Design plaster-dipped floral wall art at a fraction of the price found in stores

Adding wall art to your home allows you to incorporate your own customized style into everyday décor. Although wall art is readily available in stores, it often comes with a hefty price tag. Instead of overspending, consider creating unique wall art at a fraction of the cost using plaster of Paris, cardboard letters and a few well-placed artificial flowers.

It’s easy to assume that plaster of Paris is reserved for home fix-it projects, but it’s actually an exciting material to use in craft projects. Combine cardboard letters to create a decorative word that speaks to a meaningful theme. Once you'v'e secured the artificial flowers, you'll dip the letters directly into the plaster. Not only do these letters look beautiful, but the top color can also be customized, and the plaster dries fast enough to make this a fun project to create with kids.

Materials
- 3 bunches of artificial flowers
- Wire cutters
- Cardboard block letters spelling HOME or another word
- Hot glue gun
- Hot glue sticks
- 5-pound bag of plaster of Paris
- Measuring cup
- Plastic gloves
- Protective sheet
- Large plastic mixing bowl
- 1-cup measuring cup
- Wooden craft stick
- Stroke and Coat glaze in Speckled Blue Yonder
- Artist's brush

Instructions
 
1. Cut off the individual flower heads from three large bunches of artificial flowers using wire cutters.

2. Place a cardboard block letter on your work surface.

3. Hot glue several artificial flower heads to one corner of the letter. Continue gluing flower heads in place, so they extend down the side of the letter.

4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for the remaining cardboard block letters.

5. Don plastic gloves, and place a protective sheet on the work surface.

6. Scoop out 4 cups of plaster of Paris, and place it in the large mixing bowl.

7. Add 2 cups of water to the plaster.

8. Mix the water and plaster with a wooden craft stick to create a creamy paste.

9. Turn one of the cardboard block letters upside down, and dip it directly into the plaster, so the flowers and front of the letter are completely covered. Place it on the protective sheet.

10. Repeat step 9 with the remaining letters.

11. When the plaster is dry, paint Speckled Blue Yonder Stroke and Coat glaze onto the flower petals.

12. Wait until the paint is completely dry before hanging the letters.