On my 60th birthday, Grand-daughter Luci gave me a beautiful flower.
Imagine my delight.
And then imagine my delight when I discovered that Luci actually makes these flowers….out of (drum roll please) … duct tape!
What? Flowers out of Duct Tape? (and I thought Duct Tape was only good for canning tomatoes)!
Luci thought that the duct tape flowers would be a good project for my blog.
I totally agree.
She plans to show everyone how to make these flowers at Thanksgiving, but we will share this project with all of you right now.
First, run out and get yourself some duct tape.
Don’t hold back.
While you’re at it, if you get some duct tape with patterns of dragons, fire or camouflage, the guys in your house will just HAVE to give it a try. They can’t help themselves.
You will need pencils as well. I found some green pencils with green erasers, but I had some other pencils around as well, so I added them to the mix.
Now you can begin making your flower petals.
You may want to use scissors, but one of the joys of duct tape is that you can easily rip the duct tape to the size you need. Each piece should be a little longer than it is wide. So, rip (or cut) the tape into 2 inch(ish) pieces.
With the sticky side face up, fold one edge over itself, leaving a small strip of the sticky tape on the side as well as the bottom.
Fold the other side over so that you have made a pentagon. Now the only sticky part should be at the bottom.
Wrap this around your pencil.
Do this again, and again until you have created the flower you want.
You may want to wrap some green duct tape on the stem to cover any uneven strips and also to add some little leaves to the stem.
A little tip. It goes faster if you rip a lot of pieces at the same time.
Really. It’s that easy.
If you are lucky, you will find pencils with green or yellow erasers. If not, you can either wrap the end with green duct tape (it doesn’t need to be perfect)….
…or you can wrap paper stamen around the end of the pencil. (I’m not entirely sure why, but you can find stamen in the craft section of almost any store that has a decent size craft section. Go figure.)
You can, if you wish, make a different type of petal for your flower by folding the top of the duct tape strip over and leaving about 1/2 inch at the bottom.
Then trim the folded part into a half circle.
Apply the half circle to your pencil.
Do it again and again until you have a lovely little flower.
Because it tickles me, I put together a little “flip book” movie to show you how easy it is to make these flowers. (Note that I used a very boyish dragon for this particular flower.)
Just click -> How to make a Duct Tape flower….in 8 seconds.
Thank you, Darling Luci…..
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Your grandaughter is so cute! I have been making all kinds of duct-tape flowers for awhile now and i get all kinds of compliments on them! You can also make the same petals and arange them on a piece of folded over duct tape to make a flat flower! You might want to make them smaller the farther in you go! The more layers the better! Plus it looks lovely with rounded petals!
love the pictures!
Thanks, we think she’s pretty cute, too!!!
I love your suggestion with the flat flowers. If you get a chance, it would be great to share your flowers on the Facebook Fan Page for What Will We Do Today!!! Sounds like you are an expert at this……
Have a great day!!
Thank You
These are so cute! What a great way to spend some time indoors and make something shiny and feminine out of a typically MAN material!
Ha! You are so right!! Evidently, the kids are making purses out of duct tape now as well. I will be visiting soon and can’t wait to see what these kids are up to!! Have a great day.
So cute! I have a friend who literally has 2 stacks of duct tape that reaches towards 1/2 her bedroom ceiling! I wonder if she’ll give this a try :]
Also pinned onto my pinterest board!
http://milk-and-tea.blogspot.com
Oh, I’ll bet she has made these flowers if she has all that duct tape. Such fun colors and patterns these days!!
These are so cute! My friend makes flowers like these on pens! I’ve also made a few backpacks and my other friend made a flag! These are great, though! I was wondering how to make them.
Thanks so much!! I’m evidently late to the game on the Duct Tape Flower brigade, but I do love them. So many cute designs!!! Wow, a backpack and a flag!!! very creative.
Very pretty flowers you made here using duct tape! Who would’ve thought?!! Thanks for sharing!!
Thanks!!
These are amazing! I just want to know if all the pieces are two inches? As when the flower starts to get wider do we have to accommodate that? Also how far up do you go up with the green when the flower is finished?
yes, Elizabeth, all the pieces are the same length. When you construct the flowers, you want the tops to be the same level (or at least I did). Then, when you wrap the green around the base of the flower you can cover the raw edges. Good luck!!! have fun!!! post pics!!!
If anyone is looking for quality duct tape at reasonably priced I found this company to be very good.
http://www.mercotape.com
These directions are hard to understand…. ;-; I just don’t understand what you mean in the folding instructions. I’m thirteen, you see….
Oh, I’m so sorry. How can I help?
Perhaps I over-complicated the instructions.
You need to cut a rectangle of duct tape (about 2″ long). Then one side over (leave an edge of sticky) and then the other side over (all the way) so that you have a triangle of duct tape with some sticky tape on the bottom. That is the petal. Then you stick the petal on to the pencil so that the sticky part is wrapped around the pencil. You keep adding petals to the pencil, one on top of the other.
Does that help Caroline? Let me know, I’m eager to help, I LOVE creative kids and you sound like you must be creative.
What a great idea! I can hardly wait to try to make these flowers with my grandchildren. I think we will all have fun! Thanks
I think you’ll have fun…be sure to post pics on the Facebook fan page!!! I’d love to see your results!
awesome flowers!!! i am just going to go try them!!! i make alot of things out of ductape like bags bracelets wallets headbands and much more! i didnt know the flowers were that easy!! thanks
Have fun making the flowers. Would love to see them when you are done (head over to the Facebook page for whatwillwedotoday and share….
my daughter,11, tried this and made magnets and put them on the back. now she has them hanging in her locker. so cute!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What a great idea!!! Thank you for the tip!!
These were the first flowers i ever made from duck tape and they are by far the easiest (and cheapest) ones to make! They can get even cooler too all you have to do is type it in google and tons of ideas come up. Just about any type of flower can be made too, I’m working on lilies now:)
Good luck on the lilies. I agree they are easy and inexpensive. And so pretty!!!! Love to see your results with the Lilies!! Share on my Facebook Fan Page (see upper right of blog)
Enjoy
Totally trying this if I get my hands on any duct tape!
Be sure to share your flowers. on the Facebook page!! I love to see all the great ideas … Now, go get some duct tape….
I love the ducktape flower! I have looked every where to try and find a walk through to make it and I finally found it,thanks!!
Oh, I’m glad I could help. Have fun with your flowers!
love this im gona try it
Be sure to share!! Have fun with the duct tape. I’ve seen some new patterns lately…
cool!!!!!!!!!!!!XDXDXDXDXDXD XD XD XD :3
i make them too! im 12, and ive been doing these for the past 2 years at least. i took a vase made out of duct tape with 7 duct tape flowers in it to the county fair. i got a first, (of course!
but what i have learned is all from my own expiriance and the internet. 
for all u fellow crafters out there, keep trying!!!
Good for you, and congratulations on your win. It’s nice to know that our very important young people are invested in creating and creativity. Keep going!!!
hi i was just wondering how much you would sell a flower for i am 12 and i have my own business on facebook and cant think of a price for flowers, plus my teacher wants to buy 3 and i dont know what to charge her for ! so was just wondering if you know any good prices ?
Alyssa, good for you. I think it’s great that you are starting a business and hope you are incredibly successful.
As for pricing. Duct tape costs around $5 for a 20 yard roll. If you make a 50 petal flower you would use around 3 yards (2″ per petal x 50 = 100 inches 3 yards is 108 inches ). So based in that you are spending around 75 cents per flower for duct tape. Lets say your pencil costs around 5 cents ( they don’t cost very much). So 80 cents in materials. Now you just want to figure out how much time you spend for each flower. Lets say 30 minutes per flower. If you figure you want to make around $5 per hour then you would get around $2.50 in labor. Add that to the cost and its around $3. Sooooooo. If I were you, I’d charge $3 for a flower with one or two colors $4 for more colors or more difficult patterns and $5 for you ultra cool ultra big flower
Let me know how it goes. Good luck!!!!
Hi! I am 10 and I love these I could not find a website on how to make these flowers and this is the first one that was easy!
I am so glad you found directions that will work for you!! I can’t wait to see your finished product. I know my grand-kids love making the flowers (three of them are 10). Happy New Year!!
These are sooooo cute!! My friends know how to make them, and i’ve been looking around for directions, and i found these! I’m 10, so most directions are a little difficult to understand, but these are so easy!!! Thanks! 😀
I am so glad you are making the flowers, and glad you are using my directions. I have three 11 year old grand-sons, so use them as “tests” to see if I’ve done a good job explaining. Be sure to share you flower pictures when you are done!! Have a great day.
This isn’t helpful because u don’t show how to make the whole thing!
Oh, I’m so sorry you’re having trouble with the directions. I know others have been successful, so hope you will keep at it. It might help a little if you watch the video. To be honest, once you have made one petal, the others are exactly the same, just placed around the pencil in a staggered sort of way. Let me know what you are having with specifically and I’ll sure try to help!
the flower is so cool, how many petals did you use for this beautiful craft?
Thanks so much! I used around 40 petals for the bigger flowers. Sometimes, with the kids, we would use fewer (little hands tire easily) and I’ve seen some with more, but they get very heavy and hard to hold up easily when writing!! Enjoy and let me know how it goes!!
Have a great day!
This is very helpful because i run a little buisness.I have 6 people on the waiting list for flowers.I was wondering how much to charge for each?
Abby I’m so glad to hear you are making a business with your flowers. As for how much. I think between $3 and $5. Here is an answer I gave to someone else to help figure out how much to charge:
As for pricing. Duct tape costs around $5 for a 20 yard roll. If you make a 50 petal flower you would use around 3 yards (2″ per petal x 50 = 100 inches 3 yards is 108 inches ). So based in that you are spending around 75 cents per flower for duct tape. Lets say your pencil costs around 5 cents ( they don’t cost very much). So 80 cents in materials. Now you just want to figure out how much time you spend for each flower. Lets say 30 minutes per flower. If you figure you want to make around $5 per hour then you would get around $2.50 in labor. Add that to the cost and its around $3. Sooooooo. If I were you, I’d charge $3 for a flower with one or two colors $4 for more colors or more difficult patterns and $5 for your ultra cool ultra big flower
Good luck and have fun!
This flower is amazing!!!!!
Thanks so much. The kids/grand-kids have made so many of the flowers now. I keep them all in a planter in my studio. When little people come to visit, they pick a flower to take home. Gotta love it!!
So amazing:) you are so great such a great rainy day project
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very nice flower. Thanks so much…………………………………………………
Thank you. Let me know if you make one (or a bunch…you can’t really make just one…) They are so easy, and really quite lovely. Have a great day!
OMG! LOVED THESE!! These are sooo creative and AMAZING! I will defs try them out!
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OMG!!! Im going to the store right now to buy duct tape!! Can’t wait to make some!!! Does ti have to be on a pencil though? or can you make it on something else???
Oh good. and boy are you going to have fun picking out duct tape!! Everything from buttons to zebra print. I wonder how many plumbers use zebra print duct tape on their ducts?
I would think you could make the pencil on anything sturdy enough to hold the tape. I haven’t tried it on a straw, but I suspect it would be too heavy. Perhaps barbecue skewers or chopsticks or something like that. Let me know what you come up with!!
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I have seen them on a straw where there use car air fresheners to make them smell like flowers. They say it a bit tricky but have worked it out. They keep a dowel up inside to hold the smelly part but also to sturdy the straw. They keep them in a vase with marbles to hold them up sturdy. I am giving it a try for my first time. As far as different colors and prints….. the two craziest I’ve seen are mac & cheese and bacon. Wish me luck. This is my craft year- I’m doing mine on ends of pens to give to Dr office as they use fake flowers and this would really be something new for them. I got the type you can replace the ink cartridge vs the whole pen.
What great ideas! I’m especially intrigued by Mac and cheese and bacon flowers! Would you have to get bacon scented car fresheners? I’ll bet they make one! Have fun and be sure to share your finished project. Have a great day
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Thank you so much for the tutorial! I just started a collection a washi tape (their are sooo many creative uses for them), and when I saw your tutorial on duct tape roses, I bought some duct tape, and I just finished making one. I’m very proud of it. Once again, thank you!!
I’m so glad you made the duct tape flower! I still find myself picking up fun duct tape patterns every once in a while! I haven’t really done anything with wash tape (and now you have me interested). Thank you for stopping by. Love to see your finished product, you can post on the What Will We Do Today Facebook page!!
Have a great day!
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would like instructions for the duct tape flowers
First, I love your email address. But….on to the flowers. If you scroll down, the instructions are in the blog. Will that do? Let me know.
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