PRINTING & CRAFTS

How to make a papercraft flower crown

Crafter Hannah Bullivant explains how to make a beautiful spring-themed flower crown with a PIXMA printer and Canon Creative Park.
A girl plays with a papercraft bee, while a boy wearing a blue paper flower crown sits next to her. Both crafts were created using a Canon printer and templates from Canon Creative Park.
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To celebrate the arrival of spring, have a go at creating a papercraft headdress: an affordable and plastic-free alternative to traditional flower crowns. More than just a fun activity, creative crafting can also act as a mindful experience which can calm busy minds. Plus, with older children helping their younger siblings, it's an activity that the whole family can get involved with.

Here, crafter Hannah Bullivant has used 3D flowers and bee templates from Canon Creative Park to make flower crowns with her children to wear to a springtime party. Take a look at how they got on and discover top tips for making your own unique headdress.

You will need

1 . Pick your templates

Designer Hannah Bullivant holds a Canon Creative Park flower template printed on a Canon PIXMA printer.

Hannah printed the flower crown templates using the Canon Creative Park app on her smartphone and connecting to her Canon PIXMA TS5350a Series printer, but any compatible PIXMA printer will do the job.

There are a range of flower templates to choose from on Canon Creative Park, including 3D flowers, sunflowers and roses.

Small or medium templates will fit perfectly onto the base of your crown. Getting your children involved with picking the templates means they can have a unique flower crown of their own choosing. "I really enjoyed choosing the crafts," says Hannah's daughter, Frankie, who chose the 3D flowers in different colours, as well as a bee template. Meanwhile, Hannah's youngest, Auden, wanted a large blue flower.

Your design can be as simple or as complex as you want. You can add more templates or stay with a minimalist look. You don't have to stick to flowers either. You could make a butterfly-themed crown with 3D butterfly templates or the slightly more challenging 3D butterfly wall stickers. You could also use 3D heart templates or a dinosaur template for a themed birthday party.

Creative Park allows you to print straight from your smartphone, so once you've chosen your templates, print them onto Canon Matte Photo Paper.

2. Fold, stick and assemble

Designer Hannah Bullivant sits next to a young girl who is cutting out flower templates downloaded from Canon Creative Park.

A pair of scissors is fine for cutting out your templates, but you might need a cutting board and craft knife for some of the more complicated designs, so adults should take the lead on those.

A young boy smiles at the camera while holding a blue paper flower created from a Canon Creative Park template.

Make sure to score the lines on your templates with a ruler when folding as this will give it a better shape when finished.

Now you're ready to build your templates. Follow the instructions on Canon Creative Park for each template as you may have to score lines before folding. You could use a glue gun to stick your templates together, but you can also use glue sticks or PVA. Glue dots may be better suited to younger crafters, though Hannah found the glue gun worked best for her children under supervision. "Auden was OK using the glue gun, with my close supervision," she says. "The glue gun is much quicker than PVA so perfect for impatient kids!"

To make your crown headband unique, you could decorate with paint, glitter or felt tip pens. This is a great way to get children involved, as they can decorate the templates before they are folded, and adds another fun element to your craft project, especially if your children love getting the paints out. It's also a lovely way to create flower crowns as gifts, as you can decorate the templates to give them a personal touch.

3. Build your crown

A young girl smiles as she wraps brown string around a metal headband to form the base of a flower crown.

When building the flower crown, Hannah recommends starting with a solid base. She used a metal headband to wrap the string around, but you could use a headband you already own and give it a fresh new look. If you're using craft wire to form the base, make this before you get your children involved as the ends can be sharp. Once you've made your base shape, twist the ends together and fold them over so that there aren't any sharp bits.

Designer Hannah Bullivant helps a young girl use a glue gun to stick paper flowers, created from Canon Creative Park templates, onto a headband.

Papercraft flower crowns are not just for springtime. They can brighten up any time of the year and would make for a good rainy day craft project, or you could wear your flower crown on a regular weekday to cheer yourself up. You could also host a themed party and show it off, or pop it on for a day at the beach if you want to take some fun holiday snaps.

Whether you're using a headband you already have, or craft wire to form a halo-style flower crown, make sure to hide your base. Hannah helped Frankie to wrap brown craft string around a metal headband and then fixed the ends using a glue gun. You could also use ribbon or leftover material. Once this is attached securely, you have your base to start sticking your finished templates onto. "Auden got involved with gusto and enjoyed all of it," says Hannah.

A young girl helps a young boy put a blue paper flower crown on his head

Auden loved playing with the little bees before they were attached to the crown, making them buzz and fly about. This is a great way to get younger children involved. Crafting can also serve as a bonding activity for them. Frankie, for instance, helped her little brother make and put on his flower crown.

A young girl looks down at the ground to show her paper flower crown to the camera.

Frankie really loved the finished flower crown and wanted to be photographed wearing it, so don't forget to take a picture to preserve the memory for your children to look at years later.

Once you've attached your templates to your headband – you can add as many or as few as you'd like – set it aside to let the glue dry. Then you can celebrate in style, whether that's a fashion show, a party, or a fun day out at the park.

Flower crowns are often synonymous with festivals, so why not put your papercraft crowns on and have an at-home festival with music in the garden and a tent for a picnic? "Frankie has the crown hooked over her dressing table mirror and is looking forward to wearing it for parties this summer," says Hannah.

And they're not just for children. You could make a striking version for a night out, or to wear to a birthday party. You could even give your finished flower crown to a friend or family member – incorporating their favourite colour, or a flower they love, would make it a thoughtful handmade gift.



For more papercraft inspiration, check out our Pinterest page and share your own homemade flower crowns using the #MadeWithPixma hashtag.



Written by Tamzin Wilks

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