Crafty Crafty ~ Making a Lei from backyard flowers

We have left the Continental Pacific States and are going out into the ocean to visit Hawaii and Alaska this next week... in homeschool lessons that is! No more vacation for me.

Over the last few days we have listened to lots of Hawaiian music (Pandora is a great resource), played games about how to pronounce Hawaiian names, found out what our names would be in Hawaiian, and drawn a map of on the patio and jumped from island to island.

Leis have become a universal symbol for Hawaiian hospitality and I thought that it would be fun to make some leis during our study.

I borrowed some Lei Needles from a friend and we have been stringing leis all morning out of our backyard flowers. It wasn't hard, but there were a few pointers that I have learned today, which I wish I knew this morning:

• Do not use elastic thread! Flowers are heavier than they seem and it makes the flowers all dump to the front center when you use stretchy thread.
• Pick flowers with thick, but not woody, stems. We used Yellow Chain Tree flowers and Rhododendron blossoms.
• You do not need a Lei needle. But it is good to have a thin long needle. A doll needle would work fine if you are using thick twine, but if you are using thread, it is better to use a long thin needle so the hole made is not drastically bigger than the thread used.
• Keep the stems on and put the needle right through the stem. This will seem as though you are breaking the flowers and it takes some careful hands... so make sure to be by your kids to help with this part.
• If you need spacers, then use straws, cut into 1 - 2 inch lengths and place them between the flowers.
  

Tie together, wear, and enjoy!

Aloha!!