Pretty Holiday Homemade Gift: Forced Bulbs

What could be better than a little touch of spring in the middle of winter? I can't imagine anything nicer. In our area of the country winter means there is snow and ice on the ground, blustery winds and time to bundle up in every piece of clothing you've got. Don't get me wrong - I love winter and I adore living in the Northeast. But every once in awhile you can certainly catch me dreaming of spring.

Here is a lovely homemade gift to give for the holidays that will remind everyone of the gifts of spring that are just around the corner. This is a fairly easy craft to do, it just takes a little planning ahead of time. It is really nice to give forced bulbs just as they are getting ready to bloom. I like to give narcissus flowers - otherwise known as paperwhite flowers - they smell wonderful and have beautiful little white flowers. Those usually take about five weeks to bloom. So you would want to start them a month in advance of your gift giving. There are other types of flowers that are popular for "forcing" - such as the amaryllis and tulip. Check with your local gardening center for how long they will take to bloom.

To force narcissus you will need:

narcissus bulbs
white gravel bought at plant store
container for bulbs

You will also need:

craft items to decorate your container
(see description below)

It is really nice to create a decorative container for your bulbs. One way to do this is to decoupage your container. This is easy to do, you can do this with some pretty patterned gift wrap and some glue (most decoupagers like to use Modge Podge glue) and some foam brushes to paste it on. Cut the gift wrap into manageable pieces to place on the container. Yes, you can fold some of the pieces, the glue will make the gift wrap paper very pliable. Add a coat of glue to your container before putting the gift wrap paper onto the container. Then place the gift wrap paper on the container. Now add several thin coats of glue using your foam brush. Continue this until the entire container is covered with gift wrapping paper. Allow the container to dry before you add the flower bulbs and gravel.