Sure to fool anyone's eye, these breathtaking hydrangea bouquets are actually created by manipulating pieces of ClayCraft -- air-dried clay that is soft, durable, and lightweight -- into beautiful flower shapes.
Tools and Materials
ClayCraft clay (white, yellow, blue, red)
Thin blade scissors
Small detail sticks or toothpicks
Cookie rack
24-gauge floral wire
Craft glue
Floral tape
Vase
Green clay-covered Styrofoam
Leaves or plastic floral fillers (optional)
Clay Flowers How-To
1. Begin by mixing the clay to achieve your desired colors. To make green, take a baseball-size portion of white clay. Take about a dime-size ball of yellow clay and a ball of blue clay about 1/3 the size of the yellow. Mix the yellow and blue together to make a classic green. Then, use about half of the ball of this green clay and mix it with the white until it is evenly blended and you have a light green color. To make periwinkle blue, mix white clay with blue and just a little bit of red.
2. Make 12 small even-size balls of clay in any color you choose. (Martha used the pale-green color described in step 1.) Using the rounded base of your palm, roll ball into a teardrop. Repeat for all 12 balls.
3. Take scissors and cut the larger end of the teardrop in half, then cut each side in half again to make 4 petals.
4. Using your index finger as a base, roll a toothpick over the newly cut petals to flatten out and create a petal-like shape. Repeat for all 12 teardrops.
5. With your index finger and thumb, gently twist the top edge of each petal to create more of a dimension. Repeat for all 12 blossoms.
6. Take a tiny teardrop of the clay and with a toothpick, place in the center of the blossom. Repeat for all 12 blossoms.
7. Attach three blossoms to each other by sticking the damp clay together to form one cluster. Repeat process until you have four clusters of three. Let dry on cookie rack for 24 hours.
8. Attach 24-gauge floral wire to each cluster by dipping the tip of the floral wire in glue, and sticking into bottom of cluster. Repeat process for all four clusters.
9. Wrap floral tape around the base of cluster and floral wire. Tape 4 clusters together to form one hydrangea flower bunch.
10. Stick hydrangea flower bunches into vase with green clay covered Styrofoam to create arrangement. Add leaves or plastic floral fillers if desired.
Special Thanks
Special thanks to Island Heritage and ClayCraft by Deco for giving the crafting guide, "Clay Art for All Seasons," available on welcometotheislands.com, and ClayCraft, respectively, to everyone in our studio audience. Special thanks to Diane Phillips of DK Designs for demonstrating this craft. To purchase beautiful clay flowers made by Diane, visit her store on etsy.com.
Resources
The clay used in this craft is available from ClayCraft by Deco, 808-735-7800, 764 Kapahulu Avenue, Suite 200, Honolulu, Hawaii, 96816. Small detail sticks and thin blade scissors are available on decoclay.com. Leaves and plastic floral fillers are available at most craft stores.
