Wednesdays With Whitney

Coffee Filter Bouquets

Just because the chill of fall has set in doesn’t mean we need to abandon our lovely summer flowers.  Make this colorful craft with your little ones so that when they ask to pick flowers on a chilly fall morning, you don’t have to tell them no.

Supplies

·         Coffee Filters (Pocket ones work best)
·         Craft Sticks
·         Colored Paper (the brighter the better)
·         Paintbrushes and Paint
·         Scissors
·         Glue or Tape

Directions

1.  Start by tracing and cutting out flowers from the colored paper. Use the craft stick to gauge how large the flowers need to be. And don’t forget to make a bunch – you want a bouquet of flowers, not a single rose or two!

2.  Once you have your flowers ready, let the little monsters at the paints. Paint the craft sticks (stems) green and the coffee filters multiple colors!  I suggest water paints for the coffee filters as the combination creates a neat merged pattern effect. Once all your painting is done give the crafts a rest, and the little ones a bath.

3.  After a good hour or two of drying (ideal outdoor time), the filters and sticks should be ready to grow up into real flowers and bouquets. Have the children paint glue onto the top of the sticks and then place a flower on each one.

4.  Now simply finish of the bouquets by tri-folding the coffee filters and taping (or gluing) them closed.

5.  If you really want to go the extra mile on this craft, find a green slab of Styrofoam where your little ones can keep their flowers, just like a real garden!

Reference: This project is another Whitney original, born one cool morning when the two-year old she cared for asked to pick some of the long dead flowers. Determined not to disappoint, Whitney simply had to come up with an alternative.