Plum Blossoms Chinese New Year 2010 Craft for Kids

Plum blossoms are a pretty craft that kids can use to decorate for Chinese New Year 2010. Plum blossoms represent courage and hope, which is a fitting symbolism for the new year. These faux blooms are an inexpensive kids craft to make, as all items can be purchased for around a buck, at discount stores.

Plum blossoms would make nice centerpieces for a Chinese New Year's party and would look festive sitting on side tables or shelves. Your children will take pride in seeing something they crafted themselves being prominently displayed. These flowers can also be used as Spring decorations, after the Chinese New Year is over.

Materials:

1/2 Styrofoam Ball
Brown Pipe Cleaners
Tissue Paper (pink shades)
Pencil
White Glue
Scissors
Brown Paint

1. Cut the brown pipe cleaner into varying medium and long lengths. These will be the branches of your plum blossom craft.

2. Take two different lengths of pipe cleaner and twist them together. Leave one end untwisted, approximately three inches long. Manipulate the unbound ends, twisting them until they resemble branches.

3. Cut your tissue paper into half inch squares. You can use the same color pink or varying shades from medium, to light and almost white pink.

4. Put a thin bead of glue on one side of the arms of your pipe cleaner branches. Avoid the thicker base of the branch. Make sure the surface you lay it down on is year, so nothing will accidentally stick to the glue.

5. Using a pencil, (lead end for thin branches, eraser end for thick branches) twist the tissue paper around the end.

6. Keeping the tissue paper on the pencil, lightly press it into the glue on the pipe cleaner branch. The tissue paper should come off of the pencil ad stick to the branch.

7. Repeat steps five and six, leaving spaces between plum blossoms, until that side of the branch is full.

8. When done with that side of the branch, turn it over and repeat steps three through seven.

9. Paint half of Styrofoam sphere brown. (Adults should do this part, if using spray paint.)

10. Stick plum blossom branches into the rounded part of the ball.

Alternative versions for kids' plum blossom crafts can use twigs instead of pipe cleaners. Small clay pots with dirt could also be used, instead of Styrofoam balls.

Source:

http://www.123chinesenewyear.com/symbols/

http://www.dollartree.com/arts-crafts/arts-crafts-supplies/209c304c304/index.cat