Instructions to accompany DIY Crepe Paper Peony Kit

thepaperpoppyadela
Sep 8, 2023
6 min read

Updated: Nov 21, 2023

Dive into the intricacies of working with crepe paper to create your very own stunningly realistic crepe paper peony and foliage that will evoke the beauty of spring.

These instructions have been written to accompany the pre-made The Paper Poppy, Adelaide Crepe Paper Peony kits.

In your kit you will find everything you need to make your beautiful crepe paper peony (you have have opted to BYO scissors).

Kit contents:

- Pre-cut crepe paper and tissue paper in a variety of colours and weights

- Cardboard templates (large petal, scape, leaf)

- Tacky glue and small bamboo stick for application

- Pre-cut floral wire in a variety of gauges and colours

- Floral tape (white and green)

- Cotton

- A larger bamboo stick to help with shaping petals

- +/- Scissors

There are 6 steps to complete in order to create your beautiful peony. These steps are the creation of the:

carpels, or ovary of the flower
stamen (filament + anthers)
petals. For this flower you will create both strip petals, and large individual petals.
sepals that sit at the base of the flower underneath the petals
leaves
and finally the assembly of the peony

1. CARPELS (Ovary)

Create a crease down the centre of the dark pink strip of crepe paper lengthways and attach to the light green rectangle of crepe paper with glue as shown. Trim the excess dark pink off each end and then divide into 3 sections.

TIP - Use the toothpick in your kit to apply the glue to the crepe paper. It may be easier to squeeze some glue on to a piece of scrap paper, cardboard or plate.

Crinkle one of the small pieces of white tissue paper into a ball of approximately 7mm diameter and place below the pink line in the centre of the short edge on one of the three pieces of pink and green crepe. Apply glue along one long edge as shown and wrap the crepe strip around the ball of tissue paper as if you were wrapping a chocolate bon-bon, gently twisting each end. This will create a tuft of green at one end and a tuft of pink at the opposite end.

Apply glue to the end of one of the white wires along a length of approximately 1.5cm and insert into the green end of the crepe structure, rubbing between your fingers to attach.
Using scissors, trim the corners of the pink end to create a rounded shape as shown.
Apply a small amount of glue to the end of a piece of white floral tape and wrap around the length of the wire, from the base of the carpel to the end of the wire.
Repeat with the remaining two pieces of green and pink crepe and white wire to create three carpel structures and then group together with another strip of white floral tape as shown.

2. STAMEN (Filament + Anthers)

Repeat the first step in the carpel instructions to attach the long thin yellow strip of crepe paper to the long white strip - folding the yellow crepe to create a crease down the centre and then attaching to the white crepe with glue and finally trimming the excess yellow crepe from the ends.
Carefully snip along the length of the strip to create a fringe as shown.

Gently rub the fringed sections (3-4 pieces at a time) between your fingers to create finer stamens as shown.
Apply glue along 2-3cm at one end of the strip of stamen and wrap around the base of the carpels. Continue wrapping, applying a 2cm portion of glue every 4-5cm. Once you have wrapped the full length of the stamen strip, use cotton to wrap around the base several times as shown and tie off.

3. PETALS

Strip petals

Gently stretch the 5.5 x 20 cm piece of pale pink crepe paper (the smaller of the two pink strips) to lengthen (to 150 – 180% of the original length). Fold the length in half and then half again. Snip 2 cm wide strips as shown, sparing approximately 8 mm at the base of the strip (so that the petals remain attached as a strip). Round the ends of each of the folded cut sections as shown and then create some additional shape by cutting along the edge of each section as shown.

Roll the strip of petals into a cigar shape and twist as shown. Gently unravel the strip of crinkled petals.
Gently cup and shape each petal, focusing on the mid-section of the petal to create the shape shown. Scrunch the base of each petal to gather.
Repeat the above steps with with the 7 x 25 cm strip of pale pink of crepe paper, however, instead of 2 cm strips, increase the width to 2.5 cm.

Individual petals

Stack 2-3 of the 9 x 5 cm rectangles of crepe together and use the large petal cardboard template to cut these rectangles into a petal shape. Create some additional shapes along the end of the petals as shown.

TIP – Make 2-3 petals with the same shape detail and then change the pattern to create variety. Cut all 15 rectangles into petal shapes.

Using your thumbs cup each of the petals to create a bowl shape and crimp the base of each of the petals. Gently bend at the base of the crimped area to create a 90 degree angle between the base of the petal and the cup.

4. SEPALS

Cut the 3.5 x 9 cm piece of green crepe into 3 pieces measuring 3 x 3.5cm. Stack these pieces together and use the cardboard sepal template to cut out 3 sepal pieces as shown. Use the bamboo stick to create a curve in each of the sepals.

5. LEAVES

Cut one of the 8 x 4cm piece of green crepe on the diagonal and apply a thin line of glue along one of the cut edges. Ensure that the grain of this piece is pointing

upwards as shown. Lay one of the 22g green wires along the line of glue, cover with the other half of the cut rectangle and press to adhere. You may need to apply a small amount of additional glue over the top of the wire to ensure the second layer of paper sticks. The grain on each piece of crepe should be pointing towards the tip.

Use the cardboard leaf template to cut a leaf shape from the glued and wired crepe. Cut notches in each side of the left as indicated on the template.
Repeat this process to create three more notched leaves. Wrap the wire stems with green floral tape and attach them with additional green floral tape.

6. ASSEMBLING THE PEONY

Apply some glue to the end of the smaller of the two strips of petals. Begin wrapping the strip of petals around the centre of the peony (carpels + stamen) that you created earlier, applying additional glue every 3-4 cm. Once you have wrapped the entire length of the strip of petals, wrap cotton around the base of the petals several times and tie off.
Repeat this step with the larger of the two strips of petals.

Invert the peony on the table and begin attaching the large individual petals to the base of the wrapped strips of petals with glue. This process takes some time as you will need to hold down each petal for a few seconds to ensure it is attached before moving on to the next petal. Start by applying the first 10 or so petals in a continuous spiral. Once these are attached, turn your peony over and look for gaps to apply the remaining petals to.

Give your peony petals a few minutes to dry. Once dry, attach the thicker green wire stem. Using green floral tape, attach the thick green wire stem to the white wires protruding from the base of the peony. Wrap green floral tape along the entire length of the stem, finishing end with small amount of glue to prevent unravelling.

Apply glue to the base of the sepals and attach to the base of the peony as shown.
Finally create a slight bend in the wire stem about 4cm base of the peony and attach the leaves.
Enjoy your beautiful floral creation!