If you’ve looked through home decor magazine this year, you’ve seen beautiful arrangements of big, peony-like flowers. Especially outdoors! They look beautiful, but we all know they will be dead within days. Wouldn’t you love an arrangement that was inexpensive, durable, and recyclable? This craft is for you! Manipulate plastic grocery bags to make beautiful blooms that can be left outside all summer.

Things you’ll need:
Plastic grocery bags; multiple colors
Pipe cleaners
An empty powdered-drink container or jar
Rocks
Adhesive tape
Floral tape

Things to do:

Make the vase:
1. Empty and clean a powdered drink container. This is your vase; decorate or paint as you want.
2. Fill vase with gravel or glass beads to give it weight. Set aside.

Make the flowers:
1. Take a plastic bag and flatten it.
a. Tuck sides into bag by sticking your thumbs into the bag and pulling on the handles.
b. Fold handles back into the bag and tape down. Tape down any other flappy things until your bag is a rectangle.

2. Accordion- fold the bag along the long edge. Set aside.

3. Repeat on anywhere from 2 to 5 bags. (More bags, bigger flowers!)

4. Gather bags together with a bright pipe cleaner and twist to secure. This pipe cleaner becomes the center of your flower. Add additional pipe cleaners to taste.

5. Add another pipe cleaner facing away from the flower center. This will become the stem.

6. Gather the flower ‘stem’ in your hand.
a. Move up the flower for a tight bloom,
b. Down the stem for a big, open flower.
7. Wrap the ‘stem’ with tape to secure.

8. Pull and fluff your flower to taste.
9. Arrange flowers in vase. Add cut greenery or sticks if you’d like.

10. Enjoy!

Enjoy your flower arrangement all summer long. Leave it outside and don’t worry about dead petals or icky water. When summer ends, dump the rocks in your yard and toss the flowers and vase into the recycling bin!