If there's one thing we can't get enough of around here, it's COLOR. Well, that and liquid watercolors, but those two kind of go hand in hand. As you know, Seattle has some dreary and gray winters. To bring the feeling of spring to our house, S and I decided to work together to figure out how to make the brightest and most vibrant coffee filter flowers we could.
They are sooooo pretty. I stare at them a lot.
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So first thing's first. You need some large white coffee filters
. Flatten them out, then, laying two on top of each other, fold them in half, then fold in half again, and once more, and finally one last time. That's a total of four times where you fold it in half. It should look like the coffee filter on the left. Now about 1/3 of the way down, cut an arch like you see on the left. Once you've cut all the way through, carefully unfold the coffee filter until they are again laying flat (directly on top of one another). Carefully cut down the folded lines about 2/3 of the way toward the center. This will give your petals more movement.
After you've cut along the lines to give the petals a bit more separation, lay your double-thick coffee filter flower flat in a tray or dish. Using an eyedropper, have your child add the smallest number of drops of liquid watercolor possible to completely color the flower (note: if you do not have liquid watercolors, you can use slightly diluted food coloring in its place). Adding too much color will decrease the brightness. S and I discovered that just two well placed drops were enough to color each petal. It is so fun to watch the colors mix and swirl when they meet!
When you're done, there should be very little overflow of color into the tray, as you can see here. Carefully transfer the completed flower to something that is resistant to absorption - a plastic tray, or a plastic wrap covered tray. Placing them on something like a paper towel will again decrease the brightness.
Allow them to fully dry (3-4 hours at least), then carefully separate the two coffee filters from each other. Gather one up, adding a small crimp/twist to hold it together as you see on the left. Then fluff the petals a bit as you see on the right. Next take the second duplicate filter and wrap it around the outside of your first. I rotated the copy flower so that the patterns were offset. I also added a dab of glue at the base between the two flowers to hold them together. Because I'm impatient, I used hot glue, but if you are a patient person, you can use regular glue and just wait for it to dry before attaching stems. :)
Using hot glue, I attached the base of each flower to a green pipecleaner and then placed them in a salt filled vase from the Dollar Tree. :) You can use marbles or whatever you would like as a vase filler - I just loved the contrast between the white salt and the colorful flowers.
Thanks to our beautiful flowers, it's been feeling like spring in our house for weeks now! Now if only the weather would get the hint....
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All activities here are activities I feel are safe for my own children. As your child's parents/guardians, you will need to decide what you feel is safe for your family. I always encourage contacting your child's pediatrician for guidance if you are not sure about the safety/age appropriateness of an activity. All activities on this blog are intended to be performed with adult supervision. Appropriate and reasonable caution should be used when activities call for the use of materials that could potentially be harmful, such as scissors, or items that could present a choking risk (small items), or a drowning risk (water activities), and with introducing a new food/ingredient to a child (allergies). Observe caution and safety at all times. The author and blog disclaim liability for any damage, mishap, or injury that may occur from engaging in any of these activities on this blog.
