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Make a Flower Decoration from Bamboo Forks

28 February 2011 3,373 views 10 Comments

by rhonda

I don't know about you, but I am getting super anxious for spring. It can't come soon enough! But since I can't hurry it along any as far as the weather goes, I have to settle for making things feel warmer with springy decorations.

I've been scouring Dollar Tree for things I can use to make flowers and one things that caught my eye was a package of little bamboo forks, the kind you would use to serve cheese cubes at a party. I was intrigued by the shape, and as soon as I started to experiment with them I knew exactly what I wanted to do! I love the starburst look of the flower, a throwback to the classic space-age clocks and mirrors.

Project estimate:

Bamboo forks, $1
Foam coasters, 6/$1
Paint, on hand
Glue, on hand
Craft foam, on hand or $1
Butterfly embellishment, 2/$1
Fishing line, on hand or about $2

Total: $1.67 and up

You will notice that the bamboo forks are slightly tapered at the end. Carefully glue the tapered edges together to create a fan shape.

Continue adding bamboo forks until you have made a complete circle. (It took me 27 of them to get all the way around.)

Paint the bamboo fork circle with acrylic craft paint. I used a light coat of paint and left my brush strokes showing to give it a more rustic look, but you can paint it any way you like. Allow the paint to dry before moving on.

Apply a layer of glue to a foam coaster. (The ones I found at Dollar Tree are made from the same material as mouse pads.) You can also use craft foam or felt for this step.

Center the bamboo fork circle on the glue-covered coaster and let it dry.

Cut or punch a circle from yellow craft foam to use as the flower's center. Glue it to the front of the flower.

Add a butterfly embellishment (these butterflies came in packages of two from Dollar Tree) or other decoration to your flower as a finishing touch.

To hang the flower, you can add mounting hardware to the back of the coaster, or simply tie a piece of fishing line or clear thread around one of the forks from which to hang it.

10 Comments »

Craft Project: Bamboo Fork Flower Decoration — Mrs. Greene said:

[...] How to make a bamboo fork flower decoration [...]

# 28 February 2011 at 11:44 am

heather said:

I love those bamboo forks. I used them for a similar project for my tree topper at Christmas time (but I didn’t post about it — too much stuff going on that time of year!). This is fun & springy!

# 28 February 2011 at 12:50 pm

Lynn said:

This reminds me of the clocks from the ’50s.

# 28 February 2011 at 10:03 pm

Marcia said:

Hi!
I just wanted to say, this is so neat! I now need to go and get some of these at Dollar Tree! Thankyou so much for the neat Spring idea!
My favorite time of year!

# 1 March 2011 at 12:29 am

Kim Vahle said:

Neat I might add a pretty sparkle to the end of each fork for a little shine.

# 1 March 2011 at 5:57 am

Jamie said:

This would be so cute with a mini mirror in the center too! I can’t wait to make these with my daughter for her room! Thanks for the great ideas!

# 1 March 2011 at 6:13 am

Beth said:

I saw these, and Im like ‘ooh very cute’. I loved my seasonal position at Dollar Tree, my boss wants me back in Sept for season 2011. Im very excited to go back!

# 1 March 2011 at 8:11 am