Cinco de Mayo (the 5th of May) is a day that recognizes Mexican heritage and pride. These handmade tissue paper flowers are a colorful, cheerful addition to the celebration.
It takes just a few supplies, a few folds and a bit of fluffing for an authentic way to decorate for the festivities. So gather up some tissue paper in a variety of colors, scissors and pipe cleaners and let’s get started!
First, cut rectangles from large sheets of tissue paper and stack. The fullness of your finished flower depends on the number of sheets of tissue you use, so feel free to experiment to find the results you love. We used a total of 8 sheets for each of our flowers and our rectangles were approx. 9 inches by 13 inches.
Starting at one of the short ends of the rectangle, fold the stack accordion style – like you fold a paper fan. We made folds of approx. ½ inch. You may need to trim a bit of excess paper at the end of the last fold, just to make sure that everything is even.
Round the edges of each of the two ends. No need for it to be perfect – it just adds more charm to your finished flower!
Twist a pipe cleaner around the center of your folded tissue. Holding it at the center, fan out one of the sides. To fluff, gently pull up each layer of tissue paper separately. Then repeat with the other side. The tissue paper is very forgiving, so fluff, crumple and twist until you like the way your flower looks.
String several flowers together as a garland, create a bunch for a vase (add a dowel or a straw to make them easier to arrange) or use them to adorn your hair. Then enjoy the celebration!
