Tuesday, April 4, 2023

Everlasting Spring Blossoms DIY


Let's welcome Spring! You know spring has arrived when you see the lovely flowering of trees. How pretty is this blooming tree pictured below! Flowering in early spring before the leaves emerge is certainly one of nature's wonders! It's quite pretty!

This tree belongs to my neighbor. He recently told me he wished it would look like this all year long. But no matter how beautiful the blooms are, they are going to wilt and fall off in a matter of a few weeks. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have a  permanently beautiful, everlasting spray of these blossoms!  

I know I would! So for this project, I am being inspired by a set of blossoms that I picked up off the ground to re-create these lovelies!

Just in time for this month's Sustainable Craft Challenge Blog Hop hosted by Julie @ Sum of Their StoriesThis challenge is all about sustainable crafting! Each month is themed and all projects must have some sort of a sustainable element to them. This could be an upcycling or recycling element, or something that reduces waste, uses leftovers, etc. Guess what the theme for this month is - Spring! You got it!



I will be making the blossoms out of craft foam sheets or Eva foam - a material that I have in my stash! I've made lots of faux flowers and other craft items out of Eva foam before. These are not the usual craft foam sheets you find in craft stores. Those are too thick to make realistic looking flowers. You really need thin sheets between 1mm-0.6mm thick. The thinner, the better. One of my resolutions for this year is to use up the craft supplies that I have stockpiled, lol! I have lots of foam sheets in my stash - and I love using it in my projects! 

Concerning sustainability, EVA foam materials are widely used in everyday objects, from wireless digital products, binding books, furniture, cars and household appliances, to assembly, footwear, carpet coatings and metal anti-corrosion coating. Some say Eva foam is not recyclable - but it can be! I read that recycling of EVA foam is not only environmentally friendly, but also help enterprises to control and reduce production costs. 

Foam flowers are quite easy to make and it takes only a few items to actually make them. But for these blossoms, I made my very own stamen which required a bit more materials to re-create:
  • Eva foam -1mm-0.6mm
  • Flower template
  • Craft scissors - slim and sharp
  • Pastels - yellow and pink
  • Iron
  • Heavy duty thread
  • Open frame (wood hoop)
  • Tacky glue/sponge applicator
  • Acrylic paint
  • Ruler
  • Clamps
  • Thin craft wire - 26 gauge
  • Floral tape
  • Small tree branch

Disclosure I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites, this post may contain links. I may receive a very small commission at no cost to you! The affiliate money I earn helps pay my crafting expenses. Thanks so much for your support!

To begin, draw a five petal flower template and .  .  .



cut out.
Then using scissors, make a "V" shape indentation on center edge of each petal. 
Trace lots of flowers onto foam sheets and cut out. Fyi, sharpe and thin craft scissors work best for this!
Use pastels (yellow and pink) to give a gradient effect, highlighting and mimicking the center and stamen of the blossom.

Then place the blossom on a hot clothes iron to soften and curl the edges.
And have fun making lots of blossoms!
To make the flower blossom stamen, the thread needs to be straight and stiff.  I used crochet thread to wrap straight lines of thread around an embroidery hoop. It probably would have been easier to use an open square or rectangular frame to wrap the thread around, but I couldn't find one that I didn't have to take apart. 
Once the thread was wrapped around the hoop and secured, I used tacky glue and a sponge to cover the thread to dry stiff.
Once the thread was dry and stiff .  .  .
cut the threads off the hoop and then cut the threads into 2.5" strips. Dip the ends of the thread into thick (old) acrylic paint to mimic stamen. It was easier for me to used the top of the craft acrylic paint to pour a bit of paint to dip in.
Once the ends were dipped, use a ruler propped up on its' ends to lay the stamen across to dry without the ends touching anything.
To insert the stamen through the blossom, fold a 5" length of thin wire in half .  .
around the middle of 4 or more stamens .  .  .
Use the tip of sharp scissors to make a hole in the center of the blossom and .  .  .
insert the wire ends through the hole .  .  .
pulling the stamen threads through .  .  .
leaving the ends in the center of the blossom.
Add a dab of glue at the base of the blossom and wrap green floral tape along the stamen threads, pulling down and tight to secure. 
Be sure to separate the stamen threads on top so they won't bunch together.
And finally, attach blossoms using a dab of hot glue to a saved (real) tree branch for a beautiful everlasting floral decoration. 

How's that for making beautiful realistic spring blossoms that will never wilt - a fun repurpose project!

Be sure to check out all of the "Spring" sustainable crafts projects listed below:


Julie |  Sum of Their Stories |  Tulip Collage Greeting Cards 

Christine | Christine's Crafts | How to Easily and Quickly Fold a Cute 3D Origami Tulip

Gail | Purple Hues and Me | Everlasting Spring Blossoms DIY

Mel | Decor Craft Design | DIY Spring 3D Gift Can

Marianne | Songbird | Rustic Easter Decor 

Niki | Life as a LEO Wife | Farmhouse Style Framed Bunny & Easter Egg


You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter


14 comments:

  1. WOW! These look so realistic and yet they are definitely achievable! Thank you so much for the detailed instructions.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are quite welcome, Christine! Thanks so much for your kind words! I love making foam flowers!

      Delete
  2. Wow, those look beautiful. I love how real they look, you did a great job adding so many small details.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh my goodness, this is like alchemy! One minute I'm looking at some basic flower shapes cut from thin foam and the next I swear there are real blossoms in front of me. So simple but SO effective, you really do have a gift for creating faux flowers. I love the fact you even made your own stamen from crochet thread and paint. One question though, do you keep an iron especially for crafts like this or is that your regular iron? Does the foam ever melt too much and make a mess?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much much for your sweet comments, Julie! I use an old iron for my flower making. But I've never had the foam to melt or get messy so it's really ok to use a regular iron in case you don't have an old one. I've also used a flat grill to shape the foam, but I have to haul that one out of storage. So using the iron is quicker.

      Delete
  4. I am in love with these flowers! I will definitely be making a stem or two of them for a new vase I recently bought. They look so real and a better than the stem of orange blossoms at Walmart since you're using an actual wood branch. Thanks for sharing this wonderful tutorial! Pinned!
    Niki | Life as a LEO Wife

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks a bunch, Niki! I think you will love making foam flowers!

      Delete
  5. Twister and rope is filed for the change for the individuals. The movement of the Gutter Services Northwest Iowa
    is appreciated for the agents. The regime is filed for the hope for the turns for the scheme.

    ReplyDelete
  6. All the binary forces are here for the combination and end results for the team. The Business Video Production hiring is formed for the top of the turns. Theme is invited for the best of the use for the induction for the society.

    ReplyDelete
  7. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Un trabajo extraordinario...
    Gracias por tus explicaciones!!
    Si pasas por mí blog puedes ver mi versión.
    BESOS

    ReplyDelete
  9. An upside and flowered slot is appreciated for the happiness of people. The scope of the gamegrid is ensured for the rates. The gaming criterion is pushed for the top of the enduring items for the theme and approval for the citation.

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...