These pipe cleaner tulips are a bright and cheerful craft that’s perfect for spring! With just a few simple supplies, you can create colourful tulip flowers that look adorable in a bouquet, as decorations, or even as a handmade gift.
This easy flower craft is great for older kids and adults alike, and it’s a fun way to get creative with different colours and shapes. Whether you’re making a single tulip or a whole bunch, these DIY pipe cleaner flowers are a simple and satisfying project that brings a little bit of spring indoors!
This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something we may earn a small commission which helps us run this website.
DIY Pipe Cleaner Tulip
Materials:
- Pipe cleaners (pink and green)
- Artificial flower stem
- Floral tape
See the craft in action:
Instructions:
Step 1: Find what you need
- Gather your supplies and materials.
Step 2: Make the petals
- To make the petals you’ll need 8 pipe cleaners of 1 colour.
- You’ll also need a ruler — or you can just guesstimate where the 2 inch mark is on the pipe cleaner.
- Bend the pipe cleaner down at the 2 inch mark, bringing it snug against the next part of the pipe cleaner.Wrap the remaining pipe cleaner around the outside of this section 3 times, creating a petal made up of 5 sections.
- To secure the petal, bring the remaining part up through the center of the petal. Then pull down gently, keeping the outside edge of the petal nicely shaped.
- Adjust the petal so each pipe cleaner part is flat and then pinch the top of the petal so it’s a bit pointed.
- Now bend the petal so the middle curves outward.
- Repeat, making 7 more petals (for a total of 8).
Step 3: Make leaves
- To make a leaf for the tulip, hold 2 green pipe cleaners together.
- Fold the pipe cleaners in half and twist the pipe cleaners together at the fold mark to keep them together.
- Bring the ends of the pipe cleaners together so that the 4 sections lay flat.
- Twist the loose ends together about 1/2 inch away from the end.
- Then bend the leaf so it’s curved in the middle and is pointy at the top, just like the petals.
- Repeat, making a second leaf.
Step 4: Put the flower together
- For the tulip’s stem you’ll need 12 gauge floral wire or a wire stem.
- Hold a petal against one end of the stem and attach the petal’s “stem” to the wire stem with floral tape.
- Connect 2 more petals evenly around the stem using floral tape. These will be the center of the flower.
- Add a 4th petal so it sits between 2 from the previous row.
- Then add the rest of the petals, spacing them evenly and wrapping the tape fully around the stem once in-between each petal.
- Then scrunch the petals together so that they bend nicely towards the center of the flower.
Step 5: Add the leaves
- Wrap the floral tape around the wire, going down about half way.
- Attach a leaf so it curves down and out. Wrap the tape around several times to keep it secure.
- Then connect the second leaf so it sits 1 inch or so lower than the first one.
- Continue wrapping the tape around the stem until you reach the bottom. You can wrap back up a bit too, to ensure the stem is well covered.Cut off the tape and wrap the last bit cleanly around the stem.
- Your pipe cleaner tulip is complete!
- Now have fun making a whole bouquet of colourful pipe cleaner tulips.
Helpful Tips:
- Make a whole bouquet of tulips in different colours! It makes a great homemade gift for Mother’s Day, birthdays, and other special occasions.
- You can use a dot of hot glue to secure the petals and leaves before taping around them. This will ensure that the flower is strong and everything stays where you want it.
How many pipe cleaners do I need to make a pipe cleaner tulip?
To make one tulip you’ll need 12 pipe cleaners total: 8 of one colour (for the flower itself) and 4 green pipe cleaners for the leaves.
What can I use for a stem if I don’t have wire?
You can also use green pipe cleaners to make the tulip’s stem, but you’ll probably want to twist several together so it’s a bit stronger.
You can also wrap floral tape around a wooden skewer or a thin wooden dowel. Green drinking straws (paper or plastic) also make good flower stems for kids crafts.
What other flowers can I make using pipe cleaners?
There are so many different flowers you can make to create a whole varied bouquet. You can make pipe cleaner roses, pipe cleaner lilies, pipe cleaner sunflowers, pipe cleaner hyacinths, and more!
You can check out all our easy pipe cleaner flower tutorials for full instructions on how to make these flowers and more flower themed pipe cleaner crafts!
These pipe cleaner tulips are such a fun way to create flowers that last. No watering, no wilting, just bright colours you can enjoy all season long! They’re perfect for adding a handmade touch to your space, whether you display them in a vase, use them as table decor, or tuck them into a gift for a sweet surprise.
Here’s even more pipe cleaner flower ideas:
Now available
Low-Mess Crafts for Kids Book
72 cute and fun crafts that kids and parents alike can enjoy. All with as little mess as possible!
Where to buy:
You can purchase Low-Mess Crafts for Kids from Amazon, or wherever books are sold:
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Books-A-Million | Indiebound | Amazon Canada
Leave a Reply