Today we’re showing you how to make this pretty paper oxalis plant, also known as the false shamrock, purple shamrock, and love plant. There are a few things that make the oxalis special and such a beautiful houseplant. One, it has three purple leaves on each stem that are triangular in shape. If that wasn’t striking enough, it also grows small white flowers above the foliage. Finally, its leaves open during the day and close at night! This along with its shape is why people think the leaves look like butterfly wings, fluttering up and down.
While there are a few different aspects of the purple shamrock to recreate in paper form, our pattern and tutorial below make this plant simple to craft. It’s also a great one to make for Valentine’s Day or for St. Patrick’s Day. Also, if you’re a plant lover, we have more paper plants on the site for you to peruse!
Paper Plants Rock
We love to craft plants out of paper because they don’t require any maintenance. You don’t need to worry about how much sunlight they get or how much to water them. And they can last forever! A paper oxalis plant will always be in season, as long as you want it to be.
Another good reason to make a paper oxalis plant is because the real version is toxic to cats and dogs. That’s a big reason why we’ve created certain plants and flowers like the crocus, tiger lily, and ivy topiary out of paper. This way, you can enjoy them in your home and keep your pets safe!
When you’re ready to craft this paper oxalis plant, you’ll need the tools and materials listed here as well as our pattern at the end of this post. We recommend using a cutting machine for this project. But if you’re cutting this plant by hand, you can download our PDF template below.
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Tools
- Cricut Maker (recommended)
- Craft Knife
- Craft Scissors
- Paintbrush
- Needle-Nose Pliers/Wire Cutters
- Curling Tool
Materials
- Text Weight Paper — PaperPapers Basis Burgundy, Poptone Whip Cream, and Poptone Sour Apple
- Floral Wire – 24-Gauge Paper Covered Green
- Art Markers — Blick Studio Brush Markers in Black (020) and Leaf Green (048)
- Light Green Floral Tape — Lia Griffith Ferns & Moss
- Mod Podge – Matte
- Small Plant Pot and Foam (to fit)
- Decorative Stones or Moss
How to Make a Paper Oxalis Plant
- Gather the craft tools and materials listed above. Then download the pattern at the end of this post.
- Cut out and score your paper pieces according to the template, using a cutting machine or craft knife.
- Color three of the oxalis leaves with a black art marker along the edges, leaving a “V” shape in the middle uncolored.
- Cut your 24-gauge floral wire in half. Apply Mod Podge with a paintbrush to an uncolored leaf piece. Place floral wire in the middle of the leaf and layer a colored leaf on top. Let the leaves dry.
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4 Comments
Hi Lia ! I really like this flower,
it is very particular I had in mind to try it Thanks for the tutorial!
Wonderful!
This is stunning – I actually had a real plant of this BUTTTTT it died so I’d love to be able to create this plant again but with crepe paper – would this be basically the same process?
Hi Lisa! If it were me and wanted to make this from crepe paper, I would use the extra fine in merlot or aubergine (maybe one color on each side) and laminate the two layers together before cutting out the leaves. (We have a video for this in our Craft Academy). This would work better than mod podge as it can get soggy quickly. I would then split the leaf pattern and cut each side so the grain aligns with the point of each half then add the wire between the two halves. For the flowers, you will want to cut each petal individually and cut them in alignment with the grain as well. I might need to have Meagan make a crepe version now. It sounds gorgeous. 😉