Mary, Mary Quite Contrary

Snowbound? I know we are. So with the extra time today we made a flower garden--to brighten the dreary indoors and make spring seem more like a reality than a distant dream.


The Rhyme:
Mary, Mary, quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockle shells,
And little maids, all in a row.

Age: 4 & up
Difficulty rating: 2-3 out of 5 (depends on the flower)
Messiness rating: moderate
Time: 10-15 min

Supplies:
egg carton

the rest depends on the flowers you want to create.
Felt Flowers:
Felt
Scissors
Pipe cleaner
pompoms (optional)
tape (for cockle-shells)

Tissue Paper Flowers:
Tissue paper squares, 4 layers for each flower, roughly 5x5.
Pipe cleaner
scissors

Noodle Flowers:
penne, macaroni or some other hollow noodle
food coloring
plastic baggies (one for each color)
pipe cleaners
pompoms (optional)

Construction Paper Flowers:
constriction paper in several colors
pipe cleaner
pompoms (optional)
scissors

The Craft:

1. Poke holes in the bottom of the egg carton. This is going to be the garden.
   
2. Assemble each flower (directions to follow). We put one to two in each hole.
   
3. Some flowers will need extra pipe cleaners. Some are just plain heavy!
   

The Flowers:



Felt Flowers:

1. Cut out a basic flower shape. (I will add templates when I have more time!)
   
2. Cut out a smaller version of the same shape.
   
3. Cut two slits in the center of the flower.
   
4. Slip the pipe cleaner through one slit in the larger flower, through one in the smaller flower, go across the top of the flower to the second slit in the smaller flower and go down through that and the second slit in the larger flower.
   
5. If desired, glue a pompom in the middle.
   

Tissue Paper Flowers:

1. Layer four or five pieces of tissue paper on each other. They should all be about the same size. 5x5 is a nice sized flower when done.
   
2. Fold all pieces accordion style, starting at one end and finishing at the other.
   
3. Cut a notch out of both sides at the center of the accordion.
   
4. Wrap the pipe cleaner around the notched section.
   
5. Carefully tease apart the individual pieces of tissue paper, pulling them in toward the center.
   

Noodle Flowers:

1. These were the hardest, for size and weight reasons alone. But they are the ones the kids enjoyed making the most.
   
2. Put a small amount of pasta in a sealable bag.
   
3. Add a few drops of food coloring (more if you want a darker color) to the bag and shake, shake, shake!
   
4. Set the pasta out on a piece of paper to dry--generally pretty fast. I think we waited 5-10 minutes at most.
   
5. Okay, here is the tricky part. What I did was I took 2 pipe cleaners and twisted them in the middle, so there were four "branches."
6. I then added a third pipe cleaner, also twisting it in the middle. There are now six "branches" to the flower.
   
7. Put one piece of pasta (more if it is small) on each pipe cleaner. Leave ample room at the end of the "petal" to bring it back around to the middle.
   
8. Bring the remaining part of the pipe cleaner back around to the middle and twist it in the middle.
   
9. Do this for each petal.
   
10. Run a pipe cleaner from one side of the flower to the other, going through the middle.
    
11. Twist this around itself (like you are making a pipe cleaner candy cane). You might need to add another for support. Pasta is heavy.
    
12. Glue a pompom in the middle to hide the pipe cleaners.

Construction Paper Flowers:

1. Cut out a basic flower shape.
   
2. Cut out a smaller version of the same shape.
3. Put the smaller flower on top of the bigger one.
   
4. Use a pair of scissors to (carefully!!) poke a hole in the center of both flowers.
   
5. Slip the pipe cleaner through the hole in the larger flower, then through the one in the smaller flower.
   
6. Wrap it on itself to make a "ball" for the center of the flower.
   
7. If desired, glue a pompom in the middle.

Templates: (to come!)