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I became interested in crepe paper flowers when I stumbled upon Lia Griffith’s website a few years ago. She was still a blogger at that time – before building a small business with about ten employees. I started by buying very cheap crepe paper online (I didn’t know it, but it was Chinese crepe paper) and was very disappointed by my flowers (compared to the tutorials). I thought I was no good at it until I stumbled upon Italian crepe paper, and there I was, happy!
I will give you my tips on how to make a success of your crepe paper flowers and where to buy your crepe paper in 60g, 90g, 100g, 160g and 180g in Europe.
Success depends a lot on your tutorials and tools. In this article, I will :
- recommend books for your beginner/intermediate/advanced level
- recommend tools & where to buy them according to your beginner/intermediate/advanced level
YouTube Channels
The YouTube channels that I high recommend are :
- Lia Griffith’s YouTube channel, THE queen of paper flowers
- the ABC TV channel, extremely easy to follow. There’s not even an explanation because it’s so visual
My favorite books
For beginners
I find that when you’re starting out, it’s best to start with a book or videos that show step-by-step what to do.
The basic techniques are not difficult, but if they are not shown correctly, you may find this activity too difficult when it is not.
If you prefer to read, for me, the best book for beginners is Crepe Paper Flowers by Lia Griffith (17,55€, Amazon link) and 16,77€ Book Depository link. Each step is carefully illustrated with a photo. And as she insists on doing everything by hand, she also shows how to make pistils, which is very nice!
The technique used to glue the petals is the glue gun. It is certainly a small investment, but it is the technique that I find easier with a guarantee of success of almost 100% for beginners. No risk of inadvertently moving the petals, no risk that one of the petals will fall off…
Interestingly, it also gives a link to a pdf, where you can print the patterns, which are available in the book. But it’s more convenient to print them instead of making a photocopy.
The book is in English, but it is so well illustrated that it is not necessary to understand English.
If you don’t like the glue gun at all, another book might be interesting for you: Flowersmith: How to Handcraft and Arrange Enchanting Paper Flowers by Jennifer Tran, €17.4 (Amazon link).
This book is full of photos. Each technique, each step is illustrated by a photo, which is essential for beginners.
The technique used to glue the petals is the floral ribbon. It is a bit difficult to use at first, but if you choose a quality ribbon, you will succeed.
The book is in English, but it is so well illustrated that it is not necessary to understand English.
For the intermediate level
Once you have made and admired the first flowers using the techniques reserved for beginners, you can move on to more realistic flowers – whose color is obtained using paper bleaching techniques – with bleach or water.
For this, I recommend Livia Cetti’s book: The Exquisite Book of Paper Flowers: A Guide to Making Unbelievably Realistic Paper Blooms: 21,58€ (Amazon link) or 16,23€ (Book Depository link)
The difficulty lies in systematically coloring the petals for all the flowers proposed in this book. But apart from that, the tutorials are straightforward. One step = one photo. She uses tissue paper and floral ribbon for gluing the petals & leaves for a more realistic result.
The book is in English, but it is so well illustrated that it is not necessary to understand English.
The new book Paper Flower Art by Jessie Chui, 30€ on Amazon (link) and Book Depository, is extremely well done. Compared to other books, there is a great deal about flower arrangements – because it’s not enough to make flowers, you also have to know how to choose the right colors, sizes, and textures.
Jessie mostly uses a glue gun and colors her petals with watercolor or Pan Pastel. The explanations are longer than in other books, but the pictures are also very numerous. You will not have trouble understanding, even in English.
For the advanced level
To make flowers even more realistic, with various and advanced coloring techniques: ink, tie and dye, fading, etc. we must mention the famous book that all paper florists are tearing out: The Fine Art of Paper Flowers: A Guide to Making Beautiful and Lifelike Botanicals by Tiffanie Turner, 24€, Amazon link or 17,55€ Book Depository link. She is so famous that even the famous Italian crepe paper brand is working with her to bring out “Tiffanie Turner colored” papers.
It is for the advanced level because this book is very little illustrated. The text in English is tough to understand. Not because of the technical words, but because there are too many things to do, too many details for each petal: you have to place it here, bend on the left side at the top, then backward on the right side… Without a video to go with it, and with the few illustrations, there are. It’s hard! It takes a lot of patience, but the result is there. We are here to learn how to make realistic flowers, and it is the price to pay!
She mainly uses the glue gun, and more rarely white glue. And only crepe paper.
This book is a valuable tutorial for making giant flowers, like this one:
Must-have tools
- Crepe paper or tissue paper (more about this below)
- Scissors
- Metal rods
- Floral ribbon: to cover the metal rods
You will find very practical kits that sell all this:
- Enough to glue the petals: either white glue, or with a floral ribbon, or with a glue gun (preferably low temperature to avoid burns).
- Each author uses their own glue technique, I have specified above, so that you can choose the book that suits you best. In my opinion, the glue gun is the easiest method. I use the low-temperature glue gun from UHU, which is sold with 4 glue sticks.
- On the other hand, if you want to see if you are interested in paper flowers, opt for the floral ribbon without wanting to invest too much at the beginning.
Crepe paper & Tissue paper, where to buy?
As I told you, I started with unbranded Chinese paper bought on the Internet and the result was horrible.
I could then buy quality crepe paper afterward, and I can tell you that it has nothing to do with it! The best manufacturers (except Chinese, they are almost the only ones in Europe) are Cartotecnica Rossi for crepe paper and Werola (German brand), very well known for their double-sided paper called “Gloria” or “Doublette.” This paper is suited to paper roses.
Lia Griffith works with both brands and has released an assortment of crepe paper in different weights (extreme heavy, heavy, extra fine).
- For beginners, I advise you to start with its assortment of “heavy” crepe paper, which contains 10 basic colors. That way, you know if you like the activity, without spending too much money.
- For intermediaries, you can buy your papers on Etsy. Here is the saleswoman from whom I buy my papers. She sends from Germany and has both Gloria / Doublette double-color paper and Italian crepe paper of 60g (equivalent to the extra fine at Lia Griffith) and 160g (equivalent to the Heavy at Lia Griffith). This Etsy saleswoman has 180g paper and sends it from Poland.
- For the advanced, you can order directly from the manufacturers Cartotecnica Rossi and Werola. But there is a minimum order. At Cartotecnica Rossi, there is a minimum order of 30€ + 15€ delivery, but the advantage is that they have everything (40g, 60g, 90g, 100g, 140g, 180g). At Werola, the minimum purchase is 30€ (one color more) + delivery, they have Doublette papers but also 100g, 160g, 180g. It’s worth it if you are a reseller or if it’s your main activity.
I hope this article will help you in your choice of tutorials and tools. Enjoy your creation!
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