Repurpose Cotton Pads Into Beautiful Flowers With A Simple DIY

Cotton pads have many uses from medical to cosmetic. They're used to swab skin before drawing blood, but they also aid in putting on and removing makeup from your face. But if you have extras that you want to repurpose, you can make a colorful flower DIY. Use markers or paint to color in cotton pads, add water to give them a watercolor effect, and then shape them as flower petals to make a lovely faux rose.

You can create beautiful floral home décor that can be displayed in a vase or anywhere else you want. For this simple, fun DIY, you'll need those cotton pads, water, glue, multiple colors of water-based markers, food coloring or paint, and a drinking glass or cup. To create an optional stem, grab some floral wire. Put them all together to make your charming DIY rose. For a place to display it, there are many household items that can be repurposed into a flower vase.

First, use the markers or paint to color the cotton pads. You can just color in the edges with one color or you can use multiple hues to create a design, such as lines. But just be aware that the next step involves using water to make the colors bleed and give the fabric a flower-like look; the design will look different afterward. When done with the paints or markers, dip the cotton pads into a mixture of glue and water and squeeze any excess from it. Or, if you want more control over how the color spreads, use a spray bottle.

Then, layer the wet cotton pads around the edge of a cup or glass, slightly overlapping for several rows until they reach the center. Remove the cotton from the cup's edge and check out your new faux flower. Let it dry, but if you're impatient, use a hair dryer to quicken the process. Next, glue the floral wire to the flower's base if you want to give it a stem. Repeat the process for as many roses as you want and display the faux florals in your favorite container, or DIY a personalized flower vase from a mason jar.