Paper Flowers & Vase

Crafting together has mental health benefits for kids individually & benefits the parent/child relationship, as well. For a child, making a project like this one can be gratifying & build self-esteem. Working alongside their caregiver, they feel connected & appreciated, especially when they don’t feel pressured to do things exactly “right”. As they work together, they can have healthy conversations about anything – even those difficult topics that might otherwise be hard to discuss.
https://www.onoursleeves.org/mental-wellness-tools-guides/conversation-starters


​​SUPPLIES & TOOLS:

• Templates (flower, leaf, vase)
• Scrapbook cardstock (various colors)
• Chenille stems / pipe cleaners (green) x5
• Glue stick
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Painters tape

DIRECTIONS:
To find the downloadable templates click on the "GET PATTERNS" tab above.

1. Using the templates, draw out 5 flowers on various color cardstock and 5 leaves on the green cardstock. Trace the vase template onto a piece of grey cardstock.
2. Cut the flowers, leaves and vase out using scissors.
3. On one side of the leaf, pinch the end to fold it in half about 1-2" up. Run glue along the inside of the fold and place the pipe cleaner into the fold and pinch to secure. Glue the leaves roughly 4-5" inches down from the top of the stem. You can roll the leaves down to give them shape by curling it around your finger or a pencil. Once all the leaves are glued in place, one per stem, set them aside to dry.
4. Cut five half inch strips of paper from 5 various color papers 12" long. Starting at one end roll the paper up. At the end, let the paper unravel so that the spiral is about 1.5" across. Secure the end of the spiral onto itself with glue.
5. Push the top end of the pipe cleaner through the center of the flower, bend the end of the pipe cleaner over into a little ball and glue to the flower to secure to the end of the pipe cleaner.
6. Glue the spiral circle to the center of the flower to cover the pipe cleaner showing.
7. Once finished with the flowers, set them aside to dry while the vase is assembled.
8. Fold the tabs and lines of the vase where indicated on the template.
9. Glue the tabs to the inside of the vase, on the adjacent side panel.
10. Use painters tape to secure the vase corners while the glue dries.
11. Once dry, remove the tape gently, place the flowers in the vase and display.

JOANN HACKS:

• When adding your stems to the vase, fold up the bottoms of the stems to make them shorter and also add more weight and fullness to the bottom of the vase. If the flowers are too heavy, you can add a small rock or weighted object inside the vase to keep it from tipping over.