Let’s make Flowers

Flowers are such fun to make and children find them really satisfying. Whether you are making them to celebrate the arrival or spring, as gifts for someone special, for a special events or just because you can, I have included a variety of different types and styles in this post. There’s even a rather special flowerpot activity to put your creations into or to plant a real bulb or some seeds in. 

There are many benefits to engaging in art and craft activities with your children.

• Develop fine Motor skills and Increases Dexterity.  Your child will be moving the hands and fingers in increasingly tricky and purposeful movements.
• Improves Hand-Eye Coordination: Children improve their ability to make their hands do their bidding-learning to cut, grip pencils, stick and manipulate the materials they are using.
• Boost Self Esteem: Children develop self esteem through being allowed to explore and create. Completing a craft activity and feeling the success of accomplishment boosts children’s self esteem.
• Encourages Self Expression, innovation and creativity: Allowing children to have choice, to use materials in their own creative way helps them to share their own unique vision and thoughts.
• Helps in Socializing: Often, crafting involves, sharing, discussing and working together. Children learn to socialise with peers or family members through collaborating.

These flower themed crafts will provide your child with the opportunity to develop these skills whilst having fun.

Flower Leis

Hawaiian people welcome visitors with a garland of fresh flowers, called a lei. And in some parts of India people like to wear a necklace of fresh flowers at Diwali,  the festival of lights. Fresh flowers can be tricky to use especially for toddlers, so why not try our paper flower garland instead?

Age group: 3 years+

What you need:

• Elastic thread
• Crepe or tissue paper (in bright colours)
• Coloured plastic drinking straws
• Scissors and a plastic darning needle (blunt end for safety)

What to do:

1. Cut out a collection of flowers from the  paper .
2. Snip the straws into small pieces.
3. Cut a piece of elastic thread to the length that you want your necklace (remember to leave extra for tying at the back).
4. Thread the needle with the elastic thread and tie a small knot to stop the flowers falling off the end.
5. Thread through a flower, and then a piece of straw.
6. When the thread is nearly full tie the ends together tightly.

Small children love threading and this is a great threading activity with a beautiful end product too!

Other  ideas:

• Don’t only make this for Diwali. It is great for Summer or Springtime parties.
• Use leaf shapes in oranges, browns, yellows, golds and reds and make an Autumn garland. Alternate the leaves with wooden beads.

 

Beautiful Spring flowers

These lovely flowers are made from straws and paper.

Age group: 2 years+

What you need:

•  1 Paper Jelly mould (the large petal-like flower shape jelly mould)
•  2 cupcake paper cases. We used one medium size yellow and one small foil green one
• Glue
• Straw or pipe cleaner
• Tissue paper in various colours
• Green paper (for the leaves)
• Sticky tape

What to do:

1. Glue the Jelly mould and cupcake paper cases inside each other. Starting with the biggest and getting smaller each time.
2. Roll up some paper (crepe/tissue) into balls and glue in the middle of the paper cases.
3. Using sticky tape, attach flower head to a straw or pipe cleaner and attach a paper leaf shape.

Tips: These look good tied together with a pretty ribbon as a bunch..especially if you’ve used a variety of cheerful colours!

 

Paper Plate Daisy

These Daisy flowers are quick, easy and fun to make.

Age group: 18 months+

What You Need:

• Paper Plates (preferably in a variety of sizes)
• Yellow Paper
• Paint
• Glue

What You Do:

1. Give your children paper plates.
2. Have them cut out petals from the yellow paper and then attach them around the paper plate using glue. ( if your child is too little to do this on their own, pre-cut the petals and allow them to stick them on)

Lollipop Flowers

This pretty and tasty flower treat is fun to make and makes a great party activity.

Age group: 18 months +

What you need:

• Tissue paper in a variety of colours
• Lollipops
• Pencil for tracing
• Scissors
• Sticky tape

What to do:

1. Trace and cut out some circles on to tissue paper, you’ll need 3-4 circles per lollipop. You can use any small circle shape to trace around. (mugs, small dishes/plates, jars etc) Try letting older children do the tracing themselves.

2. Poke a hole for your lollipop into the center of each circle and slide the tissue paper circle up the lolly stick to the top, just under the lollipop sweet. Secure your tissue paper circles with a small piece of scotch tape or a glue dot underneath.

3. Keep sliding the circles up under the lollipop until you have a full flower head with a lollipop as the flower centre!

 

Spotty Flowerpots

You’ll go dotty for these fabulous flower pots. Simple and easy to make yet very effective and perfect for livening up a dull look Springtime flower pot before giving it away or just to decorate your own windowsill!

Age group: 18 months+

What you need:

• Terracotta pots
• Masking tape
• Acrylic Paint
• sponge or paper towel
• Pencil with and eraser attached at the back (to use for making the dots)

What to do:

1. Cut strips of tape and stick them vertically to the pot on either side.
2. repeat until you have a regular stripped pattern around the entire pot.
3. Where the terracotta pot is still visible, dab acrylic paint using a sponge or crunched up paper towel.
4. Let the paint dry and peel off the tape.
5. Dip the eraser end of the pencil into a different colour paint and dab some spots onto the pot.
6. Clean the pencil and use a different colour. Dab 4 dots around each of the previous dots you made to create a flower shape.
7. Allow to dry and it is ready !

*For a wonderful Spring or Easter gift, plant daffodils or other spring flowers in the pot.