Flowery Kisses
One thing all moms and grandmas love is flowers. This chocolaty, handmade version of flowers and vase is sure to brighten Mother’s Day, and you’ll help the environment by recycling.
Making a Paper Mâché Vase
What You Need:
- Flour
- Water
- Bowl
- Newspaper
- Wax paper
- Yogurt container
- Paint
- Paintbrush
- Glue
- Lace, stickers, gems, etc. (optional)
What to Do:
1. To make the paste, mix even amounts of flour and water in a small bowl.
2. Clean and dry a yogurt container.
3. Cover your work surface with wax paper.
4. Cut sheet of newspaper into half-inch strips, then into two-inch sections.
5. Dip the newspaper strips into the paste, one at a time, then place them on the container trying to coat it evenly. You may need to put on three or four layers to completely cover the writing underneath. Allow to dry completely.
6. Paint the vase. You will need at least two coats to cover the newspaper print, letting it to dry completely between coats. Allow to dry completely.
7. If you plan on putting real flowers into the container, you need to cover the paper mâché with a varnish to protect if from water. You can either buy a prepared one or make one from two parts white glue to one part water. Cover with at least two coats, allowing it to dry completely between coats. Allow to dry completely.
Decorating:
You can decorate your vase using other paint; you should do this before step 7 above. If you want to use lace, stickers, fun foam, or any other decoration, you should do it after step 7. For my vase, I was only planning on using artificial flowers so I didn’t use a varnish and applied my stickers directly to the painted surface.
Sweet Roses
What You Need:
- Chocolate kisses
- Pink plastic wrap
- Green tape
- Scotch tape
- Green pipe cleaners
- Green tissue paper
What to Do:
1. Form the bud by taping two foil-wrapped candies bottom to bottom.
2. Drape a five-inch square of pink plastic wrap over the top of one kiss, then gather the edges and twist them into a tail.
3. Tightly twist the top of a green pipe cleaner around the tail for the stem, and then add leaves by holding a strip of green tissue paper against the stem and rolling the pipe cleaner around the center of the strip. Make sure the stems are short enough to fit into the vase you’ve created.
4. Trim the leaves so that they have pointy tips, and wrap green tape around the stem portion above the leaves to reinforce it.
5. Make several of these to create a bouquet of roses.
