DLTK's Holiday Crafts for Kids
Tissue Paper Poppy Bouquet Craft

Tissue paper crafts are so wonderful and creative. I love the way that tissue paper moves and crinkles on its own—turning the craft from simple to lovely so easily.

When I was younger I was always a huge fan of these flower bouquet! To be honest, I've never been much good at keeping plants alive, but these bouquet's give a pop of colour and the added benefit of being handmade! Using tissue paper to make a Remembrance or Veteran's Day poppy bouquet is an excellent way for children to appreciate the holiday.

Materials for the Vase:

• juice jar (500-750 ml)
• paper mache paste (1 part flour to 5 parts water... boil about 3 minutes and let cool)
  +
  strips of white paper.
• paint or markers to decorate.

Materials for one flower:

• tissue paper (I used red and a bit of black for the center),
• straw (I used green),
• cotton ball,
• scissors,
• scotch tape (or floral tape).

Directions for making the vase:

• Paper mache the jar (cover with 2 layers newspaper with one layer white paper over top of that) or just cover with 3 layers of white paper.
• Let dry (takes about a day for the paper mache to dry)
• decorate the jar with paint or markers.  You can paint the whole jar another color or leave it white and add some design with a color that matches your flowers.

Directions for making a flower:

• cut a square of tissue paper (white or yellow) about 2" by 2".
• Put a small piece of cotton (about 1/4 of a cotton ball in the center.
• scrunch the cotton filled tissue paper around the end of the straw and wrap a piece of scotch tape around it
• From red tissue paper, cut out a petal shape with a square tab for attaching to the straw. You'll need about 6 petals per poppy so cut out enough petals for your bouquet.
• Put a petal around the cotton filled tissue paper.  Tape it on.
• Continue adding petals until you have a realistic looking poppy.  When I placed my petals around the poppy's center I tried to make them look realistic by layering the petals in relatively the same place. You can look at a picture or at a poppy pin for inspiration.
• Fluff the petals out a bit to shape your flower.
• Optional:  spritz a bit of perfume on your flower to scent it.

Printable version of these instructions