Thursday, September 24, 2009

Hollyhock Dolls

Among the many flowers that I love, hollyhocks are right up there at the top; and one of my favorite ways to display them is by making hollyhock dolls. One of my daughters stumbled upon the directions years ago, and we all immediately fell in love with them. They are just so sweet and elegant, and just make me smile.

Here are the directions just in case some of you have some hollyhocks to enjoy before the frost puts an end to them. The necessary items you will need are a blooming hollyhock, an unopened hollyhock bud, and a toothpick.



Step 1: Find a pretty hollyhock and cut it leaving a very short stem - about 1/4" in length. This will be your doll's skirt.



Step 2: Now choose an unopened bud. I have some black hollyhocks, and like to use those because the color of this hollyhock will be the hair color of your little lady.






Step 3: Peel back the green foliage on the bud, revealing the color of the flower underneath.


Step 4: Continue peeling back all of the foliage until you get to the stem of the bud:



Step 5: Insert a toothpick into the stem of the bud, making a hole large enough for the flower stem to fit. And then insert the flower stem into the newly made hole. (Do not leave the toothpick in the flower, as I previously posted)



Step 6: Stand your little doll upright, and admire her beauty.
Step 7: Find a pretty glass bowl, fill with water, and gently place your doll on top of the water. Once she is placed on the water, do not try and lift her up because the flower will then collapse, and will not re-open.
Enjoy!!

1 comment:

Kar said...

How cute! I'm going to have to plant some hollyhocks next year just so we can do that! Thanks for sharing!

xxxx