Make an Arch With Flores de Papel

By Lucia Pinto

Mar 30, 2023

15 min activity

Rosie, Crystal, and Iggy are determined to recreate special moments for their parents’ wedding anniversary. They want to make a flower arch so that they can take a family photo — but their garden doesn’t have any flowers! Abuela shows them a beautiful bouquet of flores de papel — paper flowers — that she made for her friend. Rosie, Crystal, and Iggy work together to make flores de papel to create a flower arch of their own.

Make flores de papel with your child to create a backdrop for a photoshoot or family event. You can make your flores de papel in many colors and sizes!

Encourage your child's creativity with this enjoyable DIY project. In this activity, your child will learn to make colorful 3-D paper flowers by folding tissue paper into an accordion. By crafting with tissue paper, your child will create beautiful paper flowers while practicing fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.

Materials

Colorful tissue paper
Scissors
Pipe cleaners
Tape

Directions

Choosing colorful tissue paper is essential to creating beautiful DIY paper flowers. To get started, select between 6-8 8.5x11” sheets of tissue paper. You can use a single color or mix and match different colors to create vibrant and eye-catching paper flowers. Stack them on top of each other to create a layered effect. Remember that the number of layers will determine the fullness and size of the flowers, so feel free to experiment with different amounts to achieve your desired effect.

Show your child how to fold the tissue paper back and forth in a zig-zag pattern, emphasizing the importance of making consistent and even folds. The size of the folds should be about ½” to 1,“ depending on the desired final size of the finished flores de papel. Encourage your child to take their time and be gentle with the delicate material.

Use a pipe cleaner to secure the folded tissue paper and prevent it from unraveling. Place the pipe cleaner around the center of the folded tissue paper, ensuring it's in the middle of the accordion. Twist the ends of the pipe cleaner together tightly to hold the folded paper in place. Trim any excess pipe cleaner if necessary.

This step is optional. If you want to achieve an even cleaner look for the tissue paper creation, you can trim the edges of the folded accordion. To do this, cut a slight arch on both ends of the accordion. This will give the tissue paper a rounded and polished appearance.

To create a 3-D paper flower, show your child how to separate one layer of tissue paper from the accordion's outer edge. Repeat this step for each layer. Remind your child to take their time and be careful not to tear the paper while separating the layers evenly, which will help achieve a symmetrical appearance. After dividing all the layers, your child can fluff the tissue paper to create a vibrant and complete flower.

With this technique of folding and separating tissue paper, you and your child can create as many beautiful and vibrant paper flowers as you like. The possibilities are endless, and you can experiment with different colors and sizes of tissue paper to create a variety of unique flowers.

It's time to create a beautiful flower arch that’s perfect for any occasion. To display the tissue paper flowers as a decoration, your child can use tape to stick them onto a wall or door frame.

Explore Further

As your child becomes more familiar with creating tissue paper flowers, they can explore and experiment with different paper sizes and shapes, such as squares or circles, to create unique flower styles. Encourage your child's creativity by asking what other events or occasions they could create paper flower decorations for. Ask your child what makes these events unique and how to incorporate them into their decorations. For example, you could ask, "What kind of paper flowers would you create for your friend's birthday party?" or "How could you make paper flower decorations that represent our family's cultural traditions?" By asking these questions, you can help your child explore their imagination, develop their creative thinking skills, and create paper flower decorations that are unique and meaningful.