Even if you do not have any children, creating gifts to give away during the holiday season is a great way to embrace sentimental gift giving. This project is a great way to really take advantage of the messiness mixed media arts can bring to the craft table.
Materials:
- 1 cup of flour
- 3 cups of water
- recyclable paper
- dash of salt
- 2 mixing bowls
- wooden spoon
- toilet paper tube
- ruler
- pencil
- scissors
- stapler
- acrylic or poster paint
- paintbrushes
- scrapbook embellishments
- rubber cement or hot glue gun
- green pompom
- wooden skewer
- green construction paper or felt
Instructions:
Cut up the toilet paper tube:
- Find the center of the toilet paper tube, and then make a mark.
- Measure one half inch away from the center of the toilet paper tube and make a mark. Draw a line to the edge of the toilet paper tube from the second mark.
- Measure and mark off lines every one half inch all the way around the toilet paper tube, and the draw lines.
- Cut along these lines.
- Fold the strips outward from the center so the illusion of flower pedals is created.
- Attach the strips together at the top with the stapler, and then round out the corners to give the strips a more pedal-like appearance.
Make the paper mache paste:
- Add water and bits of recyclable paper to one of the mixing bowls. Let the paper sit until it is a pulp-like consistency. Drain out the water.
- Mix up the flour, water and salt in the other bowl until it is creamy. Add the pulp mixture to the paste and mix until a clay-like consistency has been reached.
Make the flower:
- Stick the skewer directly through the toilet paper tube flower head so it touches the top, but doesn’t go through.
- Start sculpting the paper mache mixture directly on to the flower head. Keep adding the mixture until the flower form you’re interested in has been achieved.
- Allow the flower to dry in a bottle, or sticking from a piece of oasis for at least twenty-four hours.
Paint and embellish:
- Consider adding a layer of white acrylic paint or gesso to the entire surface of the flower head before doing any other kind of painting and embellishing. This will allow for easier painting.
- Paint out the flower head using a variety of colors to give it an unexpected and interesting appearance.
- Embellish the flower head using glitter, scrapbook embellishments, and hanging elements.
- Paint out the stem using green acrylic or poster paint.
- Cut a few leaves from the green construction paper or felt, and then glue them to the stem.
- Add the green pompom the center of the flower head. Consider rolling it in glitter glue first.
Because so much drying time is involved with this craft project, allow several days to complete this. As you can see, there are a lot of variations that can be used with this easy project, as well as opportunities to personalize it anyway you would like. If you are uncomfortable working with a clay-like consistency with the paper mache, this project can still be completed using small strips that have been soaked in the paper mache paste.
Jenn Greenleaf - Jennifer Greenleaf Editor-in-Chief: Frugalarity.com Sub Teacher: Regional School Unit #2 Selectwoman: Richmond, Maine
