Bring a little springtime sunshine into your home with these easy to make plastic flowers. Combine equal parts: Drinking straws, colored plastic bags and kids to watch this craft blossom.

What you'll need:

How to make it:

1. Cut a cotton bud in half to make two flower centres.
2. Fold the plastic bags to get 4 layers of film (you can experiment with more or less layers later).
3. Push a half cotton bud (shaft first) into the middle of the film and wrap it round. Give the film a twist to tighten it round the cotton bud shaft.
4. Push the plastic film and half cotton bud into a plastic straw as firmly and as far as possible. If part way in the cotton bud shaft goes through the film, that is fine. You really need to get the head of the cotton bud to jam in the top of the straw.
5. Trim away the excess plastic film forming a rough circle centred on the cotton bud.
6. The scissors tend to stick the film together; so starting with at the top separate each layer and twist around the head of the cotton bud. A little extra trimming with the scissors and hand shaping will complete the bloom.
   
   

Tips:

• Cut away the seams and handles of the plastic bags before you start folding.
• Use pinking shears when trimming for a little added variation.
• Save your trimmings, they make great plastic orchids.
• Drop a bit of perfume on the cotton buds with an eye dropper.
• Don't neglect those milky white plastic bags as too boring, they make beautiful white roses. Combine them with yellow film to make daffodils.
• You can dye or paint the cotton buds.
• You can fake a stamen if you use a whole cotton bud.
• How about decorating the top of a working pen as a special present?