Paper Flowers for Summer Home Decor
Parrot tulips are known for their ruffled petals with brilliant splashes of color. They are a relatively large flower, which we love for a show-stopping crafting project. Once you make a bouquet of crepe paper parrot tulips, you’ll see why we are swooning over the whimsical and inviting blooms so much! We went with a deep purple color palette for our tulips, but there are also plenty of lighter color options for incorporating these beauties into your home.
Tools
- Rotary Cutter
- Ruler
- Cutting Mat
- Scissors
- Wire Cutter
Materials
- Crepe Paper [Extra Fine: Aubergine, Sangria, Black, Cypress]
- White and Green Floral Tape
- 18 and 20 Gauge Floral Wire
- 24 Gauge White Cloth Wrapped Floral Wire
- Oil Pastels [Sennelier in red and yellow]
- White Craft Glue
Steps
- Gather the tools and materials listed above.
- Use a rotary cutter to cut 2.5″ strips of either Aubergine or Sangria crepe. Cut the strips at a diagonal so that the grain runs at about a 45 degree angle.
- Cut crepe pieces according to the template. The curves of the petal template don’t need to be followed exactly.
- Using white glue, attach a 22″ piece of the 18 gauge floral wire to the straight edge of the leaf.
Full tutorial available for members. Join here!
Tips
When you download the PDF template below, you will find that there are two petal sizes for our paper parrot tulips. Making a partially closed tulip with the smaller petals is optional, but it does give the bouquet a more realistic look. Plus, using the two shades of purple with a mix of Aubergine and Sangria crepe colors creates even more variety and depth. These paper tulip blooms are actually slightly larger than real parrot tulips to make them more dramatic and artful. If you are new to crafting with crepe paper, we always recommend watching our Crepe 101 video to learn techniques for cutting and stretching the material.
You should also note that using the oil pastels to use color detailing can get a bit messy. If you want to avoid getting the pastel all over your fingers as you blend the color, try using a cotton swab to blend.
More Floral Inspiration
Paper flowers are our passion, and we hope you are feeling inspired to see what all the fuss is about! Browse through all of our crepe paper flower tutorials to find more future projects and home decor ideas. Head over to our membership page to start discovering how simple DIY projects can help you empower the unique creativity that lives in you. We can’t wait to see what inspires you! ~ Lia & Team
Are you having trouble? Feel free to contact us and we will be happy to help you out.
16 Comments
Hi, I was a member and never saw a pattern for a wider leaf. I just have the one that came with the template. Are there patterns available? I’m finally getting around to starting a bouquet of these beauties and would love to add variety with varying sized leaves
You can use the same template and make the leaf larger or smaller as you wish. This will give you a beautiful variety.
Would these look okay with the double crepe paper vs the fine crepe paper?
The edges might not look as feathered, but you can sure try!
I do not know how I put the pictures up of what I have done so you can see them ??
Ooh! You can post them on our Facebook page, or email to hello@liagriffith.com 🙂
Lia – coming from a creative family and a creative life – I have always enjoyed exploring different mediums at different times. I just have to say though…I had by chance seen some of your work and it just touched something in me. Gone are the days when my pen and ink drawings were my world. I have become so attracted to the beauty of your work and the lovely style you have of teaching. Many creative people can only create, and fail to want or KNOW how to teach.
You are gifted at your style, your colors and your ability to teach construction skills that leave room for eventual growth and creativity by the user.
Thank you for being who you are and congratulations in the ability to create and sustain a business.
Kathleen Bartl
Thank you Kathleen, your comment is such an inspiration to me and a lovely reminder WHY I do what I do! I’m so inspired by you, and am so thankful for your feedback and kind words.
How can I purchase aubergine paper
It’s available in our shop! https://shop.liagriffith.com/collections/crepe-paper
no chance to grow Parrot tulips in my garden: sloughs and snails love them, stems are weak and blossoms too heavy. Although I prefer fresh flowers, these crepe paper ones are an alternative.
So glad you like them 🙂
Absolutely Beautiful!
Thanks Eileen 🙂
Oh LA LA!! These are stunning – and so realistic looking! 😀
Aren’t they fun?!