# Kid-Made Mini Flower Vases
> Kids snip backyard flowers, leaves and grasses, arrange tiny bouquets in their hands, and slip them into small water-filled bottles. The finished vases make a bright window-sill display.
- URL: https://www.funlittles.com/nature-play-for-kids-making-mini-flower-vases-with-kids/
- Ages: 4+ · Difficulty: easy · Mess: low
- Time: prep 10 min, activity 30 min
- Works for: one-on-one, small group, whole class · one batch serves about 1 kids
- Skills: nature-exploration, fine-motor, color-theory, design, plant-identification
- Cautions: ingestion-risk

## Materials (one batch)
- Fresh flowers, leaves and long grasses from the backyard
- 1 piece Mini clear plastic bottles with attached lids (film-canister style)
- 1 piece Clear travel-size bottles (optional)
- Water (household)
- 1 piece Scissors (household)
- Natural jute twine (optional)
- 1 piece Art tray (optional)
- 1 piece Empty pasta jar (optional) (household)
- Onion stalks (optional)

## Substitutions
- Instead of mini bottles: Small empty milk bottles or any travel-size bottles you have at home (Any small clear container works as a mini vase.)

## Safety
- Flowers, leaves and the flower water are for play, not food. Many garden plants are toxic, so don't let kids eat them or drink the colored water.
- Pick only from your own yard or with permission, and skip plants that may have been sprayed with pesticides.
- Supervise scissors use, especially with younger children.
- Glass jars can break. Use plastic bottles with younger kids.
- Wash hands after handling plants. Some kids are sensitive to pollen or plant sap.

## Before you start
- Gather small clear bottles or containers and rinse them out.
- Optional: the day before, slightly crush nasturtium or geranium petals (or nasturtium leaves) and soak them in water in the bottles to make colored water.

## Steps
1. Lay out the bottles, twine, scissors and the flowers and greenery you collected.
2. Fill a mini bottle with water.
3. Snip off the stem ends so the flowers fit your bottle.
4. Build your bouquet in your hand. Keep same-color flowers apart and add a long leaf or grass stalk.
5. Slide the finished bouquet into the bottle.
6. Tie jute twine around the neck of the bottle if you like.
7. Line up your mini vases on a sunny window sill.

## Tips
- Since you're working with smaller flowers and a mini vase, it's easier to arrange the bouquet in your hand and put it into the container once you have an arrangement you like.
- Try not to put the same color flowers next to each other. If the same colored flowers are in a triangle, they generally look better.
- Arrange yellow daisies around an appealing purple. Yellow and purple are complementary colors and look very nice together.
- Long stalks of leaves or grasses are always a nice touch.
- White is a go-to color to tie the whole thing together.
- For a calm, soothing look, use only a small palette of colors with some green plants here and there.
- Look closely! We didn't realize we had such a huge variety of flowers, because your eyes just focus on the larger ones like roses and camellias.
- They decorate the window sill beautifully, at least until they wither away!

## The original post by TurkeyMom (2020)

This is one of those back to the basics classic kids nature activity. Kids around the world having been making wild flowers bouquets forever and yet I simply had to write our experience because this nature activity was not preplanned and it just happened one afternoon. More importantly I was very much fascinated by the fact that a *couple of plastic containers* inspired this gorgeous [**nature play for kids**.](https://www.funlittles.com/category/nature-play-2/) I'm so thrilled that my 11 year and 9 year old still enjoy playful *nature activities and nature crafts*. Since we are in a lockdown here, we have been spending a lot of time in our backyard being surrounded by nature. Gives us all much needed peace, calm and fresh air. With all this time, the kids just started collecting a bunch flowers and started this activity. It was initially supposed to be a simple spring flower potions play like we did years ago but then turned into a homemade natural paint kids activity and eventually a flower bouquet making activity.

- [**Spring flowers potions play for kids**](https://www.funlittles.com/spring-activities-explore-outdoors-and-make-flower-potions/)
- [**Homemade watercolor paints**](https://www.funlittles.com/art-activities-kids-crepe-paper-paint-homemade-liquid-watercolors/)
- [**Paper flower bouquets**](https://www.funlittles.com/valentine-day-crafts-and-activities/)

These colorful products of a wonderful afternoon of nature play have been decorating our window sill ( well until they wither away of course!)



I didn't realize we had a huge variety of flowers since your eyes just focus on the larger ones like roses and camelias. The main draw was these cute plastic containers I had in our STEAM cart. **Materials needed, process, colorful images for inspiration, tips & tricks for having a bright display** We had purchased plastic bottles with attached lids that look like film canisters from a place that sells clean recyclables. The clear bottles are purchased from our local Dollar Tree to store our small craft supplies. That afternoon's desire to combine nature with these containers ended up with this gorgeous display. I have seen small empty milk bottles

- **[Mini PET bottles](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N465IOT/?tag=blmemo-20)**
- **[Flight Travel Bottles](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074DQVCQT/?tag=blmemo-20)**
- **[Natural Jute Twine](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F3FT7CR/?tag=blmemo-20)**
- **[Art Tray](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0044S89U2/?tag=blmemo-20)**( Used to keep all the materials in one place)
- Scissors

I ended up having my eleven year demonstrate what she did one more time for this post, haha! She is a natural teacher and was more than happy to explain her process. Apparently what I thought was a simple nature activity for kids had more things going on. It was fascinating to hear her explain the process she adopted while making these eye catching flower displays. Here are some of her thoughts on how she made her own bouquets look good and some ideas for future bouquets.

1. I try not to use the same color flowers next to each other. If the same colored flowers are in a triangle, they generally look better. (In my opinion, anyway)
2. For example, if I'm using yellow daisies, I arrange them around an appealing purple. Yellow and purple, being complimentary colors, look very nice together.
3. I feel long stalks of leaves or grasses are always a nice touch.
4. I don't usually have a centerpiece in my bouquets, but if I make one I would arrange the additional flowers around the centerpiece in overlapping triangles.
5. I always prefer calm and soothing colors and designs over vibrant colors ( the hot pink arrangements are my sister's) So I try to use only a small palette of colors with the addition of some green plants here and there.
6. Since I was working with smaller flowers and a mini vase/bottle I found it easier to arrange the bouquet in my hand and put it into the container when I had an arrangement that I liked.
7. For me, white is a go-to color to tie my whole thing together.
8. I also like using a jute twine to give it a simplistic yet appealing look.



Depending on the size of the flowers, she snipped off the ends first.





This unique design is the 9 year old's. Onion stalks were used to tightly wrap an empty pasta jar to give it a natural look. Spotted with a few geraniums made it look very joyous.





Better picture of the containers we used.





Some of the mini vases has some colored water and this was left over from the previous day's nature exploration. Some nasturtiums and geraniums were slightly crushed and soaked in water in the mini vases (bottles that look like film canisters) That can be a separate kids nature play by itself. The orange and the pink colored water is from the flower soak.



The brightly colored green water is from the leaves of the nasturtiums plant. I'm so excited to recently find out that the entire plant is edible and also has weak antibiotic properties.



My sober colors loving 11 year's favorite arrangement is this one. Monochromatic with just a small color surprise.





Have some interesting containers at home? Try these flower arrangements and inspired an afternoon of nature based fun!

Thanks for reading

[**More nature play ideas**](https://www.funlittles.com/category/nature-play-2/)

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