THE TOOLS
MATERIALS:
- Twine // String (I used butcher string in gold and some fun ribbon from my holiday wrapping box
- Scissors
- Paper Straws (There are so many fun ones on amazon, I was going for the iridescent look!)
- Plant Holder Template here
- Ribbon // yarn // or iridescent fringe fun to make a tassel at the end of your plant holder
- Mini Airplants (I love these ones, they come in a pack of 5!)
- Craft Wire or something to thread twine through straws (Not Pictured / Optional)
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THEME: 3-D Design
ART LINGO: Geometric Shapes and 3-Dimensional forms
APPROX TIME: 30min
LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY: ANY AGE
The end of summer….sigh……..I loved you and I’ll miss you….and yet I am so excited for fall/school to start! Summer is always a welcome break in our year as we take a 3 month pause before the excitement of fall. My other company, Creative Creatures & Co. works so hard during the school year bringing amazing art classes to our local community of kiddos, and with our classes starting right around the corner I thought what better intro to all the creativity then a 3-D geometric form project with the magic of airplants thrown in!
Today we will be creating our very own version of an airplant Himmeli: A really cool 3-D sculptural piece all the way from Sweeden (they are typically made during Christmas but who doesn’t love a summer version…Right!!!!!
FUN FACTS: Although the root of the word “himmeli” is Germanic – in Swedish and German himmel means “sky” or “heaven” – and different versions of this straw mobile can be found in other Nordic countries and is a cherished staple during the Christmas season!
We will also be using Air Plants for this project, As the name implies, these little plants absorb nutrients and water from the air through scales on their leaves. They’re having a major moment as houseplants these past 10 years or so because they’re easy to care for and don’t need much light to thrive…..Woo hoo for easy peazy hard to kill plants, because this mama of two babies needs easy!!!!
Well what do say, you ready to create some rad 3-D geometric plant holders?? Grab your materials and let’s begin!
STEPS
Step 1:
Print out you mini hanging template here. Once printed lay a straw on the ’12’ line and cut the straw so that it is the same height as the ’12’ line. Go ahead and cut 12 straw pieces all the same height (See photo 1)
Step 2:
Grab your twine and cut a 2 foot length off. Don’t worry if it feels like a lot, we can always trim the excess. Begin threading your twine through the straws, you want to thread all 12 of them. I used a piece of craft wire that I knotted around my twine which helped me thread my straws with ease (See photo 2 & 3). Get creative with how you thread them using any found material that will get the job done! Or just thread the twine through the straws bit by bit!
Step 3:
Once all 12 straw pieces are threaded begin laying out your straws following the numbers on your template. (See photo 4). Be super mindful to make sure you start at the number 12 and work your way down to 1 following the template precisely. If you don’t go in order the geometric shape will not come together in the end!
Step 4:
On your template you will see 4 orange stars * , go ahead and trim 4 small pieces of thread off your ends of your project (Or cut new ones) and knot/connect the two pieces touching the star * symbol together (See photo 5) You should do this 4 times and the bulk of your design should now feel secure and in one piece, be sure to make your knots nice and tight and make sure the only excess twine is on the two ends (not in the middle area of your design causing the straws to have gaps between them, they should start to feel like one main piece.)
Step 5:
Following the template, tie the two end pieces together and secure your design by making sure it is nice and taught. (See Photo 6) Again, no gaps in-between the straws but that is is one main piece.
Step 6:
Cut two more pieces of thread and referring to your template Tie ‘Top A’ to Top B’. Do the same to ‘Bottom A’ to ‘Bottom B’ (See Photo 7). You will have some excess string showing, you can either tuck the string into the straws or trim them (just be careful not to cut your twine or knot making the piece fall apart). I ended up tucking them in!
At this time you can decide to make it a tabletop plant holder (See photo 8) or turn it into a hanging plant holder by looping a piece of string around one side and adding some fun tassel or string (See intro Photo). I couldn’t decide so I made two, one of each! Tuck some sweet little airplants in there and OH LA LA!!! You have yourself a fun little new desk or window friend to join you this school year!
FUN FACT: To keep your airplants healthy, soak them in a bowl of cool fresh water for 2-3 hours once every 2 weeks 🙂
That’s it for now! Happy start of school, you got this!!!!!! Stay creative, friends!!!
xx Mrs. K!
