Cokesbury Kids Blog

This post is one that can be shared with the families in your ministry to use as a family project.

Since this Mother’s Day has been planned during Covid-19, let’s create a Mother’s Day gift together as a family. This special gift will be one for mothers and families to treasure for years to come.

Flowers are a favorite gift for children to give to moms, grandmas, and aunts. Boys and girls love picking a disheveled mix of dandelions, grass and weeds. Their faces beam as they hand that bouquet to the special lady they adore. This project will be fun for kids of all ages. It offers those who like to be active a chance to engage in some movement (pounding the flower petals) and creativity for those who like to be artistic (designing their own original flowers and vases).

Because flowers come in multiple shapes, sizes and colors, no two projects will look the same. For older children, they will enjoy the freedom of adding special details to make their blooms look unique. For younger children, they will feel a sense of accomplishment because they were able to make their very own flowers for someone they love.

Obtaining color from natural objects, like flowers, plants and berries, date back to cave paintings. Before the invention of paint, people had to use whatever they could find in nature to add color to their artwork. For this project, children will experiment with the concept of this ancient practice. Flower petals (from real flowers) will be sandwiched between two pieces of paper and pounded to extract the colors. Interesting and creative! Once they are done, the flower petals are brushed away and reveal a beautiful array of hues of color, splattered across the entire paper. It leaves a lovely watercolor effect.

Flower-Printed Bouquet Instructions

Gather:

• Light colored (yellow, pink, baby blue or lavender) construction paper (1 sheet per child)
• White construction paper (1 sheet per child)
• Glue sticks (1 per child)
• Scissors (1 pair per child)
• Fresh flowers (Approximately 2 blooms per child. The project pictured used orange and purple Alstroemeria flowers, which provided a pretty pigment. Flowers with natural pigments work the best. Artificially colored flowers do not yield much color. Try a small bouquet before committing to a large number of flowers. Different blooms allow for varying degrees of color. Also, check with your local grocery store. Buying flowers on clearance is a great cost-effective option.)
• Crayons in various shades of green
• Masking tape
• A “punding tool” (blocks, toy hammers, glue bottles, anything with a relatively flat bottom)
• Decorative paper scraps or bright construction paper
• Pencil and cardstock to make flower patterns (optional)
• Small T/From card, 1 x 2-inch piece of construction paper (optional)
• Hole punch (optional)
• Ribbon (optional)

Prep (Adults):

• Fold the white construction paper in half and tape it to the table.
  • Taping the paper t the table prevents it from moving while the children are pounding. Additionally, It relieves them from holding the paper in place and possibly catching their fingers.

• Cut out some flower patterns about 2-3 inches in size (tulips, daisies, etc) on card stock.
  • This step is optional. Older children may want to cut out their own flowers without using a pattern. For younger children, they could cut out circles or triangles that could serve as their flowers.

• Remove flower petals.
  • This can be done the day of the project; however, not sooner. If the petals are dry, they will not release a vibrant pigment.

• Cut out a small 1 x 2 inch “To/From” card from white construction paper. Poke a hole in the upper left-hand corner and loop a small ribbon through it.
  • This step is optional. Adding a card will make the bouquet look more like a gift.

Create (Kids):

1. Place petals on the half of the white paper that is taped to the table and fold over the top. Try not to overlap the petals.

2. Begin pounding the white paper with a block or toy mallet. Go back and forth over it a number of times to make sure you get as much color as possible from the petals.

3. Open the paper. Pull off the tape and brush the petals into the trash.

4. Trace or cut out flower tops from the flower printed-paper. Try to cut out the flowers from the areas that have the most color. Scraps can be used to create the center of some of the flowers or decorate a vase in step 7.

5. Arrange the flower cut-outs on the light-colored paper and attach with glue. Some of the flowers can hang off the edge of the paper. Try not to overlap to allow each bloom to be clearly visible.

6. Draw long lines with crayons in shades of green, starting at the flower tops, and continuing to the bottom of the page. Try to make your lines meet in the middle of the page. Add several leaves to the stems.

7. Cut out a vase from decorative or construction paper. This can be a square, rectangle, oval or something fancy. Use the leftover flower print paper to decorate the vase. Glue the vase in the middle of the paper, where the stems meet. Precut vases are suggested for younger children.

8. Optional: Sign the To/From card and attach to the lower left-hand side (about 2 inches up from the bottom) of the picture.

Parents and caregivers enjoy receiving something created especially for them. It adds to the experience when the recipient understands the process or inspiration used to make the gift.

Want to print out an image of the final product? Click here.

Happy Mother's Day!