It is carnival time in Italy, so between carnival parades and kids’ costume parties we’ve had very little time for our weekend crafts.  Today’s craft is not our latest work, but it is one of those things you make for fun and ends up being around for years.  We made the letter holder with paper flowers in the picture over two years ago, before my son mastered the use of scissors, in fact the flowers have been cut with a technique used with young children which consists of piercing little holes very close together along a perimeter using a pointed pencil. For this method to work the paper needs to lay over a soft surface.  What started as a simple paper flower decoration for a wooden container resulted in our favourite place to keep any bits without a place of their own like rolled up paper messages and unopened post.

To make this vase you need a plain wooden case, any shape with sharp edges is fine, coloured card, a sharp pencil, glue, wooden kebab sticks and green tissue paper.

To make the flowers draw the shape of your flower on the card (card cuttings left over from previous crafts are perfect for this); place the card over a soft surface and pierce along the drawing. When there are holes all around the flower remove the card around it and you’ll be left with the shape of a flower.

Use the same process for the leaves.

To make the stem, cover the kebab sticks with green tissue paper. Attach the petals and leaves to the stem with glue.

Paint the wooden case with non toxic paint and leave to dry.

Finally attach the flowers to the back of the wooden container.