One of my earliest memories of life on our Indiana farm was of my aunt showing me how to make a doll from the flower of the Althea bush growing in the front yard. The petals made a lovely long dress and the doll’s head was the unopened bud of another flower. While visiting my husband’s family I noticed the same flowers blooming all around and took advantage of the opportunity to make a doll for you.
To make the doll, pick a flower with the longest petals that are not fully opened. Pinch the stem off completely and use a toothpick to make a small hole into the base of the flower where the stem had been. Then pick a green bud that is still tight for the head. Peel away the green sepals to leave only the round green ball of the bud. Trim the stem to about 1/4 or 1/8 in and poke it into the hole you made with the toothpick, and voila, your have a lovely princess doll.
by Janice D. Green, author of The Creation and The First Christmas.
Thank you for this lovely and easy craft. I love the way your shared how you learned how to make this doll–from when you were a girl.
Thanks for sharing..I too remember my aunt teaching my sister and myself to make these dolls. The back of Aunt Tillie’s yard seemed like a huge forest at the time with adventures around every corner. I just passed this craft on to my granddaughter,Reighan.
Thank you for sharing your memory with us. I still have the urge to make another doll when I see these flowers blooming.