If you need ideas to keep your kids’ little hands and minds busy, try these four stunning flower activities for kids created by Andrea, Primrose and Daisy from Heart of Blooms (@heartofblooms_) on Instagram. From smashed flower totes to flower lollipops, these four activities can be done on both wet weather and clear days. So, get ready to have some fun with the flowers growing in your garden.
4 stunning flower activities for kids
Smashed flower tote
Pounding fresh flowers into fabrics to create beautiful and colourful flower prints is a vintage craft Andrea has loved to do since she was a little girl. Creating a smashed flower tote is an activity that is fun for both kids and adults. You pick flowers from your garden to smash, quite literally, onto a fabric bag.
What you need:
- Your flowers of choice, but pansies do make such a sweet print.
- A rubber mallet or large stone to smash the blooms into the fabric.
- A cotton tote bag.
- Pull the bag inside out and lay it on a flat hard surface.
- Place the flowers inside the bag in an arrangement you would like printed on the bag.
- Use the rubber mallet to smash the flowers that are inside the tote from the outside.
- Once all the flowers are smashed, fold your bag back the right way and peel off the smashed flowers to reveal the print.
- Set the flower print stains by placing the bag in the dryer for a few minutes or press with a warm iron.
See Andrea’s video here
Edible flower cookies
If you need an activity to keep little hands busy on a rainy day, try baking these edible flower cookies or ‘fairy treats’ as Primrose calls them using the ‘basic sugar cookie recipe’ from Queen Vanilla.
Edible flowers are easy to grow and not only look beautiful in your garden, but they also add a whimsical touch to baked goods. Follow Queen Vanilla’s basic sugar cookie recipe to create the cookies and then before you put them in the oven, place some freshly picked edible flowers on top and sprinkle with a bit of sugar.
Recipe: Use Queen Vanilla’s basic sugar cookie recipe here
See Andrea’s photos here
Pressing flowers is a vintage craft that has been around since the Victorian era when it was used for preserving plant specimens. Today, it has become an activity mainly used to preserve flowers for home decor and craft activities. It’s great for preserving special floral memories such as flowers from grandma’s garden or adorning gift cards and craft projects.
The best way to press flowers is to use a flower press. A flower press contains pieces of cardboard sandwiched between two pieces of wood and held together with bolts. To press flowers in a flower press, pick blooms from your garden, arrange them on the cardboard sheets, put the wooden top plate back on and tighten the nuts. Leave the blooms for 3 to 4 weeks, then use your beautiful, dried posies to adorn gift cards, picture frames or whatever your heart desires.
Sow ‘n Sow Flower Presses come in various sizes and feature beautiful botanical illustrations by Melbourne artist Daniella Germain. Each press is handcrafted in Australia out of hard-wearing materials to ensure stable pressure and long-lasting use. Shop Flower Presses here.
Edible flower lollipops
If you feel like making a special sweet treat for your kids to enjoy, try these delicious edible flower lollipops using fresh edible flower blooms from your garden a few ingredients from your pantry.
- Baking paper (or moulds)
- Bamboo straws/sticks
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/4 cup glucose syrup
- 1/8 cup water
- 1 TSP rosewater extract
- Edible flowers
- Boil your sugar, glucose and water for approximately 7-10 min until it reaches hard crack stage (310 degrees if you have a thermometer).
- Remove from heat and gently swirl in your extract and/or colouring.
- Spoon into moulds or onto baking paper, decorate and place in the lollypop sticks.
- They should be set within 10 minutes and ready to enjoy!
See Andrea’s photos here
Follow Andrea from Heart of Blooms (@heartofblooms_) on Instagram to discover more wonderful flower crafts and activities for kids.