[Mother's Day] Projects to Make with Kids! A Collection of Carnation Craft Ideas
Here are some ideas for making carnations to share your feelings on Mother’s Day.
We’ve gathered a wide variety, from projects using familiar materials like origami paper, kitchen paper, and felt, to unique creations such as balloons and pop-up cards.
There are options suited to each age group, from three- to five-year-olds, so everyone can enjoy making them.
Gifts handcrafted together with children become special treasures that won’t fade with time.
Use this as a reference and enjoy making heartfelt gifts! Note: In this article, items made by children are treated as “works,” so we use the term “seisaku” (制作) in the text.
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[Mother’s Day] Projects to Make with Kids! Carnation Craft Ideas (21–30)
Handprint Carnation (0-year-old)
This craft is perfect for making carnations with infants, using their handprints.
Take the baby’s handprint in air-dry clay, decorate it with beads or other items if you like, and let it dry.
Once it’s completely dry, paint it in a carnation-inspired color such as red.
After the painted clay has dried, attach a stem made from a wooden skewer or chopstick.
On the back, you can add a photo or a message.
The baby’s tiny hand will look like a carnation, and the piece will also let you feel their growth.
Easy! Tissue paper carnations
Carnations made from tissue paper look and feel just like the real thing! The method is simple, so give it a try for Mother’s Day.
Stack six sheets of tissue paper measuring 9.5 cm × 12 cm, then accordion-fold them in 1.5 cm widths.
Once folded, wrap floral wire around the center to secure it, and cut both ends of the tissue paper into a zigzag shape.
Then, as you lift each layer, make small snips with scissors.
This will create petal-like frills just like a carnation.
Also great as a wall decoration! Carnations made of paper
This is a carnation made using red construction paper cut into half-circles.
It’s an idea that can be displayed flat, so it’s great for wall decorations, too.
First, cut the construction paper into a circle, then cut it in half.
Make four of these, then accordion-fold each one from the edge so it forms a fan shape.
Next, snip along the edge with scissors to create petals.
Finish all four in the same shape, stack them, and slide them left and right to form the carnation.
Attach a stem and leaves made from green construction paper to complete it.
Easy and cute! Carnation wreath
This is an easy wreath you can make with origami.
You’ll need to make many identical parts, but the steps are simple, so give it a try.
Prepare 7.5 cm origami paper.
Fold each of the four corners inward by about 1 cm, flip it over, and fold it into a triangle.
Then fold the triangle in half three more times.
Open what you folded, push down the center, and raise the sides.
Treat this as a single petal, and layer multiple pieces to create a carnation.
Folding one sheet at a time takes a while, so it’s best to stack several sheets and fold them together.
Once the carnations are done, glue them closely over the base, add a ribbon, and you’re finished.
How to fold a carnation without using scissors
Let’s make a carnation using three 7.5 cm origami sheets.
Fold the paper into a triangle, crease, and open it.
Rotate it 90 degrees and fold into a triangle again.
This time, offset it by about 0.2 mm so a sliver of the white side shows.
Next, fold the left and right corners up toward the top corner, then flip the paper over.
While bringing the back-side corner to the front, fold the left and right edges to align with the center line to complete one part.
Make two more identical parts and combine them to finish the flower!
Paper cup flowers
When it comes to classic Mother’s Day gifts, flowers like carnations are a staple.
How about a flower you can make with just a single paper cup? Cut evenly spaced slits from the rim down toward the bottom.
Then fold each of the resulting fringed strips inward into the cup and secure with tape.
The trick to making it look like petals is to fold each strip at a slight angle.
Once everything is taped down, your paper-cup flower is complete! Add a stem made from a straw to make it look even more like a real flower.
How to make an origami carnation
Here’s an easy origami project.
In this idea, you’ll layer two sheets of origami paper to make the carnation’s bloom.
First, fold the paper in half twice to form a square.
Next, fold it into a triangle, then fold it narrower by aligning the triangle’s side with the base.
Now use scissors to cut off the excess at the top and trim the cut edge into a jagged pattern.
Snip about 5 mm off the bottom corner, which will be the center of the flower, then unfold it.
Make another piece the same way and layer them to create frilly petals.
Alternate mountain and valley folds along the creases to shape it.
Attach a stem and leaves made from another sheet of origami paper, and you’re done!