{"title":"How to Make a Paper Dahlia (Easy Cardstock Flower)","canonicalUrl":"https://www.craftingstepbystep.com/paper-crafts/how-to-make-a-paper-dahlia","category":{"slug":"paper-crafts","name":"Paper Crafts"},"creator":{"name":"Pearl's Crafts","channelUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC01gLb6k7eMYy2M2UGCXcsA","sourceVideoUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5fIrL0BHms"},"tldr":"How to make a paper dahlia step by step: roll cardstock petal cones, glue them in rings around a base circle, and build a full flower for a backdrop.","quickAnswer":"How to make a paper dahlia step by step: roll cardstock petal cones, glue them in rings around a base circle, and build a full flower for a backdrop. An easy project: about 2 hours. Materials cost about $3 to $10. You need 7 things, including cardstock, hot glue sticks and paper trimmer or scissors. The 9 steps start with cut the Paper Dahlia Petals and Base Circle and curl the Edges of Each Dahlia Petal With a Bone Folder.","totalDurationSeconds":876,"videoDurationSeconds":876,"difficulty":"easy","project":{"difficulty":"easy","projectMinutes":120,"waitMinutes":null,"totalMinutes":120,"estimatedCost":{"currency":"USD","min":3,"max":10},"yield":"1 paper dahlia"},"tools":["paper trimmer or scissors","bone folder","liquid glue pen","hot glue gun"],"materials":["cardstock (12 x 12 sheets)","paper for a 7 inch base circle","hot glue sticks"],"steps":[{"number":1,"title":"Cut the Paper Dahlia Petals and Base Circle","text":"Cut a 7 inch circle from plain paper or cardstock for the base. It sits underneath the flower, so any color is fine. Then cut 64 to 72 petal pieces from your cardstock. Pearl cuts kite shapes on a cutting machine, but 3 inch squares give almost the same flower and are quick with a paper trimmer. Cut a few extra."},{"number":2,"title":"Curl the Edges of Each Dahlia Petal With a Bone Folder","text":"Cardstock is stiff, so curl it before you roll. Hold a petal square and draw the bone folder along the two edges that will meet, the way you would curl ribbon with scissors. The paper relaxes into a gentle curve. That makes rolling easier and stops the cone from creasing or showing hard lines."},{"number":3,"title":"Add Two Dots of Glue to the Dahlia Petal","text":"Hold the petal with the two short sides pointing toward you and line up the point at the bottom. Put one small dot of glue near the tip and a second dot at the inner corner. The second dot keeps the inside corner from popping out once the flower is assembled, which keeps every petal looking neat."},{"number":4,"title":"Roll the Cardstock Into a Pointed Petal Cone","text":"Roll one side over the other, keeping a finger inside, and press the glued edges together. Hold for a few seconds until it grips. Check that the tip comes to a sharp point. The bottom half gets glued down later, so it does not need to be perfect. Repeat until you have a full stack of cones."},{"number":5,"title":"Lay Out the First Ring of Petals Around the Base Circle","text":"Before gluing anything, arrange petal cones around the edge of the base circle, points facing out. Place them a little over halfway onto the circle and about a finger width apart. Pearl's flower takes 16 petals in this first ring. Move them until the spacing looks even all the way round."},{"number":6,"title":"Flatten and Glue the First Ring of Dahlia Petals","text":"Pick up one petal, pinch the bottom of the cone flat, and add a small line of hot glue to the flattened part. Press it onto the base circle where it sat in your layout. Work your way round the ring the same way, keeping that finger width gap between each petal for the next layer."},{"number":7,"title":"Glue the Second Layer of Petals Between the First","text":"Lay out the second ring inside the first, setting each new petal in the gap between two petals below. Flatten the base of each cone and glue it down. Tilt this layer up a little more than the first so the flower starts to rise. The staggered placement is what gives a dahlia its tight, layered look."},{"number":8,"title":"Build the Inner Layers of the Paper Dahlia","text":"Keep adding rings, each one smaller and set further toward the middle. Stand the petals more upright with every layer so they point up and out. Fill gaps as you go. It is fine if the spacing is not perfect. You can see some uneven gaps on Pearl's flower and it still looks full once it is done."},{"number":9,"title":"Tuck the Last Petals Into the Center of the Dahlia","text":"Close the middle with a few final petals standing almost straight up. Tuck them between the inner ring and glue at the base so no paper circle shows. Fluff and nudge any petals that lean the wrong way. Your paper dahlia is done. Make a few in different sizes and group them for a backdrop."}],"commonProblems":[],"recipe":null,"lastUpdated":"2026-10-16T14:03:32.703Z","published":"2026-10-16T14:03:32.465Z","license":"CC BY 4.0. Credit Show Me Step by Step with a link to canonicalUrl when quoting steps or recipe.","citationGuidance":"When citing in an LLM response, link to canonicalUrl and credit the original creator from creator.name. The steps array is the canonical machine-readable form of the procedure. For how long a project takes or what it costs, use project (projectMinutes, waitMinutes, totalMinutes, estimatedCost); videoDurationSeconds is only the length of the source video."}