Kirigami Paper Flowers

I am all about the paper crafts lately. This easy paper flower is a hit with my teens, and since you can quickly learn how to make them, I just so happen to have about 10 of them on my desk right now - not that I'm complaining. So cheerful!

The photo at the left here is actually two flowers stacked on top of each other. Doesn't it look lovely that way?

This craft isn't origami, because it's not just folding, and I don't know if it's technically kirigami (folding and cutting paper), because you're also using tape, but it's still fun. We can call it kirigami, anyway.

You Need:

Paper - any kind, but probably not something too thick, like card stock.
Scissors
Tape

Here's How:

Start with a square of paper. If your paper isn't square, you can make it square by folding the short side of a rectangle onto the long side, and trimming off the excess.










Fold your paper in half on the diagonal, then in half again, and then again.

 

With your favorite pair of scissors, cut off the corner (the right angle) and round out the shape. This will be your petal shape.


The next cut you want to make will be in an arc shape, as I drew here. Make sure you start at the open end of the paper (not the corner where all the folds meet), and cut toward *but not all the way to* the other corner.

Unfold your paper, and behold its beauty.

Put a bubble of tape in the center of your flower. Then, take the center paper flap on one of the petals, and fold it toward the middle of the flower, securing it to the tape.

Repeat on the other three petals. You are done!

Variations:

You can use any type of paper at all. You can paint/color/decorate blank paper to really customize them, or use recycled books, origami paper - anything! They also look very nice when you stack them on top of each other, as in my original photo (at the top). GORGEOUS, I tell you!