Coffee Filter Carnations

This craft was inspired by a coffee filter flower that Mia made in preschool. Hers was painted with watercolor paints, which you could also do, but I thought this was a quick and simple alternative. Another option is to color the coffee filters with washable markers and then spray them with water. If you didn't want to mess around with coloring or painting, you could also just cut out circles of colored tissue paper to make these flowers. Thanks to Sue for adding that this is a great way to use up your extra dye after coloring Easter eggs!

Materials:

• glass of water
• food coloring
• coffee filters
• green pipe cleaners
• newspaper (optional)

Directions:

1. Add a few drops of food coloring of your choice to a glass of water.
2. Fold a coffee filter into quarters and dip the pointed end into the glass of water. Allow the color to seep all the way up, unfold the coffee filter, and then set it aside to dry. (I sometimes do this on newspaper, but I've also found that a wire baking rack works nicely because the coffee filter won't stick to it.)
3. Take the dry coffee filter, pinch it in the center, and twist it tightly so that the twisted portion is about 1/2 to 1 inch long.
4. While holding the twisted part of the coffee filter in one hand, wrap the end of a green pipe cleaner around it until it is covered (about 4-6 times.) Kids may need help with this part.
5.  Make several flowers and display them in a vase or give them away as Easter or Mother's Day gifts.