Cherry Blossom Craft

It's no secret that the cherry blossoms are fashionable as well as beautiful.  They have been used as a motif in fabric, stationary and housewares for 100s of years, and rightly so.  As the unofficial floral emblem of Japan, and symbol of spring, the blossoms are venerated and celebrated for their glamour and fragility.
As I'm doing a series inspired by the upcoming Chinese New Year, it would be remiss of me not to share the eastern flair of the cherry blossom with my toddler daughters.  So here's what we did;

1. Take small cupcake liners in red, green and yellow (but any color will do).
2. Turn the cupcake liners inside out, so that the color is inside the cup (skip this step if yours have color on both sides).
3. Put a sticker-dot of contrasting color in the center of each 'blossom'.
4. On some of them, stick a green 'leaf' on the underside.
5. Now experiment!

Over the course of about 45 minutes we tried; 

• Suncatchers - sticking them back to back on fishing line, weighted down with a bead at the bottom.  You could add beads in between the blossoms to catch more sun, or add bells to jingle.  Make lots and fill the whole window or a doorway.
• Tree branch - we found branches in the garden and stuck the blossoms on the branches, then had a parade of sorts down the corridor.
• Chopstick decorations - these were my favourites, and I think they'd look great with a ribbon or crepe-paper strip.  The girls weren't as enthusiastic... moving right along...
• Wall decoration - we put some temporary tack on the back of the blossoms and made a garden on the wall.  The girls thought this was great, and loved having their photo taken under the cherry blossom 'bough'.  Then they decided to break small twigs off the branches and shove these behind the paper flowers... now it was my turn to be unimpressed...

If you want more decorative blossoms, fold the cupcake liners and trim the edges in different shapes, and layer cupcake liners of different colours and sizes on top of each other, such as the ones I made for the Mermaid Mirror, and the tutorial for Mimi's mermaid party.  These cherry blossoms are a great activity for toddlers, with lots of scope for ability, patience and time.  The craft can take under 15 minutes (which I love), but the uses can go on and on... and best of all; there's lots of great learning experiences to have along the way as you discuss materials, nature, cultures and cuisine.