Recycled Milk Jug Flowers

This is how to make flowers out of recycled milk jug by using your Bernzomatic ST2200 to do two things: bend and shape the flower petals and smooth rough edges.

This craft is intended for adults. Please be careful when lighting and applying the flame to the plastic. The plastic does not need too much heat in order to bend and shape. Keep the flame away from your fingers. A good tip is to only slightly touch the tip of the flame to the petal. After applying heat, the petal will be cool enough to touch in just a few seconds.

Directions

Before you begin, make sure your Bernzomatic ST2200 is filled with Bernzomatic Butane.

1. Make sure your milk jug is clean and completely dry. Remove any stickers.
2. First, cut off the spout and handle with mixed media scissors. Then, cut the jug into small sheets.
3. Cut out the petals. They don’t need to be perfect.
4. To add dimension to the flat petals, quickly apply heat with the Bernzomatic ST2200. Pinch the bottom of the petal and gently mold and bend the petal. Repeat this technique for all the petals.
5. Lastly, cut out a small circle and fringe it all the way around. Fold the slits up and in. This will be the center of the flower. 

The size you cut is up to you. The two large flowers pictured in this post have:

• 5 large petals
• 4 medium petals
• 3 small petals
• 1 fringed circle center

The smaller flower shown in this post has:

• 6 medium petals in two layers
• 1 fringed circle center

Note: The Bernzomatic ST2200 can also be used to smooth out the edges of the petals.  You will need to do this if the edges of your petals are rough. This tends to happen when cutting smaller petals. To do this, simply glide the flame around the edge.

Using Hot Glue to Form a Flower

Once all the petals are shaped, it’s time to hot glue all the petals together to form the flower. Start with the five large petals. Use a dab of hot glue, attaching each petal one by one. Next, glue the four medium petals on top of the large layer. After that, glue the three small petals on top of the medium layer. Lastly, glue the fringed circle to the center of the flower.

Uses for Your Recycled Milk Jug Flowers

As you can see, you can use these flowers for gift wrapping embellishments. You can also:

• Add stems to make a bouquet for your home décor.
• Use them for party decorations.
• Place them on your tabletop as part of your holiday table centerpiece.
• Use them as name place card holders when entertaining for dinner.
• Glue them to a framed painted canvas to make wall art.