To remind myself of that I made this spring themed hutch today. The hutch itself is a sanded, painted and glazed Michael's hutch. It's pretty but what I think makes it special is the hand painted "china" displayed in it. The plates and platter started life as those plastic seals that come out of milk and juice cartons. I painted the yellow flowers and green stripes and then sealed with a scrapbooking dimensional product to give them a china like finish. On top of the hutch is a glass bead vase of hand made daffodils and a ribbon trimmed basket of rocks "collected from vacation spots." I also added clear plastic "glass" to the upper doors. I love the warm and sunny feel of this hutch.
These are very easy to make. This tutorial is a variation of one I read online somewhere. I don't remember where so I can't give credit but I didn't come up with it on my own. I've combined that tutorial with some ideas from Jayne to make these. The first step is to paint a coffee filter, front and back, in the colors of choice. I used one filter to make both types of daffodils and the leaves. While the paint dries, cut 2 inch or so lengths of green florist wire. Make a tiny loop in the end of each stem and dip the loop in a bit of paint in whatever color you want the flower center to be. I used orange. Poke the stems into some foam or clay while the paint dries. By now the coffee filter is probably dry. I used regular office style hole punches - a circle punch for the cup and a star for the back petals. Using a small ball stylus, press the circle into a mouse pad to form it into a cup shape. Poke a straight pin into the center for inserting the wire stem. Put a bit of glue on the stem at the painted loop and slide the cup onto the stem and around the loop. Roll the cup between your thumb and finger to form it to size. Next poke the straight pin into the center of the star, slide it onto the wire into a small dab of glue. After the glue has set, thicken the stem at the base of the flower with a bit of green paint - I used forest green. While that dries, cut narrow leaf shapes from the green painted filter. Cut short lengths of florist wire, drag through the glue and attach the leaf shapes. Next I mixed tacky glue with my dirt (coffee grounds or dried tea) and put it in the potting container. Shorten the leaf stems so that the base of the leaf is at ground level and plant it. Bend the flower stems to a right angle about an eighth of an inch from the base of the flower, cut the stems to length and plant them. Arrange to your liking and let dry.
