It’s BIG. It’s sparkly. It’s a giant flower for your wall! Make this oversized flower with humble paper and use spray glitter to turn it into a glorious, shimmery wall decoration. We made a few different versions—one from black construction paper, one from red construction paper, and one from plain white cardstock—and each one looked fabulous. Use your favorite color paper and make one (or several!) to match your holiday decor. Planning a black and silver holiday affair or a red and white classic Christmas party? These flower decorations will be the talk of the party.
Supplies & Tools:
- Printable template (download here)
- 15 sheets red construction paper (9" x 12")
- Scissors
- Stapler
- Hot glue gun & glue sticks
- 10" cardboard square
- Cutting mat
- X-Acto
- Ruler
- Glitter spray (such as Buffalo Snow® Holiday Glitter Spray)
- Cardboard or newspaper (to protect work surface)
- Twine
- Pencil
- Tacky glue
- Foam brush
- #11 clear/silver seed beads
- 4" foam hemisphere*
- Large paper plate
- Optional: 3 toothpicks
*You may need to buy a 4" sphere and cut in half.
Directions:
Prep the Center:
- Pour a heaping pile of seed beads on the paper plate. Set aside.
- Poke the toothpicks into the back (flat side) of the hemisphere. These will help you handle the hemisphere when it is coated with glue.
- Coat the hemisphere with tacky glue and use the foam brush to spread it evenly around the hemisphere.
- Roll the hemisphere in the mound of beads, making sure that it is completely covered.
- Set aside to dry. If the hemisphere is balanced when it stands on the toothpicks, let it dry as is. Otherwise, remove the toothpicks.
Prep the Base:- Trim off the corners using the X-Acto and ruler. If it helps, you can draw an 8" circle inside the cardboard square so you don’t cut too much.
- Using your X-Acto, bore a hole in the cardboard about 2" away from the edge.
- Cut piece of twine 10" long, string it through the hole, and tie a knot. Glue knot to the cardboard.
Prep the Petals:
The flower is made small, medium, and large petals. Your flower will have a total of 5 layers: one layer of large petals, one layer of medium petals, and three layers of small petals.
- Print and cut out template.
- Each large petal is an entire sheet of 9" x 12" paper. Using the template as a guide, cut a pointed tip at the top of seven sheets of paper to make 7 large petals.
- Each medium petal is a half sheet of paper (6" x 9"). Take 4 sheets and cut in half; now you have eight 6" x 9" pieces of paper. (Discard the extra piece.) Using the template as a guide, cut a pointed tip at the top of each piece to make 7 medium petals.
- Each small petal is a quarter sheet of paper (4.5" x 6"). Take 4 sheets of paper and cut into quarters; now you have sixteen 4.5" x 6" pieces of paper. (Discard the extra piece.) Using the template as a guide, cut a pointed tip at the top of each piece to make 15 small petals.
- On each petal, find the middle point on the bottom flat edge and fold the corners up at this point. Staple the small petals 1" from the tip. Staple the large/medium petals 2" from the tip.
Note: Crease the paper below the staple. Do not crease above the staple, as you want the petals to look 3D. - Set petals aside.
Assemble the Flower:
- Lay cardboard on flat surface.
- Arrange the large petals on the cardboard. It can help to arrange the petals on the cardboard first to make sure that you get the placement perfect before you start gluing.
- Lift one petal at a time, and glue it to the cardboard. Repeat for remaining large petals.
Note: Only glue the area between the staple and the folded tip of each petal. - Arrange the medium petals on the cardboard/large petals. These petals will overlap the large petals.
- Lift one medium petal at a time and glue it to the flower.
- Begin gluing the small petals. Glue in three layers:
- First glue 7 petals.
- For the second layer, glue 4 petals that are evenly spaced.
- For the third and final layer, glue the remaining 4 petals.
- Take your glitter spray and newspaper and head outside. (Choose an area that is a good distance from any cars or houses. We all love glitter, but you don’t want to get glitter everywhere.) Lay down the newspaper so that it covers an area larger than your flower. Spray flower with glitter, bring it inside, and allow it to dry.
- Glue the beaded hemisphere in the center.
- Now your beautiful jumbo flower is done. Hang it on a door, wall, or above the fireplace.
Ideas from the Elves:
- Use black construction paper and silver pearl 8mm beads.
- Use white cardstock and white pearl 8mm (or 10mm) beads.
