Mother's Day Silk Bouquet

Every Mom loves flowers for Mother's Day but flowers can be so expensive. I know I love real flowers from my kids but it is always sad when they are gone and I have to throw them away. So here is a way that you can have a bouquet that lasts and can be used in a vase as a centerpiece for that Mother's Day table. With a little adult help, these could even be made by kids. They will just need help with the cutting.

Silk flowers can be bought at Walmart for 88 cents a bunch or at the Dollar store for, you guessed it, $1.00. Look for roses in her favorite color, daisies, lilies and carnations, and don't forget to get some leaves or ferns to fill in around the flowers.You will also need:

• Wire cutters
• A big rubber band
• Floral Tape
• Ribbon

Start by cutting apart all of the bunches of flowers. Start by putting the biggest and prettiest flower in the center and then work your way around the circle with the different flowers and leaves or fern. Try not to have any of the same flowers right next to each other. Professional florists work arrangements with odd numbers of flowers. 1-3-5, you get my meaning.

When you get it to where you want it, wrap all the stems with the rubber band. Spread it out because next you will be covering this with floral tape. Floral tape is sticky but it needs to be pulled to release the sticky. So lay the tape at the top and pulling as you go wrap the floral tape around the stems.

You can do this twice and as thick as you want. But, believe me, if you are having children do this, they will get it pretty thick themselves. Now help them tie a simple "tying your shoes" type bow around it. Make it more fluffy by using several thicknesses of ribbon.

Hope your Mom loves it. It can be stuck in a vase or handed to her as is. Flowers that live forever and will be there to remind her the next time you break a window that she is your favorite Mom.