My last post was about how to make Crazy Daisies with yarn. I thought I would share another craft you can make with a bloom loom. These fun little flowers are made with wire instead of yarn. They look great in potted plants, inside or out. I even made some for favors at a baby shower.Materials
- Bloom Loom (Get this in the yarn section of your local hobby store)
- 18 gauge galvanized steel wire (You can get a roll of this at the hardware store for less than $10)
- Wire cutters
- Round-nosed pliers
- glass gems
- silicon adhesive
Directions
It doesn't matter where you start on the bloom loom. The basic idea is that you wrap the wire around an inner then the corresponding outer peg to make the petals. everything is worked in a counter-clockwise motion.It's easiest to work from the roll of wire and not cut it until your flower is complete.
You'll want to leave about 7 or 8 inches of wire for the stem. Bend the wire around an inner peg and the corresponding outer peg and back up to the inner peg. Make sure to pull the wire tightly and try to press the wire down onto the loom as much as possible as you work. Yay! You just made one petal.
Bend the wire around the next inner peg to the left, then the outer peg and back to the inner peg. Now you have two petals.
Do it again. Bend the wire around the next inner peg to the left, then the outer peg and back to the inner peg. Great! Three petals.
Continue in this manner until you have made 8 petals. After you have completed the 8th petal bend the wire towards the outer peg and cut it near the outer peg.
Carefully remove your flower from the loom.
Trim the end of the wire (not the stem) so it is about 1/2 - 3/4 inch long.
Using the round-nosed pliers, make a small loop where you just cut the wire.
Gently pull the loop around where the stem and first petal meet. You may need to twist the loop slightly. Tighten the loop so your flower is secure.
This is a great time to straighten out the stem and gently adjust any of the petals if you need to.
Pick two gems that are about the same size and color. Lay one with the rounded surface face down. Set your flower over the gem so it is positioned at the center of the flower.
Use silicon adhesive to stick the flat side of the second gem to the flat side of the first gem so they are secured on either side of your flower.
Whenever the glue is dry, you can plant your sun catcher flowers for a little sparkle.
One variation is to wrap the wire twice around each set of pegs. This looks cool, but it's a little trickier. You will need to leave 3/4 - 1 inch at the end of these flowers to make your final loop.
Another variation is to use silicone adhesive to attach a 3/4 inch magnet on the back of the flower and a gem to the front. Cut the stem to about 4-5 inches and curl it up for a pretty magnetic memo holder.
Don't forget to water the garden!
