Easy Flower Centerpiece for Toddlers

Here's an easy project to do with your toddler on a rainy Spring day!

You'll need:

(at least) 12 coffee filters
washable markers
1 dinner sized paper plate
1 dessert sized paper plate
Scissors
Thick, sharp needle
Thread
a spray bottle of water

Put one of your coffee filters on the dinner sized plate, hand your toddler a pile of markers, and let her go to town! The more colors the better. When your toddler declares that masterpiece "done", hand her another filter, removing the first one from the plate first. (The plate is to catch the ink that soaks through the filters.)

While your toddler colors the filters, take the ones that are done and your scissors and get to work.


You'll have to be quick because you want to finish cutting around the same time your toddler finishes coloring. (Trust me - it's easier than convincing a bored toddler to leave your pile of markers alone!) Fold a filter in half, then again, and again, and again...until you have a small wedge.

Cut the outer corners of the wedge off, to create a point. Do that to 6 filters. For the remaining 6, cut the same way, only lower down, to make a shorter wedge.


When you unfold everything, you should have 6 large flowers, and 6 small ones. Pair one small flower with one large flower and sew them, pair by pair, in a spiral, onto the small dessert plate.

Start by anchoring your thread: Thread your needle. Tie a knot in the end of your thread and pass up from the bottom of the plate to the top, then back down - being sure to leave a tail on the bottom of the plate. Pass through needle back through the loop in the tail, and pull tight.


Your thread is now anchored to the plate and you can continue sewing.

Up through the plate and flower, down through the flower and plate. Move over two inches, and repeat, in a spiral pattern, until all the flowers are attached to the plate.




When you have sewn all 6 pairs on, lightly mist your creation with water and hang upside down to dry. (The water will make the colors spread. By misting the flowers after they're attached to the plate, the colors can also spread from flower to flower.)

When the masterpiece is dry, you will have a cluster of flowers for your dinner table that your toddler can be proud of!