How to make tissue paper marigolds for Day of the Dead

Here is how you make tissue paper Marigolds for Day of the Dead.

Marigolds (Cempasuchitl)  are Orange and yellow flowers that are used to decorate on Day of the Dead. The belief is that they help guide the spirits with their vibrant color and smell. Unfortunately, where I live it’s not easy to find them, so I made tissue paper ones instead, here is how;

Materials

• Tissue paper orange or yellow
  • If you are making lots of flowers, I recommend purchasing your tissue paper from Amazon.com I had a hard time finding a large package, most stores around me only sell eight sheets of tissue paper per pack.
• Regular scissors
• Green pipe cleaners
• Cutting mat
• Rotary cutter
• Edger Scissors 

Marigold Time

Begin by folding three sheets of tissue paper in half.

Then, make another fold along the same side. Press on the folds with your fingers so you can see the crease.

Next, unfold the sheets of paper and use the cutting mat and rotary cutter to cut the tissue paper into one long strip. If you don’t own these cutting tools use scissors instead, but if you are making a lot of flowers or crafts in general, I would highly recommend getting them, they are game-changers.  They make life easier when making fabric or paper projects.

Next, Cut the long strip of paper into small squares, about 5-inch x 5-inch.

Afterward, grab five squares and make half an inch folds to form an accordion.

Use Edger scissors to cut the end off the folded paper. If you don’t have this type of scissors, make a wavy edge with your regular scissors.

After, wrap a green pipe cleaner around the middle and twists at the bottom. I would recommend cutting the pipe cleaner to half or even thirds, depending on your project needs.

Finally, separate the layers of paper and fold corners inward to form your flower.

Repeat and repeat some more until you have enough flowers to decorate. I used them to decorate my table, sugar skulls, and altar.

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