve Gail said...

Great project, they remind me of ribbon candy! Thanks for sharing :)

Lyz said...

These are perfect. Could you be any more crafty or classy?

Melissa said...

cute idea.

Anonymous said...

That is totally adorable!

Geez, all I ever do when I watch CSI is put my hands over my eyes and go "Ew! Oh, ew! Oh man, don't pick that up! EW!!"

patricia zapata said...

Amazingly simple and they look great!

katy said...

brilliant!

Anonymous said...

OH I LOVE IT!

Geta Grama said...

These ornaments are gorgeous !
I think I will put my quilts away and I will make some ! Thank you !

Anonymous said...

ooh I love these, might get the little boy and dad involved in this project - we're having a big xmas paper making extravanganza over the enxt week so it's perfect to throw into the pot! thank you.

Livia M. said...

this is awesome!!! i love this idea, i'm going to make them for sure!

Denise Kiggan said...

Very Clever!

H is for Home said...

Wonderful - this solves my dilemma about what to put on the top of our tree instead of a traditional fairy!

Anonymous said...

Seriously and completely amazing. I especially love the fact that they're not overtly festive - perfect for a Christmas grouch like me! Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

Very cool idea, Jessica. You are so creative!

The Baroness said...

I love your blog. Thanks so much for this project.

Unknown said...

Love this project! I'm going to try making these in a very large size and using them as wall decor...

BUIS LIFE... said...

How fun is that?! And easy too, which is right up my alley. I think I might make some of these for my daughter's princess party next year :)

Anonymous said...

I love these. So pretty and easy to make from paper! Thanks!

Trina said...

So creative! I like this idea and I love CSI :).

Anonymous said...

Perfect for a wedding shower I will be throwing! Thank you!

Anonymous said...

that's such a nice idea, thank you for sharing

sideoats + scribbles said...

Neat-o!!!! Love them!!! :)

Renee said...

These are great! I love the simple projects that look like they took forever to make! Thank you for sharing!

Leslie said...

I love, love, love these! Thanks for sharing. I'll be making some this week.

Aubrey Scott said...

such a cute, cheap, and easy way to make ornaments. I think I will try ribbon instead of paper. We'll see how that turns out.

ellencrimitrent said...

these would be great as gift toppers too!

Anonymous said...

On the two-color ornaments, how did you avoid 2 petals of the same color in a row??

Jessica Jones said...

You're right; you get one extra red and one extra white. I cut off the duplicates very close to the staple.

Anonymous said...

Nevermind - I figured out a cheat on my second flower. :)

Anonymous said...

Wow, you answered so fast! I cut it off about 1 cm and then looped the other half over the stub to hide it.
While we're at it - I'm usually a lurker, but I love your site!

Ashlee said...

I have some old-timey, thin scrapbook paper. This will be a perfect use for it. So cute.

Mod and Mint said...

These are gorgeous! Thanks for sharing this wonderful idea. I especially love the two-colored versions. Got to give them a try!

Lisa Nelsen-Woods said...

They look very retro on that swanky silver tree!

Kelly said...

Thanks for this cute project. I sat at my desk and made one this afternoon instead of grading papers... ha. But, it went together oh so fast and I went back to my grading.

pacegirlno3 said...

Another use for the paper flowers...gift box decorations. I was in need of a box topper and the flower worked perfectly! Again, thanks for the idea. It's so cool and easy.

http://whatididoversummer.blogspot.com/2008/12/wrapping-without-ribbon.html

Di~ said...

Thanks for the idea! I made 7 of them and it was fun.

Bliss said...

Way and totally cool!

Although orange hovers near the bottom of my favorite colors list, I have to say that your blog rocks. :o)

Thanks again!

Unknown said...

I have just the paper to make those with! Thanks for the tutorial!

help a family very dear to my heart have a memorable Christmas. It only takes a stamp!http://www.three-peas.com/2008/12/operation-christmas-card.html

s a n s k u :) said...

Love these too! Love the silver & orange combo! Thanks!

Anonymous said...

This is so great!! thanks for the tutorial!

Sun said...

now i have the PERFECT decoration for my gift boxes, parties, table settings, you name it! you're so fabulous :) if i'm ever in the midwest again i have to look you up :) thanks again!

Bonny said...

I made some! Check out my blog for pictures. Really...not the best pictures but oh well. Oh and I love your silver tree.

Teresa @ good-grace said...

Oh my gosh! These are so pretty and delicate looking... and who would have guessed they were fairly easy to make? Thanks for the great tutorial!!

Anonymous said...

They are so beautiful and very colorful

charlestin said...

very nice.... the color and designs also need some ornaments on paper, i ve tried to search the same in google too.. found a site called www.virtual-enchant.com, but there is no option to buy in australia... can any one suggest me like that to buy in usa.

Anonymous said...

Best instructions on web. Its been 40 years since I've made these. Thanks for the refresher.

Johanna said...

These are so beautiful and easy. I was inspired by the bright colors. I made some to hang from the ceiling for my daughter's birthday. Thanks for the wonderful tutorial.

Jessica Jones said...

Hi Amanda! You're welcome to link to the project and use an image or two, but I'd ask that you don't lift and reprint the entire article. Thanks for checking!

Lorri said...

My children and students will LOVE this!!!!

Paige said...

I'm linking to this amazingly cool and simple craft from 10 Awesome Christmas Paper Craft Ideas. Of course, you are one of the ten. Thanks for sharing this idea.

Anonymous said...

Such a cute idea. Have many places to go wtih some downtime in between. What a clever little project to take to spend the time. Love it and your site. It's awesome.

Lisa said...

i tried 2 but they look uneven and dont join in the middle, any tips?

Anonymous said...

i luv these things their easy fun and im making them 4 a mothers day card :)

Unknown said...

THIS SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

What do you hang stuff like this with if you want to hang from a ceiling to not leave a mark?

Tracy Wills said...

love these, so pretty!

Judy said...

These are gorgeous. Can't wait to make some. Thank you for the inspiration.

Anonymous said...

Ooo, I bet they would look good using leftover wrapping paper or Christmas cards.

Anonymous said...

I made these last year but didn't know to staple them. That is a fabulous way to fix what went wrong with mine! Thanks!

I used them as bows on my gifts.

Anonymous said...

looks for cool. im very excited to try. :)

Emily Thompson said...

These are really beautiful!!! I wanted to let you know that I am featuring these in a post about ornaments and linky party on Wed. of this week. Hope you can come by and check it out! http://nap-timecreations.blogspot.com/

keepmumsane said...

now to recover the stapler from my kiddlets room... or maybe just buy a new one...awesome!

Anonymous said...

This is great, going to try one myself. I am also going to try one with a paper punch design, punch each strip before assembling to see how that looks as well.

Little Puddles said...

This is fabulous! Thank you so much, I can't wait to get started! Especially while my husband is watching Top Gear...again!

Chefwannabe said...

I used clear, lite weight fishing line with a metalswivel fishing line attatchment. This weights the flowers (as long as they're not too small or too large. Also you could tape them to a clean ceiling with transparent tape. The possibilities are only limited by your own imagination. I'm going to make red and green one to hang on my Christmas tree and pastel ones to hang on a white painted branch for Easter. Thank you soooo very much for your idea which gives me inspiation and more crafts to work on as I am a shut-in senior. LOL

smk52 said...

Thank you! I live in a Senior Apartment building, and like to decorate the bulletin boards there. This is one more great idea to help me along this year.
I love this!

Mary Jo said...

Can you share your strategy for the red/white one? Wouldn't there be two reds and two whites next to eachother? Did you cut one half of each color off?

Jessica Jones said...

If I remember correctly, I think I cut off half of something at the end to keep the colors alternating. You're right.

hamudale said...

thank you for the great tutorial.
you're welcome to see my version.
:)
http://www.tapuz.co.il/blog/net/viewentry.aspx?r=1&EntryId=2611072

Anonymous said...

THANKS so much!!! i have been looking everywhere for something like this!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

How do you make them so even? I tried it too, but they stand quite uneven.
How big the piece of double stick tape should be?
Please, give a quick answer. :-)

Barbara B. said...

would this work with ribbon?? they look sooo pretty! Thank-you for sharing!

Jessica Jones said...

Barbara, it would if the ribbon was stiff enough to keep its shape. If it's not, you could maybe experiment with a fabric stiffener on it. One brand is Stiffen Stuff. Other companies make a product like that, too.