"Painted Milkweed Pods"
I enjoy using what nature has given us in a lot of my crafts. From my early youth milkweed pods have been among my favorite playthings. Living as I do now in a city, I figured I would never find them again, but noticed some growing this summer among the landscaping at my local public library. I got in touch with the volunteer who is in charge of the landscaping and got her permission to harvest some of the pods in the fall when they opened. I love the results.
I also planted a few of the seeds in my backyard and also at the edge of the woods in a local park, so hopefully there will be more to harvest next fall and we might attract the Monarch Butterfly.
Materials needed:
Milkweed pods
Transparent sealant
Pale blue craft paint
Transparent glitter
Hot glue gun
Ribbon
Cotton
Dimensional scrapbook stickers
Instructions:
Make sure the pods are completely air dried and all the seeds removed. It is best to spray the pods with a transparent sealant.
I painted the inside of the pods with a pale blue paint and sprinkled on some fine-grain transparent glitter while the paint was still wet. I then used a hot glue gun to attach a hanging ribbon at the point of the pod. Inside the rounded bottom part of the pod I glued a small bit of cotton and then glued in a dimensional sticker (found in the scrapbooking section of a local craft store) - in one the angel, the other a snowman.
You really cannot see it well in the picture, but the angel one also has a silver star glued at the point where the ribbon is attached.
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Copyright © 2009 by Kay C. Powers. All rights reserved.
