Kids will love how simple and easy it is to make pipe cleaner flowers for a fun spring craft or handmade gift for Mother’s Day.
Hello, I’m Keri. Over at my blog Backyard Summer Camp, you’ll find simple kids’ crafts to help you plan fun and easy activities at home with your family. I think that sometimes easy crafts are the most fun because they encourage kids to get creative! Make a few of these pipe cleaner flowers, then see what fun variations they can come up with.
If your kids enjoy creating flowers out of pipe cleaners, try making salt dough together next!
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Pipe cleaner is kind of a weird kids’ craft, right? Who was using these to clean and decided to hand a few of these to a child for DIY projects? I’m not sure, but I do know that these are a fantastic craft supply that can be used in all kinds of creative ways.
You might already have what you need to make this craft, because it’s just one supply – pipe cleaner or chenille stems.
I recommend purchasing a multi-pack of chenille stems so you can make flowers in a variety of colors. Make sure you have enough green for stems.
You can make these in any color that you like, but here are some common flower colors:
- Daisies – white or yellow
- Roses – red
- Carnations – pink
- Pansies – purple
Uses for Pipe Cleaner Flowers
You can do this craft as a stand-alone activity, but here are some ways to display or use the flowers when you’re done.
Indoor potted plants.
Decorate a small terra cotta flower pot, fill it up with potting soil or small dry beans, and “plant” the flowers. No need to waters these and they’ll be in bloom every day!
Plant them in your fairy garden.
Use these cute fake flowers for decoration in an indoor fairy garden.
Handmade gift.
Make a bouquet of flowers to gift to a friend or family member. Assemble a dozen flowers in their favorite colors, then tie a ribbon around the middle to hold the bouquet together.
Attach to a present or card.
Instead of making the flowers for a gift, use them to decorate the gift wrap! Trim the stem short and glue it to a card or the outside of a wrapped present.
Wear a flower crown.
Swap out the tissue paper flowers in this flower crown for pipe cleaner flowers that kids can wear.
Turn craft time into learning.
Make flowers as part of a hands-on activity while learning about the parts of a flower.
How To Make Pipe Cleaner Flowers
You can really make these spring flowers with just one craft supply, but I’ve included several optional items below that you might want to set out for kids to experiment with.
What You Need:
Here’s what you’ll need from the store. The exact amounts are in the printable craft card at the bottom of this post.
Craft Tools Needed:
- Craft glue or a hot glue gun – This is handy if you want your flowers to hold their shape more tightly.
- Scissors – If you need to cut your pipe cleaner into shorter pieces.
Supplies Needed:
- Pipe cleaner chenille stems – The only essential supply on our list!
- Pony beads or peeler beads – Try sliding them onto the pipe cleaner to embellish the flower petals.
- Buttons – Glue one in the center of the flower for the seeds.
- Glitter – Just a fun embellishment if you like.
Pipe Cleaner Flowers Craft Tips
What size pipe cleaner is best for flowers?
We used 6 millimeter (0.23-inch) pipe cleaner. Our pieces are 12 inches long.
How do you cut pipe cleaner?
Craft store pipe cleaner is pretty thin, so you should be able to cut it with regular scissors. Adult sized scissors will work better and cutting is best done by an adult because the wire ends can be sharp.
How do you make different flower shapes?
This tutorial is for making pipe cleaner roses or a generic flower shape. To make variations, try curling each petal around only once or folding the petals into straight lines instead of a spiral.
How do you make pipe cleaner leaves?
Cut a 3-inch piece of green pipe cleaner and pinch the tip of both ends around the stem. Bend into a triangle and shape as desired.
Pipe Cleaner Flowers
Equipment
- 1 Craft glue or a hot glue gun optional
- 1 Pair of adult scissors optional
Ingredients
- 1 piece pipe cleaner chenille stem green
- 3 pieces pipe cleaner chenille stems yellow or other color
- 20 pieces pony beads or peeler beads optional embellishment
- 1 piece button optional embellishment
- 1 bottle glitter optional embellishment
Instructions
- Fold pipe cleaner in half.To make one flower, you’ll need a green pipe cleaner and 3 of another color. We used yellow for this tutorial. Fold all 4 pipe cleaner in half and crease the ends.
- Twist the stem.Hold the flower so that the yellow pieces are pointing up. Twist the green pipe cleaner around itself once to pinch everything in the center. Point one of the green stems facing down as the stem and the other to the side for step 5.
- Roll the flower petals.Choose one yellow piece and roll it into a spiral. Start by bending the tip, then wind it around until it is next to the stem. Repeat with each yellow piece until all the petals are rolled.
- Shape the flower.Pinch and adjust the flower petals until you’re happy with how they look. Have them overlap or pinch them close together.
- Make the base of the flower.Take the other green piece that’s still sticking out and wrap it around the stem. Start with a wide spiral and bend it smaller to create a cone shape just beneath the flower petals.
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What’s Next?
If you liked this pipe cleaner flowers craft, then be sure to check out Backyard Summer Camp for even more easy kids’ crafts.
More Spring Craft Ideas
If you enjoyed this pipe cleaner flower craft then you will love these gradeschool craft ideas:
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