Paper Flowers from Old Wrapping Paper

Paper flowers will help to solve one simple problem.

However good you are at zero waste inside your home, wrapping paper seems to be a renewable resource. Whether it is wrapped around a gift from a co-worker or distant family member, you can never seem to avoid it entering your world. So why not reuse it and help stop landfill? The glitter and foil make it nearly impossible to recycle and it would just add a bit of bling to your rustic Christmas. You can use wrapping paper for this or old books, music sheets or road maps. It all depends how rustic you want to go with it and we have lots of other ideas to inspire you for decorations!

You will need:

old cardboard cut to 6cm diameter circles, cereal boxes are ideal.
7-8 strips of old wrapping paper cut to 2.5cm in width.
Safety Scissors
Glue Stick
old wrapping paper, old book pages, old maps or music sheets.
pencil
twine or yarn

I know that some of us like to watch a how to video tutorial, so have a look at our YouTube channel beow, or follow the instructions.

How to make paper flowers

STEP ONE;

Use the pencil to make a hole in the centre of the cardboard circle, then take the twine and push it through the hole. Making a knot to form the centre of the star or flower.

wrapping paper or music sheets
When you push the pencil through, make sure you are leaning it on a pad of paper of some blu tac.

STEP TWO

Line the twine up on the back and secure in place with a bit of spare wrapping paper and glue.

If you are hanging these you may like to cover the back in the co-ordinating paper.

STEP THREE

You take the strips and then fold them back on themselves to form a loop, apply the glue to the overlap and hold in place for a few seconds.

paper flowers - paper petals
Perfection may be possible with each new cone, but I wouldn’t worry too much!

STEP FOUR

Cut the cones to a sharp tip and then arrange on the circle and glue into place.

finished paper flowers
As the wrapping paper is single sided you can decide if you would like the cone or the spike to have the pattern on.

These are really easy and can be made with children of all ages. They also store well so they could become part of your families boxing day tradition.

wrapping paper to paper flowers
I think they look nicer when they are not all identical in size and shape.

For more ways to produce a zero waste Christmas, have a look at some of the ideas below!

Rustic Christmas ornament