All right, so fall doesn’t really seem to be the season of flowers. Spring has that reputation. But fall can be glorious, and what better thing to do with falling petals than to make crafts with them?
Experiment with flower dyes. For younger children – and all right, for older ones too – pounding flower petals is not only a great way to burn energy and relieve stress, it’s also a good way to discover how well flower colors can dye fabrics and paper. Get some sturdy uncoated cardboard and gently mash flower petals onto the white card, squishing them with your fingers to make them really juicy. Cut the flower-pounded board into rectangles and you have flower bookmarks!
Take flower pounding to a new level by squashing flowers onto a white tablecloth, bandanna, or t-shirt. Make patterns with the pounded flowers. Let the fabric dry, then wash it gently by hand to preserve the patterns.
As your fall flowers begin to fade, take them indoors and bring them to a new level of artistry with flower painting. This time, use the flower as a paintbrush. Choose a flower with tough, well-attached petals. Cut a length of stem so that the children have a place to put their hands. Dip the flower in tempera paint and press it straight down onto a piece of paper. You now have a flower print! Now get creative and move your floral paintbrush around the paper, creating a painting that’s all natural!
When the flowers are truly gone from the garden, you can make your own homemade flowers using strips of cloth – perhaps those that you dyed with petals earlier in the year? This is a good activity to develop hand coordination in older children. Chop long strips of colored cloth as if you were going to braid them. The strips should be no more than 2 inches wide. If you wish, finish the edges. Roll a small amount of cloth and push a threaded needle through the base. Continue to roll the cloth, attaching it at the base as you go. You’ll be left with a cloth flower that is tight in the middle and loose at the edges.
What crafts do you make with flowers?
Image Credit: OeildeNuit