Coloring Faux Flowers With Artist's Chalk

4 Materials
$25
4 Hours
Easy

We tried all sorts of artist's chalks on faux flowers and have some great tips to share for this craft. The results were so sweet and beautiful. Take a look at the finished roses …

Most of the colors we used for these roses were just $5.00 for a box of sidewalk chalk by Crayola, plus a few other sets which we found at Michael's and Hobby Lobby. We've shared links to some good chalks and pastel sets in the materials list below.

And here are our beautiful chalk-colored hydrangea. Can you believe this started out as white polyester?

Here are the many chalks we tested. One, two, and three were the best results: No. 1 neon sidewalk chalk, No. 3 non-toxic oil-free chalk, and we also used the dark blue from No. 2 which blended into a beautiful shade of hydrangea blue with the help of some baby wipes.

Here's what the roses looked like before the chalk colors. Realistic but a bit bland.

Here are the colors we used to color the white roses, starting with the soft neon apricot sidewalk chalk. We tried applying it directly and also tried cotton swabs and brush dipped into water and then rubbed onto the side of the chalk sticks before applying to the petals.

The baby wipes were essential. We dipped them in water and blended the chalks like water colors. The cotton swabs were great too. Here you can see how we used lime green on the outer edge of the roses, and hot violet in the center on top of apricots and pinks. Just dip your chalk into water and it will easily transfer onto your flowers, though you may have to scrub a bit to get intense colors which you can blend later.

Here are tinted roses afterwards in indoor lighting. We've added rust and purple chalk to the green leaves to give them more depth. Chalk can go on top of darker colors easily.

Here you can see how we used pink, green, and red on a dark red faux rose, and some rust on the leaves.

Here's what our faux hydrangea looked like before chalk colors, next to some samples of real flowers from our garden for inspiration.

The colors we assembled to try on the faux hydrangea petals and a small bowl of water in which to dip them.

We started out with this radiant aqua. Notice how it highlights the textures of the faux petals before it is blended with a baby wipe.

Lots and lots of baby wipes! Don't be afraid to dip these in water to make blending even easier. You won't hurt polyester with water. Faux flowers hold their shape very well.

We found that this square artist's pastel with a oil binder was great for making a deep hydrangea blue. We used this on all the based petals for harmony.

We used a lot of lime green, violet, and this happy neon pink on the uppermost petals.

We hope you have fun with this original craft and will let us know your results! We've got more tips here on our website. -- Stephie McCarthy

Resources for this project:
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Stephie McCarthy
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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  • Sheila Sheila on Jan 11, 2021

    I am blown away by your creative blend of color. This would look great in an outdoor setting. How will this hold up to sun and rain?

  • AJ AJ on Jan 11, 2022

    Will the rain wash the chalk away?

  • Gig69451122 Gig69451122 on Jan 06, 2023

    I love your work & creativity. I'm an artist. What I'm wondering? Could the chalk colors be blended, to make some of the suggested chalk base colors? I'm thinking the neon suggestions, are due to starting out with a bright hue? Then blending back. If not neon used. Do you think a base bright color, would also work? Thanks 👍

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