Branching out: DIY wooden tulips

27 Feb 2025

Bring a touch of everlasting spring into your home with these charming DIY wooden tulips. Using scrap pine wood and a splash of vibrant Resene testpots, you can craft a bouquet that never wilts. This simple yet stunning project is perfect for brightening up a windowsill, shelf or table – no green thumb required! Whether you keep them loose for a mix-and-match display or glue them in place, these handcrafted blooms are sure to add a pop of colour and joy to any space.

You will need:

•                              Scrap untreated pine wood, 18mm and 32mm thick

•                              Pencil

•                              Jig saw or band saw

•                              Sandpaper

•                              Paintbrush

•                              Resene testpot paints in your favourite floral shades. Fleur used Resene Smashing, Resene Ecstasy, Resene Pirate Gold, Resene Glamour Puss, Resene Sassy and Resene Green House

•                              Resene FX Paint Effects Medium

Step 1: Start by using a pencil to draw tulip flower shapes on to 18mm thick pine wood, and tulip leaves on to 32mm thick wood. Use a jig saw or band saw to cut the shapes out and then use sandpaper to sand the rough edges smooth. Wipe off the sanding dust. Fleur’s tulip flowers are 6.3cm wide and 7cm tall, and the leaves are 5.5cm wide at the base with two sizes – 5.5cm tall and 9.5cm tall.

Step 2: Make a paint wash by adding a Resene FX Paint Effects Medium to a blob of paint, mix this so that it is thin and semi-transparent, and paint it on to the front and back of each of the tulip flowers. You can paint it on and then wipe away any excess with a paper towel. The paint effect wash will highlight the wood grain, leaving some areas darker than others. Fleur used Resene Smashing, Resene Ecstasy, Resene Pirate Gold, Resene Glamour Puss and Resene Sassy for the flowers and Resene Green House for the leaves.

Step 3: For the edges of the tulip flowers and leaves, paint them in the same corresponding paint colour but this time with full strength paint (no Resene FX Paint Effects added).

Step 4: Once the paint is dry, place the tulip flowers on top of the stalks. You can glue them in place or leave them loose for an interchangeable display.

Windowsill painted in Resene Half Rice Cake.

project and images Fleur Thorpe

Published: 27 Feb 2025