Mexican Tissue Paper Flowers
Making colorful paper flowers is a tradition in Mexico on Cinco de Mayo or the Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos). Craft these cheerful flowers as part of a Mexican-themed lesson or event, or make a bouquet to give as a gift or use as lovely room decoration.

Safety Tips

  • Watch out for this sign Ask for an adult's help. It means adult help is needed for the particular step.
Mexican Tissue Paper Flowers craft

Materials

  • Tissue Paper
  • Scissors
  • Pipe cleaner, twist ties or floral wire
  • Dowel or stick (optional)

Steps

Step 1 Mexican Tissue Paper Flowers craft 1. Cut 6 to 8 sheets of tissue paper to approximately 7 x11 inches. You can use a single color or different colors of tissue paper.

*The more sheets you use, the fluffier your flower will be.
Step 2 Mexican Tissue Paper Flowers craft 2. Pile the sheets together. Make a ¾ inch fold on one short side of the rectangle. This will define the width of the folds in the succeeding steps.
Step 3 Mexican Tissue Paper Flowers craft 3. Fold the paper accordion-style (back-and-forth folding).
Step 4 Mexican Tissue Paper Flowers craft 4. Trim off any excess paper after the last fold.
Step 5 Mexican Tissue Paper Flowers craft 5. Round out both ends of the folded paper.
Step 6 Mexican Tissue Paper Flowers craft 6. Tie a pipe cleaner around the center of the folded paper. 
Step 7 Mexican Tissue Paper Flowers craft 7. Spread open one side of the folded paper so that it opens up like a fan.
Step 8 Mexican Tissue Paper Flowers craft 8. To create the flower petals, slowly separate each layer of tissue toward the top center of the flower.
Step 9 Mexican Tissue Paper Flowers craft 9. Work your way one layer at a time until you've separated all the layers on one side of the pipe cleaner.
Step 10 Mexican Tissue Paper Flowers craft 10. Next, open up the opposite side like a fan.
Step 11 Mexican Tissue Paper Flowers craft 11. Separate the tissue and bring it towards the center one layer at a time, just as you did in Step 9.
Step 12 Mexican Tissue Paper Flowers craft 12. Once all the layers of tissue have been separated, you'll see how pretty and fluffy your paper bloom is.

Wear the flower as a gorgeous hair accent by twisting the pipe cleaner ends around a hair clip, headband or hair elastic. It's perfect for a Spanish-inspired attire or a springtime look!

You can also make it into a flower napkin ring by twisting the pipe cleaner around a rolled napkin.
Step 12 Mexican Tissue Paper Flowers craft Ask for an adult's help13. If you wish to add a stem, coil the ends of the pipe cleaner around a dowel or chopstick. Further wrap a tape around the pipe cleaner to hold it in place.

Put several of these stemmed flowers in a vase or basket for a lovely flower arrangement.

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