Activity for Adults with IDD: How to Dye Flowers

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Feb 21

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How to Dye Flowers

Have you ever thought about dying flowers? Dying flowers can be an easy and fun activity for anyone of any level! It’s a perfect activity around the holidays and the flowers can even be a great gift! Dying flowers is also an activity that can be done with the entire family, regardless of skill level. It’s great for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities and any adult with special needs. You don’t even need much to get started, just water, a pale flower, and food coloring! Follow this guide, and you’ll be on your way to your custom and gorgeous flowers.

Here’s what you need:

White Carnation flowers
A vase or container
Water
Food coloring
Scissors or Gardening Shears

Instructions

Step One

You need to pick a flower! You can use roses or daises, but any pale flower will do. But remember, the flower has to be alive! This process won’t work well if your flower has already died.

Step Two

Now, you have to pick your colors. Food dye sets tend to come with the primary red, blue, green, and yellow shades. If you want, you can easily mix some of the colors together to make your own! Maybe even try making orange or purple!

Step Three

Grab a vase or container. You can realisically use anything your flower’s stem will fit into. Fill up your chosen container with warm water and get ready for the next step!

Step Four

This is where you dye…your water! You can add as many or as few drops of dye as you want. If you choose to mix colors to make your own, you should add an equal amount of each color. The more drops you add to your water, the more vibrant your flower will end up. The fewer drops, the more dull the final color will be.

Step Five

Before you get to dye your flowers, you need to do a bit of trimming. You can start by cutting any leaves on the flower; keep in mind that you don’t need to trim them all. Only cut off the leaves you don’t want, but more water will absorb into the petals the more leaves you cut.

Step Six

You cut the leaves, and now it’s time for the stem! You want to cut the end of the stem off at a slight angle. Trim about an inch or two off of the stem, leaving it at roughly a 45-degree angle.

Step Seven

Take your newly trimmed flower and introduce it into your colored water mixture. Place the flower in your container and wait. This step will take the most amount of time; it may take around 1-6 hours for the color to show in the petals of your flower. The longer you leave your flower in the water, the more vibrant the color will be.

Step Eight

Once the petals of your flowers reach the color you’re looking for, it’s time to remove them. Now, if you want to give them as a gift, you’re all done! But, if you plan on displaying your flowers, you have a bit more to do. It’s simple; you have to re-trim the stem's bottom and place it in clean water! And with that, you’re all done! Congrats on dying your first flowers!