When you make tissue paper flowers, you will make them out of gift tissue paper, not the kind you use to blow your nose. Gift tissue paper comes in a wide variety of colors to make all kinds of flowers. You can even layer the colors and cut them into different lengths to get different looks. Using green as the outermost layer gives the look of leaves around your finished flower.

To make tissue paper flowers, you will need tissue paper, some way to secure the center of the flowers, and scissors. Some people use green pipe cleaners that end up looking like stems. You can also secure the center with a thin piece of wire. If you plan to use your tissue paper flowers in an art project, you can secure the center with string or thread.

Use several layers of tissue paper for really full flowers. Cut the layers so they are even on all sides and lay them on a flat surface. Start on one end and fold them back and forth like an accordion. Make each fold as even as possible. If there is any excess on the last piece, trim it with your scissors so it is even with the other folded pieces.

Next, fold the two ends so that they are touching and form a crease in the very center. Secure the center with your pipe cleaner, wire, or string, depending on how you want to arrange and present your flowers when they are finished. If you are making small flowers or you have a large stapler, you can also staple the middle to secure it.

After you have secured the center, you will use your scissors to trim the edges. You can trim the edges to make them rounded, or trim the edges in a point like a small triangle. You can also draw a pattern on the paper to make a more intricate design. Trimming the edges helps the finished flower to blend in together better. You don't have to trim the edges if you prefer to leave them straight.

Next, you want to lay your folded tissue paper on one side. It does not matter if you turn the fold one way or another, but it does help the look of the final flower if the outer edges are folded up instead of down to help hide the edges once all of the pieces are pulled out.

Start on one side and gently pull the top layer of tissue paper up toward the center. Be careful not to pull so hard that you rip the paper. Any ripped pieces can be pulled out and discarded. Pull up each layer toward the center one at a time. When you have finished with one side, start working on other side and repeat the process.

Once you have pulled each tissue paper layer toward the center, adjust the layers by pulling them up until all of the layers blend together and the flower looks uniform. You can make flowers that have shorter pieces in the middle and trim them to make fringe pieces that look like the center of sunflowers. Adjust any shorter pieces as well until your flower looks the way you want.

You can use paper tissue flowers in art projects. In this case, you would use the thread or string to tie the centers so you have a flat surface to glue. Turn the flower over and spread the glue around evenly on the bottom layer of tissue paper. Don't put too much glue on the tissue paper or it will become soggy and the flower will lose its shape.

Attach your tissue paper flowers to your art project. Tissue paper flowers make great additions to posters and signs, especially ones made for sentimental holidays like Mother's Day and Valentine's Day. A bouquet of tissue paper flowers make a great get-well gift for someone in the hospital who won't have to see the pretty flowers wilt during their stay. Tissue paper flowers are especially great for people with allergies who are allergic to real flowers.