Any chance we get to be outside in the garden-planting , weeding, playing -, we are out there. I really love trying to find new ways to use whatever is in our garden. From potpourri to nibbling on edible flowers we love to see what we can come up. This day we decided to try watercolors from our pretty flower petals. The results were very light but the fun of the process and the thrill of creating something with our own hands (for free I might add) outweighed any disappointment.
How to Make Watercolor Paints from Flower Petals
We went outside with a basket and gathered handfuls of colorful flowers to experiment with. We went for 5 colors but only 4 were vibrant enough to even show up on paper. For pink we used red roses and red salvia, lavender and plumbago for purple, our yellow came from marigolds ,and the orange held almost no color- I am not sure what it is, it was a .97 annual we picked up, so we wound up making green from various leaves around the yard. 
Supplies Needed:
2-3 Tbsp. hot water for each color
1/2 cup flower petals for each color containers
Directions:
Pull flower petals off stems and separate colors.
For 4 colors heat 1 cup of water in microwave to hot but not boiling.
In a blender, or small food processor process flowers with a teaspoon or two of water to break down and help leach out colors.
Add flowers to container-at least 1/4 to a 1/2 cup per color. 
Pour water over flowers( we used small jelly mason jars like these) and let sit for several hours to cool and steep.
Drain petals through a sieve or cheesecloth.
We kept ours stored in these jars, it put them in the fridge so they would keep a bit longer.
As you can see they are very light but it was so much fun to pick, make, and paint with them we will definitely do it again. Next time though I think I will add a drop or two of essential oil to each (even if the scent doesn’t make the flowers used) to make it an even richer sensory experience. You could also let them try painting with the flowers themselves to extend the nature fun.
More Crafts with Flowers
Upcycled Egg Carton Flower Wreath
You can find more ideas for frugal summer fun for kids here as we share a new frugal summer activity for kids each day for 100 days!
REGAn says
I dried the petals, ground them with a mortar and pestle, steeped them like tea and then strained through cheese cloth. Ours turned out light too but was so fun!
Lillie T says
i really hope that this really works because it is for a school project…
Sasha Ramirez says
Do you think using less water would give a more pigmented watercolor?
Alea Milham says
Yes, I do!
Almost Unschoolers says
The “paint” was pretty in the jars, anyway. We’ve used flower pollen to get a vibrant color – that’s fun too.
http://almostunschoolers.blogspot.com/2014/06/summer-fun-2014-painting-with-pollen.html
Jody says
Thank you for sharing! I love the pollen, we will give that a try this next week for sure!