DLTK's Holiday Crafts for Kids
Coffee Filter Poppy Craft

Coffee filter coloring is a lot of fun to do.  I find it relaxing to sit and watch the colors flow together to make unique patterns.

Using this technique to make a Remembrance or Veteran's Day poppy is a simple and fun way for chidlren to appreciate the importance of remembering.

Materials:

• coffee filter
• red washable markers (we used crayola brand)
• squirt bottle or small glass of water.
• green pipecleaner

Note:  You can complete this project using food colouring instead of washable markers.  However!  I find this option to be very messy so would not do it with young children (if they get food colouring on their clothing you won't be able to get it out).  I would only use this option with children over age 10 and even then would want a good amount of supervision and old clothes to be worn.

Instructions:

• Flatten out a coffee filter on a plate.
• Scribble the filter with washable markers.   (I try to just let the kids do what they like...  Younger children will be a bit more random and that's ok).
• Use a squirt bottle to spray the coffee filter 2 or 3 times.
• I like to squirt right in the center of the filter and then sit and watch the water wick the colours over the filter (this takes 4 or 5 minutes).
• Young children will tend to over wet the filter...  The project still works, but it won't turn out quite as pretty (the colours tend to blend too much if you soak the filter)  To help prevent this, encourage them to squirt it just once in the middle and watch for a bit for so they can see the process unfold.  You can always add more water later if it doesn't get wet all the way to the edge after 5 minutes or so.
• Let dry (this takes about 1/2 an hour, but will take longer if the filter has been soaked by an over-zealous crafter!)
• Scrunch the coffee filter so you can wrap a pipecleaner around the center.
• Twist the top of the pipecleaner to hold the coffee filter tightly.  Ensure that the end of the pipe cleaner wraps around to the back of the coffee filter.
• Scruch up another coffee filter and place it perpindicular to the first filter (make sure that the fronts of the coffee filters both face the same way). Wrap the pipe cleaner around the second coffee filter.
• Stretch the end of the pipe cleaner down to make the stem of the poppy
• Fluff the petals a little bit to make a perfectly lovely little poppy!

Ideas for Displaying Your Poppies:

• You can hang your creation in the window for the light to shine through or in a group along the wall.
• You can attach a few together to make a Remembrance Day mobile.  I like to hang my mobiles from paper towel rolls wrapped in construction paper or wrapping paper.
• When I was little I wanted to hang 12 of them from a long string (along with beads) and hang it from her door.  I wanted to do about 10 of these strings across my door to make a 'beads and flowers curtain' to walk through... My mom was a good sport even though she was pretty sure the cat would destroy the curtain in less than a day *giggle*.
• You can also attach them to home made greeting cards or gifts.
• I wrapped my poppies around my bed frame and a few of the decorations on my bedside table to fill my bedroom with pretty flowers.

Printable version of these instructions