Spring Miscellaneous

 

Planter by Tama Kain

  1. Wash and dry a half-gallon milk carton.
  2. Cut away the top of the carton so the bottom piece measures slightly shorter than an ice-cream stick.
  3. Glue ice-cream sticks on each side of the carton. Let each side dry before starting the next.
  4. Decorate with paint, felt, ribbon, macaroni, dried beans or whatever you choose!
  5. Fill the planter with potting soil and a plant!

 

Flowers That Last (aka Pressed Flowers) by Evelyn Gaspar

Need:

For the best results, use flowers with thin petals. Thick, juicy petals often turn brown. Try to choose flowers that are fairly flat naturally, like pansies and daisies, not round like roses and mums. You can also press leaves and ferns.

Spread newspaper on a flat, hard surface. Put a flower on it, facedown. Spread the petals out so you can see the whole flower. Press on the flower center to keep the petals spread out. Put more newspaper and a heavy book on top. Press on the book for about one minute. Then lift the book and newspaper, being careful NOT to lift the flower.

Lay down the next flower, near the first. Spread the petals and repeat the same steps as with the first flower. Keep adding flowers or leaves, then cover them all with newspaper and a stack of books.

Leave the flowers undisturbed for three days, then check the flowers. If they are dry and stiff, they are done. Drying may take longer in humid, or wet, weather.

Pressed flowers are brittle, so handle them with care. Tape a piece of plastic wrap over them for protection, or slide them into a page-protector or photo album.

You can also protect your pressed flowers by mounting them on construction paper or an index card with a dab of glue.

To press flowers while on a hike or trip, take along a small spiral notebook, strong rubber bands, tape and a pencil. Flatten the flower on a page and tape down the stem. Note where you found the flower. Keep rubber bands tight around the notebook until the flowers are dry.

With your imagination and your pressed flowers, you can make all kinds of thinks. Place the flowers in a design, spread white glue on paper with a toothpick to glue them down, and use the paper for a gift or decoration.

Taken from Highlights for Children magazine, June 1992 issue, page 34-35.

 

Bean Magic by Barbara Midgley

Need:

1. Find a glass jar with a wide mouth. fold several white paper towels in half. Roll them into a cylider and dampen with water. Place them in the jar. They should be wet enough to spread along the sides of the jar.

2. Very carefully, place five beans, evenly spaced, between the jar wall and the paper towels. (Use blunt-edge tweezers if you have them.) Notice that each bean has a groove. Try to place the beans with their grooves facing in different directions.

3. Set the jar where it can get plenty of sun. make sure to keep the paper towels damp. Now you're ready to watch nature perform one of its best magic tricks!

4. In about a week, your beans will sprout roots. A few days later, they will grow shoots, or stems. And just liek majic, the roots will always grow downward and the shoots will rise upward - no matter which way the groove is facing!

** Note: If you want your beans to continue to grow, flower and produce, you will need to plant them in soil. **

Taken from Highlights for Children magazine, March 1992 issue, pg. 30.

 

Seed Flower Bouquet by Olive Howie

  1. For each flower, cut a 1-inch circle from a piece of posterboard. With a pencil, poke two small holes in the center of each circle.
  2. Insert a green pipe cleaner or a chenille stick through each hole, and twist them together underneath the circle to make a stem.
  3. Glue pumpkin seeds on the tops of the circles.
  4. For the leaves, lop short pieces of the chenille stick and twist them onto the stems.
  5. Clean a small, round food container. Press pieces of green clay into the container to hold the flower stems in place.
  6. Glue wallpaper, fancy gift wrap, or fabric onto the outside of the container!

 

Feeding Station for Birds by John Mc Dowell

  1. Wash and dry a 1-liter plastic beverage bottle, removing the label. SAVE the screw-on cap.
  2. On each side of the bottom plastic section, cut a tab aout 1 inch wide with scissors. Bend down the tabs, and with a paper punch, make a hole in the center of each tab. Push a pencil through the holes to make a perch.
  3. To make the feeding holes, press a crease along each side of the bottle directly about the two ends of the pencil perch. Holding the crease in place, punch a hole on the crease about two or three inches above the perch.
  4. Roll a piece of paper into a cone shape,and place it in the top of the bottle. Fill the bottle with seeds, remove the paper, and close the bottle with the cap.
  5. Tie string around the lip of the bottle just below the cap. Knot it several times so it will not slip off the bottle. Tie the feeder to a small branch on a tree.
  6. Keep a journal of the birds you see visiting your feeding station!

 

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