“Mother’s Day is coming up and my family knows the way to my heart is flowers. I absolutely love the joy flowers bring. I love the beauty of them – their shapes, colours and fragrance. They really speak the unspoken language of the heart,” says Marcia Sissing of blog Mini Matisse Diaries, and mom of three.
“One of the things I missed the most during the first stage of lockdown was that flowers weren’t available to buy as they weren’t considered essential. I found this so sad as there were many a day when an arrangement of beautiful flowers would have brought some cheer into our home during this uncertain time. And now that winter is fast approaching, our garden is noticeably lacking in colourful blooms.
Fortunately, on level four, there are flowers in the shops and just in time for Mother’s Day, but this craft is great with leaves too. It’s also fantastic for beyond Mother’s Day too, so bookmark it now.
“Print the flower more than once and you’ll notice that the more the paint comes off the flower, the more patterns you will see.”
We took a leaf out of Frida Kahlo’s book so to speak (she was a Mexican painter inspired by nature) and decided to paint flowers in a way that we could remember her beauty. As Kahlo so beautifully put it: “I paint flowers so they will not die”.
You will need:
- Fresh flowers or leaves
- A4 white drawing paper (or bigger if you wanting to do a mural)
- Tempera paint/poster paint (watercolours can also work)
- Paintbrushes (optional)
- Container to rinse paint brushes
- Flat containers to pour paint in (such as a flat polystyrene tray)
How to do it:
- Get some flowers – any will work, but those with a distinct petal give the best results (such as daisies).
- I left some of the stalk on the flower so the kids had something to hold onto while printing. This is a great opportunity to discuss that the stem is what transports all the water and nutrients to the flower from its roots and that its job is to also hold up the flower.
- Pour the paint into flat containers.
- There are two ways you can print the flowers. The first option is the one we used: we dunked the flowers into the paint and then printed them, flower-side down, onto the paper. Print the flower more than once and you’ll notice that the more the paint comes off the flower, the more patterns you’ll see. Repeat this a few times before dunking the flower in the paint again.
- The second option is to paint the petals of the flower with a paintbrush, and print the flower on the paper once all the petals have been covered in paint. We use option one because my kids are too small to have the patience to paint the petals, but both methods have equally stunning results.
- Continue printing until you’re happy with the space you’ve filled and the picture you have created.
- Use as many or as little colours as you like.
- Have fun!
The results are stunning and “perfectly imperfect” Let’s remember that mothers are like flowers – each one beautiful and unique. Wishing you all a wonderful Mother’s Day filled with lots of joy, and may you always know how much you are truly loved.
Images supplied.
