Paint Your Own Flower Vase

If you’re lucky, you probably have a stash of plain glass florist’s vases in your basement or garage. These functional but bland containers have no style or personality whatsoever; they’re meant to appeal to everyone and go with everything. While that might be good enough for a florist, it’s only the beginning for you and your child. A hand-painted vase has a style all its own and makes a great gift when filled with fresh flowers from your garden.

What You Need:

• Assorted glass floral vases, clean and dry
• Glass paint (This is not non-toxic and it will stain. Wear a smock and supervise your child closely.)
• Paintbrushes
• Disposable containers
• Permanent marker
• Newspaper to line your child's workspace
• Disposable gloves

What You Do:

• To make a handprint vase
  Trace your child’s handprint on the glass with permanent marker. Repeat until the vase shows several handprints. Fill in with paint and let dry.
• To make a nature vase
  Collect several fresh leaves, such as a piece of fern or a maple leaf. Pour the paint into disposable wide-mouthed containers. Wearing disposable gloves, dip the leaf in the paint. Shake off any excess. Then press it carefully against the vase, smoothing the length of the leaf against the glass, to make a print. Let dry.
• To make a freeform vase
  Pour the paint in disposable containers. Let your child paint the vase in any way she pleases!

Remember to hand wash your vase and never scrub with a brush or sponge.