diy painted billy ball flowers & gift wrap

Billy balls. What a strange name for such cheerful little flowers. I could call them by their real name [I googled it for all you wanna-be-botanists], but craspedia doesn't sound any better to me than billy balls. How 'bout yellow pom pom flowers? Too long. Billy buttons? Too much like belly buttons. Billy bobs. Nope, that's just what the hubster calls them.

The original inspiration for the project came from my current love of polka dots, pom pom flowers and sunny spring colors. I considered making some of these dandelions pom poms to decorate our kitchen table. Then I saw this compilation of gorgeous flower arrangements and somehow my need to decorate morphed into a need to paint yellow billy balls. Makes perfect sense, right? Right??

A few quick blots of yellow paint with a foam spouncer. [Fact of the day: spouncers are circular foam brushes...who knew? Not this girl.] Draw in the stems. Done! These easy painted flowers turn ordinary stationary and plain gift wrap into bright, cheery gifts. I especially love the way the flowers "pop" on the brown paper.

Materials needed:
Yellow acrylic paint
Small spouncer
Brown and green markers or pens
Blank cards, gift bags, kraft paper, or gift tags
Paper towels

Directions
Decide if you'll be creating a cluster of flowers or flowers sprouting from the bottom of the card/bag. Use the spouncer to create the flower dots. Visualize where the stems will be added as you paint.

Use a paper towel to catch extra paint. This allows you to go to the edge of the paper and create more realistic flowers. If you'd prefer flowers with a textured look, use two coats of paint.

Allow the paint to dry and then draw in the stems. Or you can be impatient like me and work around the wet paint... Add little triangles to the bottom of the flowers to connect to the stem or just draw straight lines. If you'd like to create a more dandelion-looking flower, use a green triangle and a brown stem.

If you're painting a burlap bag, put something between the two layers so it doesn't bleed through. I used a piece of cardstock. 

Hmm this photo makes the ones on the left look more like balloons then flowers. I promise they look like flowers in real life.

Don't these flowers just make you happy? The perfect project for a rainy Saturday!

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