Create some beautiful artwork for mother’s day gifts, thank you cards or wrapping paper by printing roses with celery stalks! Fun to explore as simply a process art activity too, enjoy this super-simple and very effective printing technique with all ages and abilities.
Printing with found and natural objects is, hands down, one of my most favourite ways to explore art techniques with young children. There is a real joy discovering the surprise effect of lifting up an object after dipping it in paint for the first time, to see the pattern and print it has left behind!
We have tried printing with cars, Lego bricks, muffin tins, wellie boots, bubble wrap and vegetables, and next on the list to try out was using celery stalks! 
A bunch of celery, cut across the middle and kept together in its natural form, makes a naturally stunning rose shape, with the stems creating overlapping layers arranged beautifully around the centre.
I tied an elastic band around the top of the bunch (to make sure it didn’t pull in those layers too tightly at the bottom) and to help my younger ones manage to keep the bundle all together.
Then we simply dipped into a shallow dish of paint (not too much or it clogs up the celery) and printed firmly onto different coloured papers,We experimented with a few before deciding that we all liked the look of the contrast between the white paper and the bright pink paint the best!
You can now watch our new how-to video on our brand new YouTube channel! Click below to watch the gorgeous process!
Miss 6 wanted to add stems and leaves to her rose prints, which she created using green colouring pencils.
She then helped herself to more colours of paint and started to layer up the prints to create a whole bunch of vibrantly coloured roses! 
The overall effect was beautiful and would make such a stunning Mother’s day, thank you or birthday card. It would also look beautiful simply framed as it is in its own right and displayed in the kids’ own art gallery wall. I love the idea of using this simple print method to create beautiful wrapping paper too!
We have since returned to this fun printing activity lots of times, to make beautiful art work, cards and gift tags. We’ve recently tried it on black card too and it looks gorgeous!
It’s so instantly satisfying and a great awe and wonder moment for preschool kids when they see a flower appear immediately!
What they are learning while they play:
creativity: using natural and found materials to create prints, experimenting with colours, layering, combining media
science: dissecting a plant and looking at a cross section
See all our PRINTING ACTIVITIES here (we have done many over the years!)
You can find loads more FLOWER ACTIVITIES here for play and learning!