Do you have a variety of colors and textures in your yard where you live? Do you have some leftover Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, or “I’m Sorry” flowers? Use the wilting petals and nature items to make some lovely collages or mandalas on a simple paper plate.

A paper plate changes things up a bit and makes the invitation a little more interesting than your conventional art surface. The round space also provides a nice space for discussing symmetry or radial design.

To make your Paper Plate Collages, only a few simple supplies are needed. See the materials and easy steps below.

Materials:

• Paper plates
• Dying flowers or nature items
• School glue
• Scissors

That’s it!

Once the flowers start looking shabby, you’re ready to create.

I placed the flowers on our working table and showed my girls how to snip off the flowers with scissors and remove the petals.

I let them choose which ones they wanted to use and they began snipping and pulling away.

A little glue is all you need to start sticking the flower parts down.

My oldest stopped to smell the roses while working!

This art invitation is simple, inexpensive, and perfect for keeping your little ones busy and stimulated! Win!

Our finished collages:

Pin for later!

We love playing and making art with nature items and have had some fun sessions. We’ve also used nature finds and dying flowers for these Nature Shadow Boxes  and my girls’ ALL TIME favorite activity, Invitation to Play: Flower Station. Our other nature ideas can be found here.