Spring Flower Crafting
Celebration , Spring 2011
Rhythm of the Home4 CommentsOne of the delights of springtime is when our flowers bloom and color sparkles everywhere. Here are two of our family’s favorite spring flower crafts to enjoy throughout the season.
May Day Baskets
Hundreds of years ago, May Day (May 1st) marked the first day of summer and a celebration of flowers. Even today, many cultures celebrate May Day and the changing seasons through the exchange of flowers. It was common at one time to leave flower bouquets (May Day baskets) anonymously at the front doors of your neighbors.
My mom celebrated this tradition with my brother and I when we were children. Each spring, we would make simple May Day baskets from colored paper rolled into a funnel shape. We stapled on a paper handle and filled these baskets with wildflowers before delivering them to neighbors.
It is a simple gift to give and a surprise delight to find a bouquet of flowers hanging from your door knob. They are so easy to make. Here is a list of materials you might consider using: newspaper, canning jar, tin can, vase, or funnel, and twine, raffia, ribbon, or wire (19 gauge works well). You may want to have the following tools on hand, as well: wire snips, scissors, can opener (the triangular punch kind,) hammer and nail, and stapler.
All you need to do is have or create a container with a handle. When creating a basket, keep in mind the style of door handle you will be placing the basket on. The handle may need to be a hook to loop through a door handle, and a simple loop handle may work just fine to hang over a standard door knob.
Also think about how long the basket will sit waiting for its recipient. When using dry containers, such as rolled newspaper or an open-bottomed funnel, make sure the bouquet won’t be sitting for long. Choose jars, vases, and cans for the bouquets that may have to wait to be discovered.
When done, simply deliver and take pleasure knowing you have anonymously given someone a little bit of beauty and joy in their day!
Egg Shell Flowerpots
Among our favorite seasonal decorations are mini flower pots made from eggshells. Incredibly simple, easy, and enjoyably festive, these little pots reuse broken eggshells.
If you like, color your eggs first. The Coloring Eggs Naturally tutorial featured in Rhythm of the Home last spring will get you started. For our family’s first spring with eggs laid by our very own chickens, I chose to leave the eggshells their natural color. Our chickens produce eggs that are white, pink-toned brown, and sage green.
As you break open the eggs, do so carefully to try and break along the top third of the egg, leaving the bottom two-thirds intact. Rinse and set aside.
From a nursery or grown at home from seed, choose small colorful flowers. Pinch the overgrown roots, leaving a ball of soil and roots, just large enough to tuck into the eggshell.
Now it is time to plant your flowers into the eggshell. Once you have done so, find a spot to display them. We chose to place ours in one of the birds’ nests on our nature table. If you want to place your eggshell flower pots on a flat surface, simple glue a penny or flat stone to the bottom of the eggshell to give it stability.
When display time is over, simply crack the bottom of the egg shell off and plant the entire little flower pot into your garden. The biodegradable eggshell will infuse your plants with added nutrients.
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Nicola lives in Northern California with her husband and two young children. Her family strives toward balance in their frugal and earth friendly urban life. She is always looking for the sweet spots in her days, which are spent enjoying a little nature, a bit of crafting, a lot of day-dreaming, and always family. She can occasionally be found writing and crafting for others, but can always be found on her blog, Which Name?
