Easy Origami Flowers Tutorial

In today’s post: Learn how to make a beautiful kusudama origami flower! The folding instructions are easy to learn, making this a fun craft for kids or adults. Make one flower or an entire origami bouquet!

Origami Flower Instructions

The pretty origami flower I’ll be showing you how to fold today is a type of origami known as kusudama, in which you fold multiple of a single item and combine them. For each flower you’ll make five identical petals. Then we’ll glue the petals around a stem wire to create a flower that can be displayed in a vase. (Traditionally twelve flowers would be glued together to make a ball.) These easy paper flowers would make a cute gift for Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, or any other special occasion. You’ll find step by step instructions and photos below.

Supplies

Origami flowers are easy to make with just a few supplies! For each flower you will need:

• 5 sheets of origami paper in the same color. You can find origami paper in most craft stores or there are tons of options on Amazon. Just make sure you are getting a set that has quite a few sheets of the same color. Most of the flowers you see in this post were made with 5 inch square paper (cut down from 6 inch paper). The small multi-colored flowers were made with this set of 9.5 cm square origami paper – about 3.75 inches square.
• One floral stem wire, found in the floral section of Walmart or craft stores.
• Adhesive such as a tape runner or glue dots to create each petal PLUS a hot glue gun for gluing the petals to the stem wire.

How to Make an Origami Flower

This is a great beginner origami project! The photos below show ever step of the folding process. Please note that the dotted lines represent where you will be making a fold. It takes about 15 minutes to fold five petals, which is what you will need for one flower, and maybe another 5 minutes to glue the petals to a stem. Most kids will be able to create the petals on their own, but will need help with the gluing portion. You may want to use silicone finger protectors when working with the hot glue.

Begin Folding

Begin by placing a sheet of origami paper down on a flat surface, turned 45 degrees so it looks like a diamond. If the paper has a colored side and a white side the colored side should be down.

1. Fold the bottom half of the paper up to meet the top half and crease to create a triangle. Crease well.
2. Bring the points on the right and left sides of the triangle to meet the point at the top and crease. This creates a diamond shape again.
3. Grab the right point that you just folded up and fold it down along the dotted line shown, so the edge meets the bottom right edge of the diamond. 
4. Repeat with the left side. You now have a diamond with two outer pockets.

Finish Folding Outer Pockets

1. Stick a finger in one of the outer pockets.
2. Pull the inner fold of the pocket open. Flatten it down.
3. Fold down the tip of the flattened pocket and crease.
4. Fold the pocket back up along the center crease line, as shown.
5. Repeat with the pocket on the other side. This completes the folding portion of the flower.

Create the Petals

1. Put some adhesive on one folded side as shown in the photo.
2. Bring the area with adhesive to meet the same area on the other side and press together to adhere, making sure that the main portion of of the paper is curved, not folded flat. This creates a petal.
3. Make four more petals so you have five total.

Glue the Flower Together

1. Pick up one petal and place hot glue along the fold line, then adhere it to a stem wire. Hold it in place for a few seconds until it is secure.
2. Add hot glue along the stem wire right next to the first petal, then adhere a second petal. Hold it in place for a few seconds until it is secure.
3. Repeat with the three remaining petals to create a flower. Trim the stem wire to the desired height.

These pretty origami flowers are really fun to make! Once you get used to the folding you’ll be able to put the petals together quite quickly, so you can make a whole bouquet in a couple of hours.