Spherical Coffee Filter Flowers

Use any kind of paint to create these happy, spherical blooms!  

Materials

• Styrofoam balls (ours were a generous donation!)
• Dowels
• Coffee filters and/or cupcake liners
• Different types of paint (watercolour pucks, liquid watercolour, acrylics etc.)
• Paintbrushes
• Stick pins with a beaded top
• Beads
• Glue gun
• Rocks
• BBQ skewers

We always find these items helpful too:

• Smock
• Craft tray
• Rocks (or another material with weight)

Directions

• Don your smock.  Paint your filters, liners and/or doilies with your paints.  We used liquid watercolours (some with a sprinkle of salt for a starburst effect), puck watercolour and acrylics.)  Allow to dry overnight.

• We then placed our dried filters back into their respective piles and weighted them down with rocks so that they would take their shape back.  We left them overnight.  Based on the humidity in your area, this might take several days.

• We then attached the filters and cupcake liners to our flower centre using stick pins laced with beads.  We found that a few in each centre helped them to stay anchored.  We typically place two filters on opposite sides (yes, we know- it is a sphere, so there are no sides.. but you get the gist!) and continued to do so until it began to take a flower shape.  The fuller you want the bloom to be, the more filters to add.

• Once done, we added our BBQ skewer for the stem.  If you like, you could paint it, or add some coffee filter leaves as well.

• Wrap up your flowers and give them to a friend or loved one- a bouquet that is long lasting!

Purpose

• Developing one’s fine motor skills by working with and manipulating various tools.

Safety Notes

• We suggest that you wear a smock and use a craft tray to protect your clothing and surfaces.
• Use pins with care and adult supervision.
• Beads can be a choking hazard, therefore be sure to keep them out of the reach of children ages 0-3 years of age or those that tend to put things into their mouths.