When I first stumbled across crepe paper flower making, I wanted a way to dip my toes in the water to see if I enjoyed it before spending a significant amount of money on the best products ever. Instead, I wanted supplies that would be good enough to get started and wouldn’t make me hesitate to use the materials I was purchasing.
I tried to source things locally but struggled to find crepe paper in the craft supply stores in my area. What I did find was small and expensive and not really conducive to making more than one or two small flowers.
When looking up tutorials and lists for materials, all source German and Italian crepe paper varieties because the colors and quality are second to none. Unfortunately, the shipping costs and order requirements were more than I was willing to commit to for a craft I had never tried before.
I ended up ordering products from Amazon since that’s what fit my budget at the time, but feel free to source your materials wherever makes the most sense for you in your crepe paper flower making journey. I definitely want to hit up my local Creative Reuse center to see if I can find some supplies there, as I have a feeling foam balls and wooden beads may be easier to find.
Please note: the lists below contain affiliate links for the products I have ordered and am currently using. If you choose to buy these items on Amazon, I earn a small commission at no cost to you.
Books to help you get started:
- Crepe Paper Flowers by Lia Griffith – This has been one of my favorite books to reference and appreciate the variety of flowers inside. The tutorials are easy to follow (yay for lots of pictures) and the templates that are included (PDF and SVG files) are really helpful.
- Paper Flowers by Sine and Sara Finne Frandsen – This book has some really lovely flowers included. They are a bit more minimal than the first book, but that doesn’t make them any less beautiful. Some of the very first flowers I made came from this book.
- Crepe Paper Blooms, Bugs, and Butterflies from Eileen Lim – This book is available on Kindle Unlimited and includes so many fun projects. I’ve already made a few flowers from this one and am really looking forward to diving into the bug and butterfly section to up my game there.
If you’d rather source your books second hand, I have had good luck finding the books on AbeBooks.com and ThriftBooks.com.
Website and YouTube Channels to check out:
- Lia Griffith: In addition to the book listed above, Lia Griffith has a Website and YouTube channel with an incredible amount of resources to learn from. I also recently joined the membership community and am looking to learning new techniques for paper flower making.
- Inga Ilze Peterson: There are some wonderful crepe paper flower tutorials for free on Inga Ilze Peterson’s YouTube channel and for a monthly cost through her Patreon.
Materials to get you started:
- Crepe Paper: I started with this set of 24 colors. It comes in 10 x 98 Inch rolls and includes scissors, floral wire, and floral tape. I personally prefer using crepe paper to wrap my flower stems with, but it’s nice to have the option. I have since had to order more green and have found this to be of similar color and quality to the set of colors above. And here is a dark green.
- Glue: Hands down, the best glue has been Aleene’s. I prefer the Quick Dry Tacky Glue, but any will work. I also just ordered these glue containers since they have a syringe-like spout for the glue to come out when I need a more precise application.
- Hot Glue: I don’t personally love using hot glue when making flowers since I have a tendency to burn my fingers with it. So I try to use it sparingly. Sometimes, though, you just need what you need. I started with the glue gun I had at home already but have since switched to a Gorilla Glue brand hot glue gun and have been pretty happy with it.
- Floral Wire: I have mainly been using what came with my crepe paper, but there have been times when I’ve needed something a little heavier to support a larger flower. My main floral wires are these 2-gauge wires and these 22-gauge wires. Tip: the smaller the number, the thicker the wire.
- Beads and Balls: Some flowers will require you to use something to fill in the center (like peonies). I have used everything from large cotton balls to styrofoam balls and wooden beads. They all have some subtle differences and will take some practice to get right. Here are the styrofoam balls (20mm) I’ve used and the wooden beads in 8mm circles, 10mm circles, and 12mm oval shapes.