DIY Bluebonnet Pipe Cleaner Flowers

Bluebonnets are a familiar spring wildflower and these pipe cleaner flowers are a fun craft for kids this time of year.

Bluebonnets are ubiquitous in Texas. They pop up along the highways, usually sometime in March, and are gone by the time the kids are out of school for the summer.

I planted some seeds in our backyard a few years ago, not expecting much, and now they’ve taken over all my raised beds. They come back each spring without any effort on my part.

I made some pipe cleaner flowers for my friends at Messy Momma Crafts last year and they were a hit. I’ve been thinking about making pipe cleaner bluebonnets ever since, so I finally sat down with my craft supplies.

These are pretty easy to make. I used pastel stems because that’s what I had, but the pipe cleaner bundle I linked to below includes both light and dark blue. Click over and make some pipe cleaner daisies or pipe cleaner roses to go with them!

Pipe cleaner craft tips

• The metal ends of pipe cleaner can be sharp sometimes. Young kids should be supervised.
• I used 12-inch long stems. If you want to make shorter stems, cut the green pipe cleaner in half with scissors.
• The best way to make a smooth shape with pipe cleaner is to wrap it around something. I used my finger, but a marker or similar-shaped item would work too.
• I didn’t glue these flowers together, but you can add a bit of craft glue or hot glue to ensure they hold together more securely.

How to make pipe cleaner flowers

You only need one item to make these! Swap out the colors to make other types of flowers, like pink and white for hyacinths or bright shades for other lupines.

Supplies

• pipe cleaner chenille stems: 4 blue, 2 green, 1 white for each flower

Instructions

1. Make the blue flower petal.

Start with one blue pipe cleaner. Wrap one end around your finger to create a loop and twist to secure closed. Repeat down the length of the pipe cleaner to create 5 loops total. If you have a tail end, tuck it into the center.

Repeat this step to make 4 blue flower petal pieces.

2. Slide blue flower petals onto the stem.

Next, take a green pipe cleaner to use as the flower stem. Slide each of the 4 blue flower petal shapes onto one end. Bend and adjust the petals so that they curve up slightly.

3. Add the white petals.

Take a white pipe cleaner and bend it into 5 petals, just like with the blue ones. Slide it onto the stem on top of the blue ones.

Slide the white petals to the top of the stem. Bend the green tip down and wrap the white petal tail around it to secure the petals. Slide the blue petals to line up with the white ones.

4. Make and attach a leaf.

Use the second green pipe cleaner to make a leaf. Bend it around your finger to make 5 loops that are slightly smaller than the ones you make for the blue and white flower petals. You should have a tail about an inch long. Wrap it around the main green flower stem.

Make as many flowers and leaves as you like. In the wild, bluebonnets have multiple flowers, stems, and leaves in a cluster on a single plant.

Display your finished flowers in a vase. I think these would look cute in a small flower pot with faux dirt or gravel. These are so fun to make and add a nice pop of color for spring!

What’s next? Try these other fun and creative ideas on One Mama’s Daily Drama:

• DIY Spring Tissue Paper Flowers
• Flower and Butterfly Coloring Page
• Printable Flower Facts Flashcards