How to make a clay flower bouquet

Flower arrangements can consist of fresh flowers, dried flowers, silk flowers, and more. Clay flowers take a bit more time to make compared to basic paper flowers but they also offer the most amazing long-lasting display.

You will need:

• Clay in various colours (white, blue, yellow, and red)
• Scissors with a thin blade
• Toothpicks or something similar for finer details
• Cooling rack
• Floral wire (24-gauge)
• Glue
• Floral tape
• Vase
• Styrofoam covered with green clay

Method:

• Mix your clay to create the colours you need. Use your primary colours to create any colour you like. Mixing blue and yellow, for example, will create green. You can use white to lighten the shade if need be.
• Make 12 small balls, equal in size before forming them into the shape of a teardrop.
• Use the scissors to cut the wider end of the teardrop-shaped clay in half. Repeat this so that you have four petals.
• Hold one of these petals with your index finger and roll a toothpick across the surface to flatten it. Repeat this with all the petals.
• Hold the flattened petal between your index finger and thumb and press gently to curl the edges up. Repeat with all of your petals.
• Use a tiny ball of clay to act as a central point for four petals to meet. Do this with all of your 12 blossoms. You will find it handy to dampen the clay in order to solidify the bond.
• Stick three blossoms together by dampening the clay and make a cluster.
• Leave to dry for 24 hours.
• Use the floral wire as a stem. Dip the tip in glue, stick it into the bottom of the flower cluster and allow to set. Do this with all four clusters of flowers.
• Wrap the floral tape around the wire to create the appearance of a stem. Then tape four clisters together to create the perfect hydrangea bunch.
• Create as many of these bunches as you need and arrange them in your vase. Use the clay-covered Styrofoam to hold the stems in place.