I have come to the conclusion that any paper. . . that is ANY paper. . . can be transformed into a gorgeous paper flower. Other than poms for gift toppers and tree ornaments, I had yet to experiment with tissue paper to make paper flowers, until this weekend. Having just returned from San Francisco to film my new class series with Creativebug on the tail of Livia Cetti from The Green Vase (who in my opinion is the queen of tissue paper flowers), I immediately purchased her new book and watched her first paper flower class over on Creativebug. It is a must watch for any of you who love to make paper flowers and right now they have a free trial offer. Of course you may also want to buy her new book called The Exquisite Book of Paper Flowers.
After reading her book I knew that it was time to make a paper poppy in my own style. Poppy petals are so fragile and tissue like, that this paper just seemed too perfect. I used Livia’s technique of bleaching the edge of the tissue which gave a gorgeous finish are variation of color for all of my poppies. Her recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of bleach to 1.5 cups of water. For these poppies, I cut 3 inch strips of each color. I then rolled the strip so that all of the long edges were together. Holding the top of the three inch tall roll, I dipped the edge into the bleach mix. I found that holding the tissue in the bleach mix about 5 seconds worked well for me. I liked the bleach to soak up to about half of three inches to get the best effect and noticed that different colors and different paper responded differently. Remember that once you pull the paper out of the bleach, it will still move into the dry part of the paper. Once dipped, I carefully unrolled the strip and hung it to dry. You will want to be careful to not bleach your clothes or other thing that are in your path. I hung all of my strips in my dining room window, pinning them onto a clothesline that I had attached for this project. The paper dries fairly quickly, but you will want to make for sure they are completely dry before you start to make your flowers. For the rest of the steps on how to make these pretty blooms, I have created this step-by-step tutorial for you. These are so fun to make and are a great project for your craft night with the girlfriends and if you use a low temp glue gun (which I always recommend anyway), can even make this project perfect for kids. These happy flowers are perfect for a Mother’s Day bouquet, don’t you think? Enjoy! ~ Lia
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86 Comments
[…] Tissue Paper Flowers by Lia Griffith. […]
I have tried bleaching tissue paper several times and the bleach didn’t take. The color went straight into the bleach solution and dyed it but the paper itself dried close to the same color as it had been. Presumably it was waxed but I have no idea how to find tissue paper that isn’t waxed.
I believe the cheaper paper you might find at the dollar store will bleach as they do not set the color. This is partly why we stopped making tissue paper flowers was the lack of ability to help our community to source the right materials like we can with crepe paper.
beautiful and creative, thank you for sharing
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I am so happy to have found this site. I came across Livia Cetti’s book in the library and remembering how much I loved making paper flowers as a girl, took it home but it will take a bit of practice! Your instructions here make things simple and accessible but the flowers lose none of the beauty that attract me to Livia’s designs. I am now looking forward to having a go ?
Welcome Jackie! Thanks for your comment, I’m so happy to hear about your love of paper flower making as a kid.
I just came across this and think I am going to try with my daughter for her teachers end of year gift.
Thanks Lia
I will have to check out the rest of your projects after reading the comments.
That’s a great idea! So glad you found us 🙂
[…] Tissue Paper Poppies | Lia Griffith […]
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[…] Tissue Paper Poppies by Lia […]
[…] This poppy flower display is so beautiful. It will make a fabulous Birthday or Mothers Day Gift. Follow the link for the tutorial; https://liagriffith.com/diy-tissue-paper-poppies/ […]
Thank you so much for the instructions of the Poppies, Lia. It was so much fun making them. They now adorn my Dining room and make me so happy every time I see them.
I am so happy to hear this!! Thank you so much!
Have been working on organizing all projects of yours have printed out since I found your site. Wow, so many incredible projects. Could keep busy for weeks just making paper flowers you’ve so generously shared with us. Had to go back to print out some things but have several document folders to keep all of them in. I want to start out with maybe couple less difficult flowers for me then gradually work into harder more meticulous flowers, like hydrangeas. It’s so great you keep all your projects current and available long after you’ve shared them so I can go back to older ones, really appreciate that. Don’t have the gorgeous papers you use but when I make some with what have on hand then can order correct kind of paper to use when I can afford it.
I have some parchment paper going to try to use for couple of flowers, get it at $tree. Can try using it without big investment. Finding nice papers here in Grand Junction not possible so try to find alternate choices for making flowers first time. All the papers you feature are excellent but not on my budget pretty much of time. To me it’s good challenge to try to find alternate workable choices.
I like to read comments on each of your projects, learn a lot that way. My hands don’t work too well at this stage of life but I like to try things anyway, just find other ways to work things.
Time for me to put our feathery girls (chickens/5) to bed, they’re so much fun and harvest delicious eggs every evening. Now that hubs is doing so well after his knee surgery he gets up to let them out very early in a.m. I am not an early morning person. I thrive later in afternoon and night, seems my creative self is humming at those hours. Happy weekend
🙂
Tissue paper (the kind you put in gift bags) can be had for $1-$2 per pack, each pack usually contains 15-20 sheets that are quite large. It’s usually by the gift wrapping material, most dollar trees stores carry it and comes in a variety of colors. When you compare how many square feet of paper you get for the price, the tissue paper is actually quite a bit cheaper.
This technique (bleaching the color away) should also work with plain white tissue paper. You can dye the white paper by painting, dripping, or splattering diluted food color on it, after its dry you can then use bleach do fade out the food color.
Great tutorial! I used it to help me make a quick little bundle of poppies for Mother’s Day this year.
http://jubesandtank.blogspot.ca/2015/05/mothers-day-paper-flowers.html
Very cute! Thank you for sharing!
[…] This tutorial, for making tissue paper poppies is really very useful and apart from this, it shows you to get the variegated color from using the […]
[…] DIY Tissue Paper Poppies — Lia Griffith […]
Just made a few of these and they are gorgeous! I didn’t have styrofoam balls either so I used a quarter of a cotton wool ball wrapped in tissue for the centres and they seemed to work fine. Thanks for sharing the instructions!
What a great idea!
These are beautiful and I’m really looking forward to making them! I got all the supplies needed except for the 1/2 inch styrofoam balls. I tried a few places without luck. Where do you get them or is there something else I can use?
You can make a little ball with tissue by rolling it and maybe making it a bit damp. I found my tiny balls on Amazon but they are not so consistent in having them in stock.
Hi Lia!
My mother-in-law and I tried making these and couldn’t seem to get the bleaching down pat.. Did you use a higher grade of paper, or water the bleach down??
Thanks!
Yes, it is just a bit of bleach in the water. Too much will turn the paper white. Experiment a bit to get the right mix as I think different tissue papers will react differently. I don’t think the quality of bleach matters.
Beautiful flowers, Lia! I made some larger versions for my daughter’s nursery. Is there any need to spray the final product so that they hold over time and the paper doesn’t wilt? If so, what type of product do you recommend? Thanks!
No, there is nothing you can spray on paper. Mine have held up really well.
[…] Check out the full tutorial : DIY: Tissue Paper Flowers […]
Hello
Im following your tutorial, and Im using it to prepare my next photoshooting. Would love to share with you the results.
I would love to see it and to share it with my readers on my FB page. https://www.facebook.com/liagriffith.hyl Please send it to hello@liagriffith.com
Lia, these are so beautiful! I have Livia’s book as well. I was wondering, did the bleached areas stay the same, or did the color fade over time? I will be making flowers for an event in two months and I’m worried that the bleach will continue working if I start making the flowers now. Thanks!
It has stayed the same for me. Mine are over 6 months old now and look great.
[…] these paper poppies are […]
just amasing and so beautiful
Thank you:)
Great! Thanks for sharing!
[…] These tissue paper poppies from Lia Griffith get their pretty variegated color from […]
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Love the look of these poppies! I can’t wait to make a bunch….
They are still one of my favorites. 😉
Ahhhh, they came out so beautiful, and delicate and..and..realistic and all the colors, swoooon!
I just LOVE these. I was a tad surprised how real they look too. 😉
[…] of course) over at Creativebug. You can also read a bit more about the bleached edge process in my tissue poppy post. The only other materials and tools you will need are 1 inch foam balls (optional), floral wire, […]
These are beautiful! I am going to attempt these in reds with dark centers for Memorial Day. Your step by step makes it look so easy!
That is a great idea! They are very simple to make.
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Lia, you’re such a Godsend. Thank you for your very kind sharing of your beautiful craft work. Your talent & ideas are magnificent and truly inspirational. I am so very grateful for and to you. I’ve been suffering from depression and your website is helping me to explore my creative side again in my down time whilst I recover. It is a delight; again thank you. x
Oh that is just so good to hear. I do feel that tapping into your creativity can be very healing. It works for me at least. 😉
Instead of bleaching, I used white tissue paper and kid’s watercolors…less mess with softer color variations!
That is a great option too. Today’s flower I painted onto a metallic paper and it looks just gorgeous.
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Oh my… these are so crazy gorgeous I can’t stand it! I’ve been wanting to make some paper flowers to decorate for Mother’s Day but was intimidated by most I saw.. these are not only my favorite but look easy too! Thank you so much and your photos are beautiful!
These are super easy! You can do it. You don’t even have to bleach if you don’t want to but it does add to the fun!
[…] why I haven’t been very social the past few days. But for Tutorial Tuesday, I wanted to share this tutorial from Lia Griffith for Tissue Paper Poppies. She is truly one of the most inspiring paper flower artists I have […]
wooow this is sooo gorgious and beautiful and very pretty. love it.
and thank you very much for the tute and the sharing.
I was allready impressed by your skills. and still much more.;-D
Thanks Jet! So happy you like them too. 🙂
Oh, Lia, you really spoil us:). I love your site and your amazing creativity! Thank you for sharing! These poppies are gorgeous and I love poppies, so… I’m off to make some poppies. I still have bleach on my table that I just used on a tank top, how appropriate :).
Perfect! I want to see photos of your final creations too. 🙂
Poppies are my favorite flower and I never can get them to grow in my garden. These are so beautiful that my craft challenged self might give it a go! Thanks for sharing your talented creativity!
Try it and share your photos! I know they will look great!
Those are so creative! Love he idea of using bleach. Those would look lovely in a little girl’s room.
Oh they so would! I will have more tissue flowers coming up too.
[…] DIY Tissue Paper Poppies – 1 freebie(s)? […]
Those look so lovely and very life-like. I really like how you used bleach to get the graduated color fade.
Isn’t that fun! Paint is going to be what I try next. Thanks Livia in her new book for those ideas too.
So pretty, thank you for the directions. This is going to be an upcoming project.
Wonderful! Share photos!
You really amazed me with your talent, Lia! I absolutely agree that any paper can be transformed into beautiful paper flowers like these but I’ll certainly need your hands for that! Lovely work as always. Thank you for sharing them again 🙂
Thanks Onel! That is so sweet of you. I guess it is my job to invent or recreate the process and teach it to everyone else. 🙂
OMG!!! I am absolutely speechless, these are so, so awesome! Definitely need to try this! Thanks so much for sharing your great talent.
Thanks Sylvia! I had too much fun making these yesterday. 🙂