How’s your week going? If you are friends with my on Facebook, you might have noticed that I was trying to find plastic soda bottles last weekend.
Here’s the reason. I needed bottles so I could cut them up to make flowers out of them for a Spring Wreath I had in my head.
It’s kind of funny, because I ended up collecting about 30 bottles, but once I got the flowers cut out — they were HUGE! I could have made a ginormous wreath with all of those monster flowers. I think it would have been really cool. Instead, I tried to come up with a way to incorporate the flowers into a 16 inch wreath form without completely overwhelming it. After experimenting, I decided to layer the flowers together.
The result is a little unexpected, but completely fun. It reminds me of Disneyland. My husband says that it reminds him of the flowers on the Alice in Wonderland ride.
And, in the spirit of Keeping It Real, this project was quite a bit trickier than I had imagined. I originally wanted to make a wreath form out of chicken wire. That didn’t work out. So about midnight on Friday night I decided to make a wreath form out of clothes hangers and them cover the form in ruffled white duck cloth. Well, the form looked really cute, but by the time I hot glued the huge flowers to it, it was so heavy that the form would not hold its shape. So then I decided to go with a wire form and I wired the flowers onto the form. So if you want to make this project, I’ve done the trial and error work for you!
To make the flowers, I took the plastic bottle, and poked a hole in it with scissors, or with some of the bottles, a drill.
Then I cut around the circumference of the bottle until the bottom comes off. Then I cut petals in the bottle, with the opening of the bottle being the middle of the flower. I painted most of the flowers yellow, but a couple I painted white so they would contrast with the yellow flowers. I did about three coats of paint, alternating the shades a little to give the color a little more depth.
I used a variety of sizes of bottles. The 2 liter bottles make HUGE flowers. In order to layer the flowers together, it is helpful to have different sized opening of bottles. So the bottle with the biggest opening will be at the back of the flower. You can make the petals on this bottle the longest, then a middle layer with a opening that will fit inside the other bottle. And the first flower will have an opening that is the smallest and will fit inside the other two bottles. In the middle of the first flower and the second, I cut out a flower out of patterned card stock and cut a circle in the middle so it would nestle inside of the first and second flower. I thought that this added a little color to the flower.
To fill up the mouth of the bottle, I took a large button and wrapped it in coordinating material.
Then I hot glued another button on top of that and added a scrapbooking brad onto the mouth of the bottle to make the center of the flower.
After I wired the flowers to the wreath form, I padded the form with a layer of batting, which I cut into strips and wrapped around the form.
Then I cut a 3 inch panel of bright material and wrapped the form with that. Then I cut another 3 inch panel of alternating material and wrapped that over the first, leaving room so that the underlying material would show through.
I thought it needed a little more color, so I added some ric rack and wrapped that around the edges of the second material.
To make the smaller flowers, I used the smallest flowers that I had left over. I cut out a 5 inch circle of material, followed by a 4 inch and 3 inch circle of contrasting material. Then I put a brad through the circles, attaching them together. After that I put a circle of hot glue on the back of the circle and pressed it into the middle of the small plastic flower. Then I wrapped a strip of material around the base of the flower and hot glued that on top of the wrapped wreath form.
I attached some strips of material and ribbon together with hot glue to hang the wreath and I was done.
I am linking this up to:
Have a wonderful day!
XOXO
What a fabulous idea!! I featured this tutorial and your burlap flower tutorial on my blog today, highlighting 3 dozen flower tutorials. Here is the link:
http://oopsey-daisy.blogspot.com/2010/04/wednesdays-wowzers-3-dozen-flower.html
Thanks for the inspiration!!
I love it can I post this on my blog with a link back to yours I want to remember how to do this and show it off to allmy readers how fun!!! let me know
What a precious wreath and a great way to recycle!!!
Wow…that is beautiful! I LOVE the colors…they are so bright and cheery!
REally cute! I featured this at somedaycrafts.blogspot.com
I love it! And I love all the colors!!
I also love this wreath. I am so impressed. I am also wondering about cutting the bottles…it seems like that would be very difficult. Did you use any special scissors? Any tips or pictures about that part of it? Thanks!
I will be linking this on my petite purse! Thanks for sharing this great idea!
How awesome! This looks like fun.
Mouth hanging open….awhh! Totally cool!
I too love these flowers! They are so fun and full of whimsy. I hope your finger heals so you can enjoy your surprise vacation.:)
Hi Jen, I love, LOVE, love those! I'm surely gonna try these..one question though, did you use normal shears for cutting the flowers? Or do you need some other tool?
I absolutely LOVE this! So creative and cute! Looks very Alice in Wonderland, which I love. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
I've been trying to come up with a spring wreath idea for weeks! I just knew you would come up with something, and it's fabulous! Thanks again, for a fabulous inspiration!
I'll be featuring you soon!
http://inallmyfreetime.blogspot.com
~Abby
utterly fabulous Jen!
What a fun idea–I can't believe those were pop bottles. Wouldn't they make fun decorations in a girl's room!
This is so super adorable! I love the flowers, love the colors and love that you re-used materials.
Chelsea
What a fabulous wreath! I love those big bright flowers. This wreath screams Spring!
Jen you know I love Whimsy! This is just that…so amazing!! Again, just so creative! Love it!
Hugs,
Victoria
I am absolutely freaking out…that is the most awesome wreath I have ever seen! I cannot believe that it is from pop bottles! Like I have said before–you are a genius!
I wish I lived in Utah to see you on Studio 5, so I will have to watch it on the web!
Have a splendid day!
Perfect for Spring!
What a great wreath! It turned out so cute! Thanks for sharing 🙂
For cryin' out loud… your wreath ROCKS!
btw…now following your wonderful blog~
found you through just a night owl who passed on an award to me. i'm glad i stopped by. this is a wonderful blog. looks like i will find a lot of great ideas here. hope you'll come visit me when you get a chance.
That's so funny!! I am totally working on a project similar to this… a knock-off Anthro window display of sorts. Cool. Your's are, as always, just beautiful. And the colors are so fresh. Yummy!
Blessings-
Sarah
Now this is just downright genius!! I love it! 🙂
super cute! I love it! Great idea to use the plastic bottles. I was wondering what you were needing those for. I already have my dvr set. Good luck tomorrw-I am sure that you are going to do great! Say Hi to Brooke for me!
As a child of the late 60's and
70's…this is all about "flower power" to me. Peace, love and rock and roll!
I love all of the colors! Did you have to dumpster dive for those bottles?
I love seeing Spring colors..
That's really cute and so cherry looking!
Manuela
LOVE IT! I have been wanting to make some of those Anthro inspired plastic flowers but I had no idea where to put them. They look so adorable on the wreath and I can't wait to try it.
I can't believe the things you come up with. 🙂 This is cute and so colorful.
I'm always impressed by your creativity but this wreath blows my mind. It's absolutely head-over-heels amazing!
talk about creative… plastic bottles.. WOW' way to recycle! LOVE IT, AND THE COLORS, VERY VERY CUTE! hugs, jgg
oh my! so lovely… Love all the photos in the tutorial 🙂
~ Emily N. from "too Blessed to Stress"
Ooh!! So fun and Springy!! I love it!
Andy
http://www.poppiesatplay.blogspot.com
aw; thats too cute and you are too creative! In a good way of course!
Love the bright colors!! You are quite a clever girl! ;D
Suzanne
Awesome! Is it hard to cut the bottles? I just love everything you make…you are so talented.
We now have a linky party on tuesdays so come join us!
HOW CHEERFUL!
No lie….I was just going to turn off the computer and go paint my soda bottle flowers! WEIRD! I'm attaching mine to a forsythia wreath with a fabric birdie I'm making. WEIRD!!!
So bright and happy and springy! I love it!
oH my ! Jen that is without question the cutest wreath I have seen! I am totally in love! LOVE! making that one for sure! You are the queen bee my dear! Good work – it was almost worth that hole in your finger – RIGHT? LOL!
Smiles, JEN
I just cannot believe this is made out of bottles. It is absolutely beautiful. My favorite colors and I love flowers. Gorgeous, gorgeous. One of my favorite things you have made!
The sunny yellow is so cheery! I love it. 🙂 You are so good at pairing different colors and patterns!
Such a great idea. You lost me at glue gun! But you did an incredible job.
LOVE! I've been looking for something to do that is springy and not St. Patties.
love it Jen, very creative as usual! My poor door is plain at the moment!
Love it, Jen!!
So sunny, and happy..It makes me feel like spring just may arrive after all…
So creative! I'm not sure if I have the patience to do this one. Nevertheless, I love it!
Oooo – I LOVE the whimsy on this wreath! You did such a fab job, as always. And I agree with the previous poster here…it just makes ya so happy looking at it! *SMILE*
This is adorable! Just in time for the Alice in Wonderland movie, no? I don't think I would have the patience to do this. Sure is cute though.
Very cute, I need to make sometihng whimsical for my door in the next few weeks. Its been bare since after xmas!
This is amazing! I kept scrolling up and down through the pictures because these flowers just make me happy. So fabulous!
That is the most creative and springy wreath I have ever seen! I love it! I bet those flowers would make really cute stakes for your flower pots or garden areas too!
oh my heck-that is beautiful! i have a huge front door (7 or 8' tall) and im always looking for things to match it in scale! this might be my ticket…
That is so fun! I really don't think I have the skill to pull that one off but I love looking at all the fun stuff you come up with!
I love it! So cheerful!
How beautiful! I'll have to try my hand at making flowers that way.