If you've got a pile of paper strips sitting in your scrap bin — off-cuts from previous projects, old book pages, maps, packaging paper, maybe a newspaper you've been meaning to do something with — this tutorial is for you. I'll show you how to fold and pleat those strips into paper flowers, and then walk through all the ways I actually use them in journal projects, on envelopes, as closures, tags, gift wrapping, and more.
What we cover
The tutorial covers the full pleating technique for making flowers from strips of paper, including how to handle different strip widths and join short pieces together. The second half is entirely about application — I show at least eight different ways to use finished flowers in real projects, from mini journal closures to corner pockets to art journal pages.
What you'll learn
How to pleat paper strips into a circular flower shape — the core diagonal-fold technique that turns a strip into a rounded flower form. This is the kind of thing that's easier to watch than to read, but the key motion is angling each fold so the strip naturally curves into a circle rather than folding it straight like an accordion.
Why thinner, floppier paper works better than stiff paper — book pages, newspaper, packaging paper, and gift wrap all behave beautifully because the paper surrenders to the folds. Heavier scrapbook paper resists, especially in wider strips. This is one of those things you learn after a ruined attempt or two.
How to work with strips of different widths, including:
- Narrow strips (around an inch) — easiest to form a full circle with paper left over for layering
- Medium strips (around 1.5 inches) — manageable but may need two pieces joined
- Wide strips (1.75 inches and up) — likely need three strips joined; can look beautiful with mixed patterned scrapbook papers if you lean into the patchwork
How to join short strips into a single flower — half a flower from one piece, half from another, pressed together before securing the center. Book page flowers made this way are actually my favorites.
How to secure the center of the flower, including:
- Piercing a hole through all layers with an awl, thumbtack, or needle and threading a brad through
- Stapling the center (easier when the layers are very thick) and then covering the staple with a button, punched shape, or layered circles
- Sewing a button directly onto the center — my preferred method when I want to avoid hot glue seeping through the holes
Why not to flatten your pleats until the flower is finished — I learned this one the hard way. If you crease everything down as you go, you lose the ability to adjust the shape before it's locked in. Keep the folds loose and maneuver as you build; press them down at the end.
How to embellish and finish flowers, including:
- Inking the edges for definition
- Spraying with gold spray, then misting lightly with watered-down black acrylic paint for a layered effect
- Adding punched shapes, paint swatch circles, butterfly cutouts, or flowers from your stash to the center
- Doodling with a white pen, adding dots, or watercoloring over book page flowers
How to layer two flowers — a larger flower underneath, a smaller one on top, held together with a long brad or hot glue. Gives a full, dimensional look, though it does add bulk to consider for journal use.
Eight ways to use finished flowers in projects, including:
- As a journal closure — brad the flower to an envelope flap, wrap twine underneath, and the flower becomes the functional clasp
- On wonky envelopes — the brad does double duty, securing both flower and envelope flap
- On a paperclip — loop the brad feet around the clip wire and you have a decorated page marker that actually grips a page
- On tags — clean, simple, beautiful
- As gift wrap embellishment — if you sew a button center with long thread strands, tie those strands directly around the package
- As a corner pocket — fold a square of paper diagonally, glue the flower to the point, then glue two sides to a journal page to create a pocket that opens for journaling
- As tabs sticking out from journal pages
- On an art journal page — glued flat alongside drawn grass stems, they read as a floral illustration
Tips & gotchas
The single most useful thing to know before you start: don't press the pleats flat until the flower is complete. It's tempting to crease everything down neatly as you go, but once those folds are set it's very hard to adjust the shape. Hold everything loosely, keep maneuvering until the circle is closed, then press it all down at the end.
Wide strips are beautiful but tricky. A strip much wider than an inch and a half will run out of paper well before it forms a full circle. That's not a failure — it just means you'll be joining two or three strips. If you're using the same paper throughout, the joins are invisible. If you're using different papers, the patchwork can actually look intentional and lovely, especially with mixed scrapbook prints.
For piercing the center hole: the wider the hole, the easier the brad goes through. You're pushing through several layers of folded paper, and a tight hole makes a fiddly job harder. If the layers are very thick, just staple the center instead and cover it — that's genuinely easier than fighting a thick stack with an awl.
Hot glue and holes don't mix well. If your flower has any gaps or puncture points at the center, hot glue will seep through and show on the front. For button centers especially, sewing is worth the extra minute.
Newspaper is an underrated material here. The sheets are larger than 12×12, which makes the folding easier to maneuver, and the paper weight is nearly perfect — thin enough to pleat without fighting.
Don't expect perfect. These flowers are not meant to be symmetrical. A brad that's slightly off-center, a petal that's a little wider than the rest — none of that matters once the flower is on a project. The imperfection is part of what makes them feel handmade rather than manufactured.
They're built from what you'd otherwise throw away, and that's exactly what I love about them. Strips that were too small for anything else, book pages you'd already harvested for other purposes, scrapbook papers whose patterns you never quite liked — they all disappear into something worth keeping.
