Easy to make Bread Art Paperweights!

This DIY Bread Art Paperweight has to be my absolute favorite DIY idea at the moment. It suits summer so perfectly and adds some much needed color to my desk. Moreover, I’ve been running from bread art (because I thought it was difficult) for so long, that making these paperweights was very satisfying. I’m still a noob to bread art, as this was my first craft with them. But, it’s a start. A cute, simple and colorful start. Here’s what to do:

Time: 1-2 hours

Budget: Low

Materials for the flowers and leaves:

• Fresh White Bread
• Zinc Oxide Powder
• Glue (whit preferably)
• Acrylic Paint (green, pink, white and yellow)
• Hand cream
• Plastic Bag

Materials for the pot:

• Bread Art flowers, dough and leaves
• Glue
• Small empty paint bottles/ glass jars
• Ribbon (optional)
• Marble (optional)

Steps for making the dough:

1. Tear small pieces of the bread without adding any corners.
2. Add two pinches of zinc oxide and 1 tablespoon of white glue (we used fevicol) per bread slice.
3. Mix up the ingredients with a few dabs of paint (any one). And press the paint into the dough well.
4. Continue mixing the dough, till it no longer sticks to your fingers.
5. Place the dough in a plastic bag or an airtight container. This stops it from drying out.
6. Repeat these steps for the other 3 colors.

Steps for making the bread art flowers:

1. Wash your hands thoroughly & apply a little cream to your hands. It makes working with the dough much easier.
2. In order to make a small flower, we start with the center of the flower. Take a small piece of dough (about the size of small pea) into a ball in the palm of your hand. Press it flat into a circle and roll it inwards from the edges. With a tiny bit of glue, stick the edge.
3. For the petals, we added 2-3 rows of individual petals around the center. For each petal, you need to take a small bit of dough (pea size) and press it flat into a circle. Pinch the edges from one end and press the other end slightly outwards. Similarly make, 6-10 petals per flowers. As you move to the outer rows, make slightly bigger petals.

4. To complete the flower, dab a little glue on the bottom of the center and paste the pinched end of the petal to it. Add 3-4 petals around the center for the first row. Followed by more petals around the gaps between two petals. Each of them, must be pasted only at the bottom to the petal/center in front of them.

We made bread art flowers in pink and yellow, to give a nice summery touch. And tried different sizes. The good part is, that each of the petals and flowers, don’t need to match. Personally, I like a little imperfection. It makes the flowers look more natural.

For the Leaves:

The leaves are the easy part of this DIY bread art. All you have to do, is press a small pea of dough into an oval and pinch both sides inwards.  You can vary the design and size. We added slight angles my gently pressing the leaf outwards from different angles.

Assembling the flower pot:

Now that all the materials are ready, let the flowers and leaves dry, before you start using them. You should leave them for a few hours or overnight, if possible. Once they are dry, we can start working on the placement, which takes about 10 minutes. Here’s what to do:

1. Clean out the empty jar/paint bottle and make sure it is dry (mould will form, if it’s wet).
2. Place a layer of white dough at the bottom of the jar. And if you like, add a marble in the center of the bottle. This will give it more weight.
3. Place more dough over the first layer and press it in, so that it doesn’t leave any gaps.
4. Once the bottle is full, add more dough to create a mound or sorts coming out of the rim of the bottle.
5. Put a thick layer of glue on the mound.
6. Place 3-4 flowers on the glue, by pushing the bottom of each flower at slight angles in the dough.
7. Similarly place leaves around the edges.

Optional: You can add a thin ribbon around the rim of the pot, to give it more finish.

Things to keep in mind:

1. While pasting, don’t use too much glue.
2. The color always dulls out. So add more paint for a deep color.
3. Don’t forget to keep the dough in a plastic bag/ air tight container. Or it will dry out very fast.
4. Once the flowers & leaves are ready, let them dry out. Or the shape will change when you try to press the flowers into the pot.
5. Don’t use stale bread. It will just crumble and not form good dough.

Hope you liked this fun and easy DIY Bread Art of making paperweights for your home or office desk. Would you like to see more bread art? Let us know!