Make Tissue Paper Flowers for Valentine's Day

Strapped for cash this year, run out of time to shop, or want to do something cute and creative? Try making a bouquet of flowers from tissue paper with this easy project for kids or anyone of any age. The recipient will be thrilled with the amount of time, effort and love poured into making this lovely gift.

You will need for this project a pair of scissors, green pipe cleaners, and buttons with holes large enough for the pipe cleaners, tissue paper of various colors, ribbon and glue.

Begin the project by cutting out the flowers from the tissue paper. Leave the tissue paper folded in many layers and draw several circles about four to five inches in diameter in each color. Brightly colored tissue paper looks nice, or pastels, or even all one color. Cut out the circles through all of the layers of tissue paper. Cut out regular circles, or make the edges wavy for added interest, or make each one different. Vary the sizes of the circles a little bit for interest.

Use something sharp to carefully poke a hole through the center of the circles, leaving all the layers together still. Be careful not to poke too big of a hole. Poke the green pipe cleaner through the hole and through one hole of a button. Bend the pipe cleaner at about one and a half inches and bring it back down through the other hole of the button. Twist the end of the pipe cleaner around itself right under the button.

Glue the bottom of the button to the tissue paper flowers and allow them to dry. Also put a small amount of glue at the base of the flower at the stem to hold the tissue paper and pipe cleaner together.

Make as many flowers of various shapes and sizes as you would like for you bouquet. Arrange them nicely once they are dry and clip the pipe cleaners so that the stems are the same length. Tie the stems with ribbon. You can either wrap ribbon around the stems completely or just tie in a simple bow. Choose nice color of ribbon that compliments the colors in the flowers well.

Put them in a small vase if you would like and give them along with a nice hand-made card to your girlfriend, mother, grandmother or any other special person for Valentine's Day.