Craft Project: Recycled Flower Pot with Coffee Filter Flowers

This bright, pretty flower pot is easy enough for kids to make and perfect for holding coffee filter flowers. Or, you could plant a real flower in the pot by adding some potting soil and some seeds.

Approximate Time 30 minutes

Supplies:

• 16 oz. styrofoam cup
• small piece of floral foam
• colorful buttons
• craft glue
• yellow acrylic paint
• paintbrush
• scissors
• coffee filters
• water color paints
• water
• chenille stems, one for each flower

Instructions:

To make the flower pot, paint cup yellow using acrylic paint, and allow to dry completely. Glue buttons around the rim of the cup and let dry. Place small piece of floral foam inside the cup to insert the flowers. To make flowers, place newspaper on your work surface to protect it. Flatter each coffee filter, and paint with watercolors. Use whatever combination of colors you like. I used two colors for each flower. Allow filters to dry completely or use a hair dryer to speed up the drying time.

Cut about 2 inches off the end of each chenille and set both pieces aside. There are several different ways to make your flowers. You can fringe the ends by cutting thin strips around the filter edge. You can cut thicker strips to make larger petals, or don't cut the filter at all to make it resemble a rose. Insert the large piece of chenille stem into the center of the coffee filter about 1 1/2 inches.

Hold onto the small end and turn the flower upside down so that the long end of the chenille is sticking up. Grasp the center of the coffee filter and gather it around the small end of the chenille stem. Twist the smaller piece of chenille around the gathered filter to secure the flower in place. Turn the flower back over and fluff the petals out, as desired. Insert the stems into the floral foam. You could cover the foam with moss or shredded green paper to resemble grass.

By Mom of 1 from Wilkesboro, NC