With the warmer months here, we thought it would be great to add a burst of colour to our craft ideas with this gorgeous crepe paper sunflower. Not only is it inexpensive to make but we think it adds a real pop of summer sunshine. Here’s how to make your own…
You will need:
- Black Crepe Paper
- Brown Crepe Paper
- Yellow Crepe Paper
- Green Crepe Paper
- Crafting Stick or Crafting Straw (for the stem)
- Chenille Stem/Pipe Cleaner
- Scissors
- Glue Gun
Instructions:
1. Take the black crepe paper and cut a 5cm strip off the top of one fold
2. Using your scissors, cut slits into the crepe paper. Don’t go all the way down (about 2cm is perfect). Children attempting this craft may need adult assistance with this stage
3. Now for the fun part! Take your crafting stick (stem) and using a glue gun, stick one end of the crepe paper to the stick and start wrapping (as shown below). You will need to keep sticking it down to keep it in place
4. With the brown crepe paper cut off a 5cm strip and wrap this around the black crepe flower centre. Glue this to the black crepe and also make sure you glue this to your stem
5. Now that the centre is complete it is time to make a start on the petals. To make the petals, take the yellow crepe and cut strips off the end of the fold that measure about 10cm
6. Now, roll up the paper so that it is about 6cm wide and cut out a petal shape (as shown in the middle photo below). Ensure you leave a band around the bottom so that you can glue this to the stem
7. Crease each petal slightly at each end using your thumb and forefinger (to make it look more realistic). Ideally you will need two strips of petals so repeat the above process so that you have a lovely full head to your sunflower
8. Glue around the middle and base of your flower centre and start to stick the first layer of petals on. Continue to wrap the flower petals around – making sure that you glue as you go
9. Now repeat this process with the second strip of petals
10. Now you need to cover your stem. To do this, take the green crepe paper and cut a strip approximately 6cm wide
11. Wrap it around the outside base of the flower, (as below), and continue wrapping all the way down the stem. Once you have done this, glue it at the bottom to keep it in place
12. Finally cut out some leaf shapes and stick them around the top of the flower. Once the leaves are fixed in place, spread out all the petals ….
The finished product ….. amazing!
Why not make a whole bouquet to display in a home-made vase? Here’s how we made a vase using an old coffee jar and tissue paper.