My friend Lexy had mentioned once that carnations are the best flower to play around with because they are hearty and last a long time. So as I watched the flowers that Parker brought home for me hold steady day after day, I remembered what she had said and thought it would be a waste of an opportunity if I didn't at least try and make something with them.
I gathered a few supplies (a needle, sissors, fishing line) and started snipping away at the buds, strung them together with fishing line, and tied a knot to finish the project. It took less than five minutes and the reaction from both Parker and Matilda was so fun. You would have thought I made a diamond necklace with my bare hands.
We played around with it, taking turns wearing it. We made up a few games like crown tag and enchanted forest, and then decided it should be given to our faux deer - he hasn't had any decoration since Christmas after all.
It is funny, I have wanted to try and make a flower crown for years, but always worried I would waste the flowers, that it wouldn't turn out pretty enough, or that it was much more complicated than I realized. The fear of failure lurks around in the most ridiculous ways. It is a simple flower crown for goodness sake.
So go - experiment, play with your kids, and live fully in the moments of wonder.
