ART SMART : Mother’s Day project one to dye for
Posted on Wednesday, May 7, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Family/225025/
When I think back on the Mother’s Day presents I gave my mom as a child, I always smile — and sometimes grimace. An occasional gift would be purchased, but most of the time my sister and I wanted to “Be creative !” as Mom was always encouraging us to do, so we handmade most of our Mother’s Day offerings.
One year it was a beauty “potion,” created by raiding Mom’s lotions and colognes and mixing our own special tonic. Mom was always gracious about our gifts, except for the year I made her a necklace. (I can’t pin any of the blame for this one on my sister. ) I cut the strings on a handful of her best costume necklaces and restrung the beads to create a stunningly original piece of jewelry to adorn her neck. That was one instance when my mother was less than enthusiastic about my inventiveness.
This week’s project is a double-header: dyed flowers presented in a decorated bottle. It will allow young hands (or older ones ) to “be creative” for Mother’s Day, but there won’t be any grimaces or looks of dismay when it’s given to Mom, only happy smiles. I promise.
Dyed flowers can take several days to absorb color through the stem and into the petals, so plan accordingly. In a glass container, mix food coloring and 1 cup of water (we used 10 drops of blue and four drops of green for our teal tulip ). Cut the stems of several white flowers and stand in the colored water. We used tulips, but you can also try roses, daisies or carnations. Our tulip took two days to achieve its new color.
While you’re waiting, prepare the vase. Choose a clear glass bottle with an interesting shape. We used an old medicine bottle. Tear pieces of tissue paper — in colors that will match your flower — into small random shapes. Brush a section of the bottle with thinned glue, place a piece of tissue on it and brush gently with more thinned glue. Repeat until the bottle is covered and let dry. Tear M’s and an O out of a magazine and apply them to the bottle in the same way as the tissue paper so it reads “Mom.” Alternatively, you could personalize it with your mother’s name.
On Mother’s Day, fill the decorated bottle with water, insert the tinted flowers and thank Mom for being so great.
What you’ll need White flowers Food coloring Glass bottle Tissue paper Old magazines Glue Brush Art Smart, featuring art projects for children and the young at heart, appears in Family on alternating Wednesdays. Gretchen Goetz is a freelance writer in Dallas. E-mail her at
pearlgoddess@sbcglobal. net