Creativity 521 #22 - An emblem of mother's love

We all know that the carnation is an emblem of Mother's Day. But do you know why?

In 1907, Anna Jarvis, the founder of Mother's Day, sent 500 white carnations to a church in West Virginia to be distributed among mothers. She chose the carnation because it was the favourite flower of her mother. From then on, it has become a tradition to present carnations on Mother's Day as a token of thanks for a mother's love and care.

"The white carnation is preferred because it may be thought to typify some of the virtues of motherhood; ... whiteness stands for purity; its lasting qualities, faithfulness; its fragrance, love; its wide field of growth, charity; its form, beauty..."

For that reason, I decided that carnations would be my gift this Mother's Day. Well, as someone who loves crafts and is not a fan of fresh flowers, I ended up making some DIY carnations instead.

Materials:

1) Crepe paper
2) Pipe cleaners
3) Binder clips
4) Markers/ Pencil
5) Ribbon
6) Scissors
7) Anything you can use to draw a 3" circle (I used a cylindrical coin bank)

Fold the crepe paper to form a thick square. You can have over 40 layers of crepe paper because it can be easily cut with a sharp scissors! Outline and draw a circle which has a 3" diameter. Cut the circle out carefully, using binder clips to keep the layers in place as you cut.

To give your flowers a more realistic look, use a bold marker and gently colour along the edge of the circles. Make sure the ink permeates all the layers. Work slowly around and make sure the areas under the clips are coloured too.

One flower will need 10-12 circles. Take a pipe cleaner and use it to poke two small holes in the middle. You can use a skewer if your pipe cleaner is not sharp enough. Insert the pipe cleaner into one hole, fold it down and into the other, leaving around one inch at the short end. Twist it together with the longer end to secure the stem.

Next, it's time to scrunch! Taking the base of every layer, being careful not to touch the edges, crumple it so that it looks like a real flower to you!

After you have worked through every layer and are happy with the final look, give the pipe cleaner an additional twist at the base of the flower and make sure it stays in shape.

If you have more crepe paper to share, you can also twist several stalks together, wrap it up, tie some ribbons and voila, you have a mini bouquet. Alternatively, use some shimmery ribbon to wrap around the stems, tie it in the middle and you will have a sturdy stalk to hold.



I used three flowers for a bouquet because three means I Love You, right? This Mother's Day, we made three of these to give away. One for my mum, one for my mother-in-law and one for my grandma.

My girl was fascinated by the flowers and tried to smell them. She was also the one who presented the gifts on Mother's Day, making it even more special and meaningful to these people whom we hold dear.

As for me. I got a big smile, a big hug, a big kiss and many "Happy Mother's Day" wishes from my girl. That beats any big bouquet in the world, doesn't it?

******

<a href="http://www.ahappymum.com/search/label/Creativity%20521"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9EX56ybBys_uFPO8joDh7taC-eGCDhEvV14VTnVAcG7hB_0T3xhE8IcJplBwvkpOO0hpTncN_C5k9aD86K8-eVSzN9SjTz1hh7W5hblULqvYNkeW8oqr4KLZ7xPD1O7iu80wLAHea3kT3/s150/Creativity%2520521%2520button.jpg" alt="new button" width="125" height="125" /></a>

To fellow bloggers who have a fun craft session, DIY tip or creative idea to share, do join in the party! Highlight and press Ctrl + C to copy my button above, include it in your post/sidebar and add your link below. I will be hosting Creativity 521 every fortnightly and I hope you can join me on the 5th and 21st of every month. Remember: The sky's the limit when it comes to creativity!