Y’all have heard about my obsession with Liberace. Not only could the man play the piano, he did it wearing rings the size of club sandwiches! Honestly, who doesn’t love a big fat cocktail ring? Especially when it was made by loving little hands.
Must give credit where credit is due: I learned about these rings at my BFF’s bridal shower, from Masha, who saw this clip on the Martha Stewart Show. Martha’s guest, The Pipe Cleaner Lady (that’s really her name!), breaks it down nicely. You can tell she has shown thousands of people how to do it. Be sure to check out her website for all kinds of cool ideas.
My fall themed variation is a little different. I found that twisting two pipe cleaners together made them thicker, stronger, and less likely to snag. Try it out and see for yourself!
Materials:
- 12 pipe cleaners, but I suggest you get more. Once you make one of these babies, you will want to make more in a hurry!
Instructions:
1. Twist two pipe cleaners together making one long strand. I chose warm colors similar in tone, but you have fun and pick for yourself!
2. Repeat process four more times, resulting in 5 double strands of pipe cleaners.
3. Take two green pipe cleaners and twist together 2” in the middle. This will leave four long ends.
4. Bend the green pipe cleaners in half and insert the ring finger of your non-dominant hand, forming a loose “X”
5. Pinch and twist the green pipe cleaners around several times. The end result should be a ring around your finger with a helicopter propeller on top.
6. Use the green pipe cleaners to attach the five double stands you previously twisted. Note: TWIST HARD on this one. This particular twist is important and your final ring will go all loosey goosey if this juncture is not secure. Little hands may need help with this part.
7. Take the tip of a double strand and pinch it in toward the center.
8. Continue your pinch and roll up the double strand similar to a snail, winding as tight as you can.
9. Repeat on the other strands until your petals are done. Arrange as you see fit. I like the asymmetrical look, but some prefer to cup them toward the center, similar to a rose or a dahlia. Y’all have fun with that.
10. For stems, take the four green pipe cleaners and loop them back toward the center/under the petals. Twist to secure.
11. Pinch and twist the green loops together forming the stems.
12. And there you have it! I dare you to make just one of these. Once you conquer the flower ring, move on and experiment…sparkle rings, bracelets, cat hats…the sky is the limit!
This is a super fun party project for kids and adults. It can be simplified or expanded in so many ways. I made these at an annual picnic with hundreds of kids of all ages, and everyone caught on pretty quick. I did a couple demonstrations and then the ripple effect took place….before you knew it the older kids started showing the younger ones and so on and so on. Don’t you love it when that happens?
Side note: look, I am not advertising for anyone here, but I spent a good deal of time researching deals on pipe cleaners and this appears to be it. Of course, you can always buy cheaper at the craft store with a 40% off coupon (you know who I’m talking about!)…but if you are buying large quantities for a party, this online source has quality stuff at a decent price. Feel free to do your own research; I’m just trying to save some time.
Fantabulous! I heard you made these from Jen, they look really kid friendly. I’ll have to try out with the munchkins over Thanksgiving!!
Look at that ring! The colors! The fluffy! I love this so much. Shot number 12 looks like a huge painted tarantula on your hand – I love tarantulas, so that’s a compliment.
your blog is seriously offensive!! you need to stop appropriating someone elses culture with all these lanterns and visits to little china town and now you are sending people to buy from an ORIENTAL company?! are you kidding me?! if you are non-asian and doing this, it’s disgusting. if i were you and wanted to show any class instead of being racist I would remove all references to ORIENTAL and stick to posting about your own culture. leave mine out of it!!!!
Whoa Nelly!!!
Anonymous, I am dreadfully sorry to have offended you. Bless your heart for piping up on this important issue. I would gladly remove such an offensive term, except;
#1 There is nothing to remove. I don’t mention the term “Oriental” anywhere in the post.
#2 The link you refer to is a privately held company whose name I did not advertise, nor do I control. Furthermore, the company in question is selling goods, not people; as I’m sure you know, “Asian” is a fine word to describe people, while “Oriental” is a fine word for goods/things/foods/objects, etc.. You are welcome to do your research, but as I understand, the word is from the latin “oriens” which loosely translates to “east”….which, back in the day, is the only way European types could describe goods from the many amazing and interesting countries in Asia. I’m sure they would have called their silks “Chinese” and their spices “Vietnamese” if the nations of China and Vietnam had been designated, but it’s not as though Italy or France had been designated either. When most people never traveled more than ten miles from their home, that’s just the way it worked. So today, when a company is carrying goods from a variety of countries across Asia and beyond, to sell to people living in North America, the term “Oriental” is a pretty fair description. I admit isn’t ideal nor accurate, however, I have a hard time seeing how anyone can describe it as, errr, what did you call it? Oh yes:”disgusting”
Again, I apologize if the very mention offended you in any way. I apologize if any of my posts offended you, although I have a hard time understanding how anything created in joy and admiration could be considered so horrific. Never in a million years did I suspect someone would accuse me of racism because I made a lamp or shared a source for bargain rate pipe cleaners.
Oh dear, maybe I shouldn’t be using the term “pipe cleaners”…pipes everywhere might be offended I’m accusing them of being dirty.
Best be safe on this matter: nothing but “chenille stems” from here on in!
That expression about the road to hell being paved with good intentions comes to mind on this.
For what it’s worth, I can see both sides of the story. still think its awfully rude of someone to try and tell someone else to change their content.
what I really wanted to say is that I luv this ring! Will try out for myself and see about using it at my daughter’s party next month.
Keep posting stuff like this i really like it
This post is worthy of appreciation, looking forward to more exciting! rings
i remembered this project from when you first posted it, and now that I needed to know the specifics I’m glad it is still here!