We have just a few days before Mother’s Day and for most of us, the crafty DIY stores are still closed. That’s the dilemma we (Sabrina and Erika) faced when trying to come up with a pretty and personal gift for the moms in our lives. So we decided to make something using only what we already had at home.
Doing what any sensible crafter would do, we hit the Pinterest boards to see what simple projects we could find for a fresh bouquet of flowers. The ones we loved gave a nod to the May Day bouquets that used to be popular in 19th century and early 20th century America — simple posies in a basket or cone that could be hung on the doorknob as a surprise.
Then, we found it. This one had us at chicken wire — we’re also suckers for floral moss. The real challenge was to come up with all the materials without resorting to shopping.
Here’s what Sabrina had:
1. Chicken wire (slightly different pattern but worked great. You just need to put a little more elbow grease into bending and shaping it.)
2. Craft moss
3. She Shades Irongate paint
Erika supplied the rest:
1. Thin wood square (about 16″ x 16″ and 1/4″ thick), from the scrap pile in the garage
2. Craft string (tough to get through the two holes; better if you use wired string or wired ribbon!)
3. Antique lace (optional)
4. Copy paper, paper towel, aluminum foil
5. Backyard roses or other cut flowers
Tools
1. Handsaw or jigsaw
2. Sandpaper
2. Paintbrush
3. Wire cutters or heavy duty scissors
4. Hot glue gun with glue sticks
5. Drill with 1/8″drill bit
TIP: To make this project a little easier, we recommend using these pre-cut and pre-drilled banner flags from Consumer Crafts. Then skip steps 2 through 4. Remember, we were just challenging ourselves during shelter-in-place to use what we had.
Instructions
1. Create a template out of copy paper. Include a 1.5″ lip at the top of the triangle on each side, as shown.
2. Trace your template twice on the wood piece.
3. Using a handsaw or jigsaw, cut out the two triangles.
4. You probably have yucky rough edges. Gently smooth them with your sandpaper. They’re going to be a little shredded.
5. Mark two spots for your string or ribbon holes. Stack the triangles on top of each other on a flat surface and clamp them together or hold tightly. Carefully drill through the marked hole, all the way through both pieces. Repeat on the other side.
6. Paint the wood pieces with the paint color of your choice. We used She Shades Irongate. (We only painted the front side of the front triangle, but we recommend you go the distance and paint both of them on both sides.)
7. Cut a triangular piece of chicken wire that is the length of the triangle (below the lip) and slightly wider at the sides so you can create a “pouch” to fit the moss and flowers.
8. With the front triangle, fit the wire around the sides and bend the edges around the back of the wood. Trim the wire with the cutters as needed. Be careful not to cut your fingers with the wire; use the edges of your thumb.
9. Heat the glue gun and apply a generous amount to the back of the wood where the wire edges are wrapped. Quickly press the second triangle against it, matching up sides and string holes. Hold it tightly like a sandwich until the two are firmly attached. You may need to slather on some extra glue (we did).
11. Gather the fresh flowers you want. We had some pretty pink roses in bloom (from Erika’s back yard) so we used about four stems. Soak a paper towel in water and place it inside a strip of aluminum foil. Roll both around the stems and pinch closed at the bottom.
10. Cut the moss into a couple of pieces and gently tuck a small piece at the bottom of the chicken wire. Keep adding pieces until you reach the top of the wire.
12. Tuck a piece of lace in at the back if desired, then insert the foil-wrapped stems. Thread string or ribbon through the holes and cut to fit (test it in the place where you want to hang it). Knot the string at each end.
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