How to Make Quilling Paper Orchids

There has been a whole lot of green here on The Papery Craftery blog, lately.

I’ve been having loads of fun making a bunch of tutorials about different types of quilled leaves and greenery.

But I, for one, am really ready for some bright color!

So, before we get into the rich tones of autumn, I thought I’d share a post on how to make quilling paper orchids this week.

When designing these orchids, I knew that I wanted to have them on a single, long stem that could hold up the weight of a few flowers, just like real orchids.

I used some copper wire wrapped in floral tape to make this happen.

Here is similar wire and tape, if you want to try this yourself!

Try adding some small pieces of wire along the longer stem, wherever you want to have your orchids later on.

Now, one of the best things about orchids is how many colors and varieties there are.

I choose to make these orchids bright white, with vibrant rose and yellow centers to make them as simple and fresh as I could.

I know there are very technical names for the parts of flowers, but since I’m no expert, I’m going to keep my descriptions really basic.

Orchids have 5 petals on each flower, one small on the top and two on the bottom, and 2 larger petals in the middle facing out to the sides.

To form these petals I made:

• 3 tight coils, pinched into teardrops, rolled from 51″ strips (or 3 17″ strips glued end to end)
• 2 tight coils, pinched into teardrops, rolled from 85″ strips (or 5 17″ strips glued end to end)

The three smaller petals can remain flat, but the larger two can be slightly domed, by pushing the center out gently with your thumb. Add some glue to the domed teardrop to keep the shape.

TIP: If you’re having trouble pinching the large coils into teardrops, try making the dome shape first. It may be a little easier to pinch afterward!

Once your 5 petals are rolled, you can start building your orchids!

Place the 3 smaller petals about a 1/2″ apart in a triangle shape on a cork workboard covered in wax paper.

I found that it was helpful to use a corkboard, wax paper, and a few pins to keep the bottom petals in place while the glue is drying.

Glue the larger petals to the bottom ones so that the rounded ends are in the center of the triangle, and the points are facing out, and slightly up in the air.

This is another time where I’d recommend grabbing some Tacky Glue.

Your larger petals will stick faster so you don’t have to hold them in one place as long.

Next, it’s on to the inner parts of the orchid bloom!

I chose to use a deep rose shade for the inner petals and lip (that’s the small petal-like part pointing down from the center ~ I looked it up 🙂

Here are the measurements for those:

• 2 tight coils, domed and pinched into teardrops, rolled from 22″ strips
• 1 tight coil, domed and pinched into a teardrop, rolled from a 33″ strip

Orchids also have a rounded piece between the two largest petals, called the column (Thanks again, Google!).

I rolled this from a 17″ strip of yellow quilling paper, that had been pushed into a slight dome.

Some orchids also have a small swirl over the column in the center.

So I added that as well, by making a scroll from an 8″ strip of the rose paper with about 3/4″ tail unrolled.

Glue the 3 rose-colored teardrop domes in the center of the white petals, with the larger lip pointing to the bottom of the orchid.

Add the yellow column to the very center of the bloom.

I also decided to fold the tail of the scroll piece in half to make it a bit more sturdy.

Tuck the last rose piece under the top of the yellow column so it curls back towards the white petal underneath.

In order to make my orchid stems look as realistic as possible, I chose to make 3 big flowers.

I also rolled some small white and green buds to add to the ends.

I didn’t make notes while I was making them, but I believe each white bud was made from 2 strips of 8″ paper, and the green was 2 strips of 6″ paper. To see how I make 3D shapes like these, check out the posts on quilling paper cherries or holly garland!

Apply some glue to the end of each part of the stem and attach your flowers and buds.

The small green buds would go on the very tip, then the white buds, and last, the full orchid blooms.

The end of the stems will probably fit right into the hole left from your quilling tool in the center of the buds.

There is also room on the back of the larger flowers to tuck the stem between the petals.

I used some hot glue for this (mainly because I’m impatient) but you can use Tacky Glue as well.

Delicate and fresh, this orchid stem looks perfect in a simple glass jar!

I love this small pop of color against the cool gray of my living room walls.

It’s been living on a shelf there for a while and makes me smile every time I see it!

I hope you’re inspired to after this tutorial on how to make quilling paper orchids and decide to roll your own!

What colors would you use?

Leave your thoughts in the comments below!