Make gorgeous paper roses with this free paper rose template

In today’s post: Learn how to make gorgeous paper roses with this free paper rose template in five beautiful colors.

Hello, my name is Autumn, and I kill plants. I think it’s the whole have-to-water-them-regularly thing. I just kind of never get around to doing that. I actually get quite a lot of things done each day, but the way I do it is by not getting around to doing other stuff, like signing my kids’ reading minutes charts or cleaning out the basement or, apparently, watering our plants. Something’s gotta give, right?

Hence: flowers made of paper.

I saw a tutorial for making paper roses at Capitol Romance years ago and decided last week to finally give it a try. I wanted my paper roses to look somewhat realistic, which meant I needed to use paper that was colored on both sides. The only problem is that most pretty printed paper is only colored on one side.

So I decided to make a printable paper rose template that includes a really pretty design that could be printed on both sides of a plain old sheet of paper. I started working on the template and a few hours later I had this:

Gorgeous, right? And, happily, it won’t die when I neglect to water it.

Printable paper rose template

I created these templates in five different colors for you. The one you see below is a purply/red and it’s my favorite. Each template has two pages: one is the front page and one is the back, so be sure to check “double sided” on your settings before printing. (Or just print page 1 and then re-feed the piece of paper before you print page 2 on the back.) This is what the front of the paper rose templates look like:

And the back is just a full page of the same pretty watercolor design. Download the paper rose templates by clicking below:

Purple/red rose template

Pink rose template

Blush (very light pink) rose template

Soft red rose template

Yellow rose template

How to make a paper rose

Watch this video to see how to make a paper rose. Written instructions follow.

1. To make a paper rose, begin by printing a template on both sides of a piece of printer paper (not cardstock). Cut out each of the four squares on the paper rose template. Fold each square in quarters, making sure to keep the curved lines on top. Cut along the curved lines. Also snip off the corner or point of the heart to make a small hole.

2. Open up the papers and you’ll have four “petals”. Each petal has lines on it. Cut along the lines.

3. Discard the piece of paper that says “discard”. Now you will have 7 pieces: one with seven petals, one with six, one with five….all the way down to one with one petal.

4. Take the first piece and glue along one of the cut lines. Overlap the other cut line slightly and press together to adhere.

5. Repeat with all the pieces except for the one-petal piece. For that one, just use a toothpick to help curl it in on itself.

6. Roll the edge of each petal around a toothpick to curl it outward. You now have 7 sets of petals that you will layer together to make a paper rose.

7. Place a dot of hot glue about 1 inch from the top of a piece of floral stem wire (or any other wire).

8. Slide the biggest petal onto the stem and down to the dot of hot glue. Add more hot glue if needed to secure it to the stem.

9. Place another dot of hot glue inside the first petal and slide the next largest petal down on the stem. Add more hot glue and the next petal, and continue until you have added all the petals.

As you add petals, position each one so the petals don’t completely line up with the ones below it for a more natural look.

You may finish off your paper roses with some floral stem tape if you like (I didn’t).

I have a vase of these sitting up on a bookshelf and I love the touch of color they bring to the room. A whole bouquet of paper roses would be beautiful!

If you’re looking for even more paper flowers, click here: How to make paper flowers {20 gorgeous step by step tutorials}