How to Make a Transforming Flower from Plastic Straws

Just like an umbrella, this delightful flower can be opened and closed at will. Its petals wrap around the straw when closed and open fully to bloom when the straw is twisted.

1. Select two straws of slightly different widths. The larger straw will become the flower, while the slightly smaller straw will remain as the stem.
   
   
   • An alternative material to using a straw is to use a plastic folder with a stick, such as a bamboo skewer. You'll need to cut the folder into a size suitable for rolling into cylinder shapes like straws, and tape or glue them together before beginning this tutorial.
2. Prepare the flower slits. Following the figure shown here, cut diagonal slits in the larger straw. This may require drawing in marks to help you make even cuts (see the figure)––if so, use an oil marker that can be easily wiped off the plastic.
   
   
   • The length of the orange line is the same as the length of the outer circumference of the straw.
   • Wipe off any draft lines if you've used them as cutting guides.
3. Stick the cut straw to the stem (or core) straw. Attach at the top of the stem straw, from the orange line as shown in the previous figure.
4. Wrap a small enclosed band of colorful tape around the upper and lower ends of the flower piece, to hold the pieces of the cut straw in place.
   
   
   • While the loose pieces of the straw can be attached to the band of tape, the base of the cut straw piece is not to be attached to the lower end of the stem straw, as this part needs to be free to move up and down the stem straw.
5. Push a pompom into the center of the stem straw, at its top.
6. To give the flower straw the shape needed for movement, bend or fold both ends of the cut straw a little.
   
   
7. Make the flower bloom. To change the shape of the flower straw from closed to blooming, slide it up and down, while at the same time, rotating the lower part of the flower. It helps to watch the video, as this demonstrates exactly what to do.
   
   
   

    Open position.
   

    Closed position.

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   Small flower in the flower center
  If wished, make a design for the center of the flower. Just be careful not to interfere with the opening and closing movement of the petals.

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   Diameter:11mm-13mm
  Plastic straws (different diameters one by one)
  
  

   Plastic folder
  or plastic folder (with plastic straw or stick of 1-1.5cm diameter)
• Adhesive for plastic
• Pompom
• Oily marker (with lacquer thinner)
• Adhesion tape (look for a nice color, or a metallic version)
• Scissors
• Craft knife
• Cutting mat