DIY Daffodils

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.


Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.


The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling leaves in glee;
A poet could not be but gay,
In such a jocund company!
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:


For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

 (William Wordsworth)

Hello!! I hope you had a great weekend and Happy Mothers Day for Sunday if you are a mother, and also to my own mum :)

Here is a little tutorial I put together on how to make your own hand made daffodils great for doing with kids, to cheer someone up or just to brighten up your home and to add a constant freshness.

What you will need:

• Egg carton
• 6 green straws
• A4 card
• Scissors
• Red and green paint
• Pencil
• Paint brush
• Glue

Step 1: Draw guide lines in your egg carton around where you want to cut…

…and then cut them out so you have six little cup shapes.

Step 2: Holding one cup, cut tiny triangular slits all the way around the rim…

…repeat with all six.

Step 3: Taking your card, lay it flat and then fold it in half as shown below…

…then from the bottom fold again one third of the card…

…now turn the card around and fold the top part back so you have created a small square. The fold should be shaped like an S.

When you unfold the card you should have some grid like markings as shown below.

Step 4: Draw around the carton cups in the middle of each square.

Step 5: Using a pencil draw six overlapping tear drop shapes for the petals…

…and then rub out the overlapping lines…

…so you are left with six flower shapes.

Step 6: Paint the flowers yellow (I painted slightly over the lines so I could see where to cut and to keep the paint even)…

…and the carton cups orange (just in case you didn’t listen in art class orange is made by mixing yellow and red :)

…Now leave to dry…

Step 7: Once dry, cut out the petals turn around and paint the back yellow as well, then leave to dry again.

Step 8: (below) Fold the flower shape in half and cut a tiny slit in the middle of the fold. Open the shape and fold again cutting another slit, so you are left with a small cross in the middle of the flower (this will be to insert the straw).

Step 9: Take the straws and cut one end to create a cross that can be opened out (if your straws have a bendy neck part, cut the end closest to that).

Step 10: insert the uncut end of the straw through the middle of the flower shape and open out the cut part of the straw.

Step 11: Glue the bottoms of the carton cups and then press onto the middle of the flower shape, finishing your daffodil. Leave somewhere safe to dry properly.

And there you go six beautiful daffodils. I hope you give it a go and bring that inner child out, you know you want too :)