“Even in the smallest and humblest garden, a sturdy hydrangea at once proclaims the place as the abode of a real gardener…”

~Washington Park Arboretum Bulletin, 2006

I’ve been unsuccessful more than once at attempting to keep a hydrangea bush alive in my garden, however I think they are one of the most beautiful flowers with their compact ball of soft blue and purple ombre of petals! To solve my dilemma of wanting view the beauty of a cut hydrangea bloom in a vase, I decided to pull out some May Arts Ribbon and a few supplies and make one!

• To make the petals, I dyed around 100 of the May Arts ¾” White Flowers with two shades of purple and blue ink and set them aside to dry. (If you wanted a pink hydrangea bloom, use warm toned inks like pink, red and orange.)
• I then cut a twig and glued it into a 3” Styrofoam ball.
• Then I glued the newly dyed flowers to the Styrofoam ball with hot glue. I simply pinched the petals of the flower, dabbed glue on the point and stuck it to the Styrofoam tightly next to each other until the entire ball was covered in petals.

To complete the look, I adhered three leaves using May Arts Faux 1” Faux Suede Leaves in Olive. Making one bloom easily came together within a half an hour. I will be able to enjoy the pretty colors forever!

 By Karen Baker

Other Supplies Used:

• Ranger Distress Inks
• Styrofoam Ball
• Hot Glue Gun and Glue Sticks
• Twig