Tie Dye Paper Flowers

Hi friends!

This is our LAST summer post!!!

You know what that means, fall ones are on their way. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy summer and all of its fun, but I LIVE for fall; winter coming in close 2nd. We even had a taste of fall last night with amazing cool weather and a morning shower today! If you could just breath in this amazing rain scent, you’d have a silly smile on your face too. haha. So, we’re saying, ‘So long, summer!’ with beautiful tie-dye paper flowers in the spring & summer colors we’ve had. And guess what?! No 2 are alike. They’re as unique as YOU ARE and they’re so fun and easy to make. Think of these as the snowflakes of summer! We tried 3 different methods and show you each one. So grab your coffee : ) I mean your coffee filters, rubber bands, & food dye and let’s get to work.

*Click on photos for closer look

What You'll Need

  • Coffee Filters

  • Food Dye

  • Rubber Bands

  • Water

  • Rinse Cup

  • Small Mixing Containers

  • 1 TSP Measuring Spoon

  • Green Pipe Cleaners

  • Medicine Droppers/Syringes or Straws

  • Plastic/Paper Plates

  • Scissors

    optional: Plastic Gloves, Wipes/Wash Rag, Baking Pan

 

The Steps

Wear gloves if you have them(we didn’t)

Dye mix- 1 tsp water + 3 drops of food coloring, swish around to blend.

Mix colors or double each batch. Each tsp mix is enough to cover 1 whole filter.

Repeat as needed.

Medicine Syringe/Dropper Method

*Quickest way

We used plastic plates to protect our work space but baking pans work as well.

  1. Use a syringe/dropper to pick up some dye and carefully place small amounts of dye where you’d like it. The dye spreads quickly and easily.

    Repeat with different colors or patterns.

    When done set aside and let dry about 5 min.

Straw Method

*Slowest way

Place the straw inside the dye and cover the top hole with your pointer finger. While holding your finger down and with the surrounding fingers, pick up the straw and release the dye onto the filter. Repeat until you achieve your desired look.

Cool discovery- when the purple dye spreads, it creates turquoise edges!

Rubber Band Method

*Best designs

  1. Fold filter in half

  2. Roll up like a burrito

  3. Start on the left side and fold in a zig zag/accordion way, then rubber band together

  4. Add different colors, let dry a few minutes(below)

  5. Remove rubber band

  6. Straighten out

    Repeat!

Naomi created random folds with the 1st one, rubber banned and then added the dye.

With her 2nd one, she folded in half, then followed the curve of the half circle and folded over a small triangle sections until she was done. She then folded the triangle in half, 2x and rubber banded it.

I followed her method with smaller triangles and then rolled up before rubber banding it.

We were so impressed with the rubber band method and the craft. These turned out so great and opens up many possibilities for future crafts!

Now for the flowers!

Flower Assembly

a)

  1. Cut the pipe cleaners into 1/3’s or 1/4’s

  2. Grab the center of the filter and begin to twist

  3. Wrap the bottom with a pipe cleaner

b)

  1. Fold filter in half with 1 in. edge exposed

  2. Flip over onto backside

  3. Grab center area on fold and begin to wrap into a cone

  4. Wrap bottom with pipe cleaner

c)

  1. Fold filter in half, leaving 1 in. edge exposed.

  2. Start curling away from yourself at the upper right, rounded area(becomes the bottom)

  3. Curl until you create a flower you like

  4. Add pipe cleaner

d)

  1. Fold in half, leave 1 in. exposed

  2. Fold the bottom, 1/2” in and crease

  3. Flip the filter over onto the backside

  4. Curl from the crease and then wrap with a pipe cleaner

That’s it!

Enjoy your last week of summer friends :)

Happy crafting!

Amanda and Naomi

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