![\"REAL](\"https:\/\/kidscraftroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Suncatchers-With-Real-Flowers.jpg\")
<\/p>\nI admit it, I don\u2019t always know what I\u2019m doing and recently the kids and I have been enjoying some experimental crafty goodness making real flower suncatchers for the window.<\/p>\n
I wasn\u2019t sure how successful our method of preserving the flowers would be but so far, touch wood, it\u2019s all gone to plan and I just adore the vintage look of this unusual flower craft for kids, don\u2019t you?<\/p>\n
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Now as I said, this idea for a suncatcher flower craft was very experimental! It\u2019s not something I\u2019ve done before and I have to be honest and say I don\u2019t know how long these pretty beauties will last. We\u2019ve had ours completed for over two weeks now and the real flowers have faded to gorgeous vintage hues and aren\u2019t showing any signs of decay\u2026but I will be keeping an eye on them.<\/p>\n
To be honest I don\u2019t mind if this flower craft does deteriorate over time and end up in the trash. The process of making it has been a great experience for the kids and such a talking point.<\/p>\n
I love the way nature crafts like our Leaf Sewing<\/a> and Acorn Mouse Family<\/a> connect kids with the natural world. Real flower crafts are a great way to get kids enjoying and talking about the beautiful flowers on their doorstep too. It doesn\u2019t have to be big fancy garden grown flowers either, I think there is as much beauty, awe and wonder to be found in a dandelion weed as there is in a speciality rose!<\/p>\n First off head out into the garden or countryside to pick some flower heads for the sun catcher. Encourage the children to look for small flat-ish ones. I\u2019m not sure you\u2019ll have much success with big flowers like roses because they need to lie flat enough in the saucer to cover them with glue. We found that the buttercups, daisies and forget-me-nots worked really well.\u00a0This is a great opportunity to chat about and name the flower parts.<\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve got a nice selection of flowers it\u2019s time to prep your dish. We used a simple side plate but any flat based dish will do. The flowers are going to be drying in the dish for a few days so make sure it\u2019s a dish you can spare for a little while.<\/p>\n Cover your dish with a layer of cling wrap and smooth out as many of the creases as you can. Then pour in a thin layer of PVA glue<\/a> to cover the bottom using the brush to help you spread it around.<\/p>\n Now comes the fun part! Like you can see in the photo above, arrange the flowers in the glue in any way you like. It doesn\u2019t matter if you put your flowers right way up or upside down but try to keep them all the same way if you only want to see the fronts of flowers when you hang your finished sun catcher.<\/p>\n Your flower craft is almost finished. All you need to do to preserve your flowers now is coat the upper side of the flowers in glue too. Again use the brush to help you.<\/p>\n Then it\u2019s just a case of waiting for the glue to dry. How long this takes depends on the temperature and the thickness of the glue but I\u2019d plan on it taking 2- 3 days to be on the safe side.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how our flower sun catcher looked after 24 hours. It\u2019s been really warm here so it was almost completely dry except for some thicker bits of glue that had pooled around the petals. To help the drying process I lifted the flower sun catcher off of the saucer and flipped it over to dry out the underside.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how our flower craft looked after 2 days. Completely dry and ready to turn into a suncatcher on the window. All that was left to do was trim off any excess straggly bits of dried glue with scissors.<\/p>\n We found that some of our suncatchers clung to the window themselves but the bigger heavier ones needed a bit of tape to hold them in place. Painters tape works well and comes off the windows easily when your done.<\/p>\n The children and I have really enjoyed watching the flowers get bleached by the sun over the days and love the vintage colours we\u2019re left with. It\u2019s been great that the children are able to see the veins in the petals really clearly now too. Aren\u2019t they gorgeous?<\/p>\n Is this flower craft something your children would enjoy too? Why not share it with\u00a0your friends on Facebook?<\/p>\n Looking for more nature craft ideas for kids? We\u2019ve got loads here in our nature inspired section.<\/a><\/p>\n More Fun Summer Crafts<\/a> For Kids:<\/p>\n Springy 3D Paper Bee Craft For Kids<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div>\n Easy Sunflower Hat Craft For Kids (Printable Template)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div>\n 15 Free Insect Life Cycle Film Strip Activities For Kids<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div>\n Free Printable Paper Houses Crafts For Kids To Make<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div>\nSupplies To Make Your Suncatcher Flower Craft<\/span><\/h2>\n
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Let\u2019s Have Fun Making A Real Flower Suncatcher<\/span><\/h2>\n
![\"Here's](\"https:\/\/kidscraftroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Making-a-suncatcher-flower-craft-for-kids.jpg\")
<\/span><\/h2>\n![\"Here's](\"https:\/\/kidscraftroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Preserving-flowers-for-a-suncatcher-craft.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Here's](\"https:\/\/kidscraftroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Drying-the-fresh-flowers-for-a-suncatcher-craft.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Here's](\"https:\/\/kidscraftroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Preserved-flowers-ready-for-a-suncatcher-craft.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Here's](\"https:\/\/kidscraftroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Real-preserved-flowers-suncatcher-with-gorgeous-vintage-hues.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Here's](\"https:\/\/kidscraftroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Preserved-flowers-suncatcher.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Here's](\"https:\/\/kidscraftroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Real-Flower-Suncatcher-Square.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Springy](\"https:\/\/kidscraftroom.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/pt-content-views-pro\/public\/assets\/images\/lazy_image.png\")
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