Craft a Bedspring Wood Flower

The best and most satisfying crafts are those that cost no money and are made from discards, scraps or junk. Make a springy 'spring' wood flower using an old bedspring and scrap barn or fence wood. Bedsprings are one of those obnoxious junk items that are difficult to throw away and take up space you don't have. They can be excellent craft material though.

With a little determination and muscle, you can tear apart a bedspring mattress and use the cone shaped springs for quirky and whimsical crafts. The springs become the base to your crafts. Bolt cutters work the best for cutting the thick wire. Also, I recommend wearing jeans, a long sleeved shirt and leather gloves. Better to be safe than sorry, most of these old mattresses are rusty. I can't remember exactly how many springs I cut out of one mattress, but it was more than 50.

Things Needed:

Flower shape
Lightweight cardboard
Pencil
Scissors
Scrap barn or fence wood
Jigsaw
Sandpaper
Bedspring
Pliers
Nickel (coin)
Black acrylic paint
Paintbrush
Drill and small bit
Craft glue
Raffia

Instructions:

Step 1
Select a simple shape for your wood flower cutout. I used a 6 1/2-inch diameter flower image from a coloring book, but you could use cookie cutters or clip art and just enlarge to approximately 6 1/2-inches. Trace the shape onto lightweight cardboard and cut out. This is your flower pattern.

Step 2
Trace the pattern onto a scrap piece of old fence or barn wood. Use a jigsaw to cut out the flower. Hand sand the edges to clean up any splinters.

Step 3
Grasp the top end of the bedspring with pliers. Twist approximately 2-inches of the end straight up. This will take extreme muscle. Husbands, boyfriends or big strapping teenage boys are wonderful candidates to help with this step. Not a one of them is going to admit they aren't strong enough.

Step 4
Place a nickel on the center front of the flower and trace around it. Remove the nickel and paint the circle using black acrylic paint.

Step 5
Determine which side edge of the flower is the bottom edge. Drill a small hole up into the flower from the bottom edge. Apply craft glue to the top bent end of the spring. Insert the spring into the drilled hole on the flower.

Step 6
Wrap a long strand of raffia around the spring, just below the flower, and tie it into a bow.

Make a set for your hearth, front porch or anywhere that needs a little country primitive decoration.