{create this} Sweet Gum Ball Flowers

When we were looking to buy our first home, which we did in May of 2009!, we wanted something with character, plenty of space, hard wood floors and preferably updated bathrooms and kitchen.  However, landscaping and the yard were not really a big deal.  We got lucky because the previous owners added an island with crepe myrtles and shrubs, a milkweed plant in front of the porch (hello monarch butterflies!) and my absolute favorite:  a gardenia tree to the left of the front porch.  What I didn't expect was the sweet gum tree.  It is pretty cool and very full when it's in bloom.  And also?  It produces these kooky, crazy sweet gum balls, which, let me tell you, are a JOY to step on with bare feet.

 
But they are just a little funky (not to mention, courtesy of Mother Nature!) and there was just something about them that made me want to craft.  And craft, I did.  Come join me!

Supplies:  sweet gum balls (if you don't have a tree nearby, stick around, you might just find a sweet way to get some in your future!), bamboo skewers, craft/hot glue, styrofoam or something to hold your flowers standing up in, spray paint

These could not be simpler (look, it's a numbered list!  yay!):

1.  Carefully gather sweet gum balls (with shoes on!).
2.  Put them in a zipper-close bag and shake the heck out of 'em (there are little seeds inside that will fall all over)
3.  I used The Saint's wire .cutters to snip the pointy end of the bamboo skewers off at various lengths.
4.  Add a dab of glue into one of the holes on the sweet gum ball and insert skewer. Place 'flower' in styrofoam or a bucket full of sand or something so it can dry.  Here are my sweet gums on a stick:



5.  Spray paint your heart out and let dry.  My makeshift spray painting station:

The Saint would ask that you not look too closely at our lawn - he's doing yard work this weekend :)

Don't forget to spray the ends after you pull them out of the styrofoam

6.  Put in a fun container!  Or more than one fun container!

The best part?  You never have to water these flowers, but you may want to dust occasionally.  :)

This project was shared at all the blogs on my Link page!