DIY Chic: Q-Tip Flowers

I've come out of the craft induced haze I find myself in after I browse my Pinterest boards long enough to make these adorable Q-Tip flowers for the Tornado's room.

This is one of those projects I really wish I would have come up with on my own! It's easy, cheap and supercute to boot. So instead let me extend thanks to the creativity of Homemade Ginger, who posted the original tutorial.

I doubt this is what the makers of Q-tips had in mind when they manufactured the product, but at least they were generous enough to concede they can be used for a "variety of uses". Hee hee...

How to Make Q-Tip Flowers

1. Cut loads and loads of Q-tips in half. You will need more than you think!

2. Poke the Q-tips halves into a styrofoam ball. You can use as many or as few as you like.  Be sure to have a family member videotape how hilarious you look at the end while you are courageously trying to grip the styrofoam between the tiny spaces and jam "just one more in!"

3. This is what your alien space ball Q-tip flower head will look like once all the Q-tips are in. Reassure your child who is insisting she does not want "that thing" in her room that it will indeed look pretty when you are done. Ok, so this isn't really a step, but now you are ready to dye your flower!

4. Mix food coloring and water in a shallow dish. I used 7-8 blue drops with 5-6 green drops for the aqua color. It would be pretty in any color, though! 

5. Gently dip/roll your Q-tip ball in the colored water. The dye will seep up into the Q-tips. 

6.  Set the balls aside to dry. I have them drying on a paper towel in the photo, but when I picked them up, the dye that was touching the paper towel had seeped out. I had to re-dye and then set them in a small bowl to dry. I would highly recommend NOT drying them on a towel unless you want to dye them twice just to be like me. :)

7. Poke the styrofoam ball into the stem of your choice. I pulled off the petals of a dollar store flower and poked it into the ball, and that seemed to work well.  

The balls were really heavy when I finished. I didn't expect that! I had to weight my vase down with river rocks so they didn't tip over. Just something to keep in mind when you are choosing a vase!

I know you are mentally calculating how many Q-tips you have in your bathroom right now, so off you go! :)