{"title":"How to Make a Paper Poinsettia (Easy Folded Christmas Flower)","canonicalUrl":"https://www.craftingstepbystep.com/paper-crafts/how-to-make-a-paper-poinsettia","category":{"slug":"paper-crafts","name":"Paper Crafts"},"creator":{"name":"Sarah Trebilcock Cardmaking Ideas Tutorials Design","channelUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsakviVS6fj0CAM0dFBTTeQ","sourceVideoUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seKOyOGAqEI"},"tldr":"Fold five paper squares into a layered 3D poinsettia. Cut one curve, pleat the veins with tweezers and glue. No punches or templates.","quickAnswer":"Fold five paper squares into a layered 3D poinsettia. An easy project: about 30 minutes. Materials cost about $1 to $2. You need 6 things, including precision craft glue, gold beads, pearls or gems and small sharp scissors. The 10 steps start with cut Graduated Paper Squares for the Paper Poinsettia, fold the Paper Poinsettia Square Into a Triangle, find the Centre Fold Lines on the Paper Poinsettia Triangle and fold the Paper Poinsettia Triangle Into a Narrow Wedge.","totalDurationSeconds":872,"videoDurationSeconds":872,"difficulty":"easy","project":{"difficulty":"easy","projectMinutes":30,"waitMinutes":null,"totalMinutes":30,"estimatedCost":{"currency":"USD","min":1,"max":2},"yield":"1 paper poinsettia"},"tools":["small sharp scissors","tweezers","paper trimmer (optional)"],"materials":["red and green double sided paper","precision craft glue","gold beads, pearls or gems"],"steps":[{"number":1,"title":"Cut Graduated Paper Squares for the Paper Poinsettia","text":"Cut five squares of paper: 4, 3 1/2, 3, 2 1/2 and 2 inches. Make the biggest one green for the leaves and the rest red for the petals. These sizes give a flower about 3 1/2 inches across. For a bigger or smaller poinsettia, change the starting size and keep the half inch steps. Use paper, not card, so it folds cleanly."},{"number":2,"title":"Fold the Paper Poinsettia Square Into a Triangle","text":"Start with the biggest square. If your paper has a right side, place it facing up. It goes inside as you fold but ends up on top when you open the flower. Fold the square in half corner to corner to make a triangle. Then bring one point of the long edge over to the other and pinch a tiny crease to mark the centre."},{"number":3,"title":"Find the Centre Fold Lines on the Paper Poinsettia Triangle","text":"Take the top point of the triangle down to the centre mark and pinch a small crease where it falls. Then fold the straight edge up at a right angle to meet the top point and pinch again. You are only finding lines here, not folding everything flat. These little marks show you where the next folds go."},{"number":4,"title":"Fold the Paper Poinsettia Triangle Into a Narrow Wedge","text":"Keep the centre point in place and swing the straight edge across until it meets your marked point. Crease it. Flip the paper over and bring the other edge across to meet the first fold. A little paper can show past the edge. You now have a narrow, layered wedge with three folds on one side and two on the other."},{"number":5,"title":"Snip a Guide Nick at the Base of the Paper Poinsettia Wedge","text":"Near the bottom of the wedge, cut a small nick into the side with three folds. This nick is your stop line. The bottom point holds all the petals together, so you must never cut past it. If you do, you end up with loose petals instead of one flower. Trim off any uneven bits at the open top so you know how much room you have."},{"number":6,"title":"Cut the Curved Paper Poinsettia Petal Shape","text":"Start as close to the top as you can. Angle the scissors and cut steeply down in a curve, cutting through all the folded layers. Keep curving round until you reach your nick. Cut away all the fold lines on that side so the petals separate at the tips. Your cut makes a long pointed petal shape. Every one will be a little different, and that is fine."},{"number":7,"title":"Pleat Veins Into the Paper Poinsettia Petals With Tweezers","text":"Before you unfold anything, grip the wedge with tweezers at an angle, running from the base up toward the tip. Bend the paper around the tweezers and squash it flat. Then fold back the other way. Keep folding back and forth like a concertina. These small pleats become the veins and give each petal its ripples without any shaping tools."},{"number":8,"title":"Open the Green Paper Poinsettia Leaf Layer","text":"Gently open the layers. Unfold the three sections, then open the remaining piece in half to show the last two petals. Some petals will be folded the wrong way, with a mountain fold instead of a valley. Flip those over. Then pinch the tip of every petal so they come to a point. Your green layer of five veined leaves is done."},{"number":9,"title":"Shape the Red Paper Poinsettia Petal Layers","text":"Repeat the same folds, cuts and pleats with each red square, from largest to smallest. Open each one, flip any petals folded the wrong way and pinch the tips into points. The red paper is thinner than the green, so it pleats more easily. You should end up with three or four red petal layers in falling sizes."},{"number":10,"title":"Glue the Paper Poinsettia Layers Together","text":"Put a dot of glue in the centre of the green leaf layer and press the largest red layer on top. Turn it so its petals sit between the leaves. Keep stacking the red layers, smallest on top, turning each one a little. Finish by gluing a cluster of gold beads, pearls or gems in the centre for the flower's middle."}],"commonProblems":[],"recipe":null,"lastUpdated":"2026-11-13T15:19:35.693Z","published":"2026-11-13T15:19:35.341Z","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."}