DIY Plaster Dipped Dollar Store Flowers

Marybeth Santos
by Marybeth Santos
5 Materials
$10
45 Minutes
Easy
Hey all! Today I’m going to share with you how I made these DIY Plaster Dipped Dollar Store Flowers. I love how dainty and precious they are and while I haven’t figured out what their final use will be, I love them just as a sweet little decor piece right now. I picked up a few things to *not* do while I was making these, so make sure to follow along carefully!
FIRST OF ALL DON’T DO AS I DID AND USE A PINK FLOWER!  ONLY USE WHITE FLOWERS.  Deconstruct your flowers.  Cut off the stem and then remove the little piece on the back that is holding together the flower.  Try VERY hard not to lose any of the little plastic pieces as you will be reconstructing your flower.  Take the layers of petals apart and toss the stamen (I think that’s what you call the little yellow parts that you can see in the picture of the materials) but keep the plastic parts that hold the flower together.
Reconstruct your flower.  Put the petals back together and thread the little plastic part back through the center and stick it back into that other plastic part that looks like a jellyfish (sort of).  This is way easier than I’m making it sound.  Don’t get scared of this part.  If you really can’t figure out how to put the flower back together, you can just hot glue it back together.


Next, repeat steps 1 and 2 with all of your flowers.  You will not have time to be messing around with pulling flowers apart after you have mixed your Plaster of Paris together. That stuff sets up pretty quick and you will have literally minutes to work with it before it becomes unmanageable.


Then, set up a place that your flowers can dry after you’ve dipped them in the plaster.  I used an old tray lined with tin foil.  This worked perfectly.  Nothing stuck to the tin foil.  Wax paper would probably also be great.


Now, mix your Plaster of Paris according to the manufacturers instructions.  Don’t get fancy and think that you know more than the manufacturer and add in a little more plaster because you think it’s too thin.  You will be wrong.  How do I know?  Because I did it and it was a big fail.  So, do what the label tells you to do, ok?
Dip your reconstructed flowers into the plaster mixture one at a time.  The method here is dip, twist, dip, make sure all crevices and the back of the flower are coated, then lift out of the plaster mixture and give it a little shake and a tiny shimmy to remove any excess.  Gently place the flower on your already prepared drying surface. At this time you can sort of position your flower in a position that you find appealing. Although I used three of the same white fake flowers, after dipping each, they all had a different pose, if you will, when I placed them on the drying surface.  One was super upright and perky, one was sort of flat and the third was in between.  I loved that about them. Allow to dry.  It doesn’t take long.  About 30 minutes and you can handle them.
With a glue gun, gently add your chosen bauble to the middle of the flower.  You do this to cover up the middle of the flower because if it’s anything like the center of my dollar store flowers, it will not be cute.  It’s like an ugly plastic divot.  
I love how dainty and pretty these came out. I'm thinking about adding them to the frame of a mirror. They are super delicate, so they'll need to be somewhere that they won't be handled too much. I hope you give these a try!
Suggested materials:
  • White Dollar Store Flowers   (Dollar Store)
  • Plaster of Paris   (Michaels)
  • Large Disposable Bowl
See all materials
Marybeth Santos
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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Frequently asked questions
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  1 question
  • Jessie Jessie on Nov 21, 2017

    Beautiful and I love plaster anything.. just curious.. why not pink?

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 2 comments
  • William William on Nov 17, 2017

    They look lovely and so easy to do! I would spray them with a clear glaze to give them some shine (like ceramic) and strength. Painting them would another idea.

    • Marybeth Santos Marybeth Santos on Nov 17, 2017
      That's a great idea William! I had another person suggest sprinkling them with some glitter before they dry and turning them into Christmas ornaments! I'll have to try them with some white poinsiettas.
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