How to make faux cotton stems

Cotton stems are a fun addition to almost any home decor style and they work well for every season. But whether the stems are real or faux, they can be quite pricey.. More pricey than I would generally like to spend. Especially when I think I can make it myself. Here I show you how to make your own DIY Cotton Stems with regular household items!

You’ll need:

Cardboard egg cartons Hot glue gun & sticks Paint brushes Cotton balls – Really any size will do. Scissors Beige brown and dark brown paint. Thread Branches

Let’s get started, shall we?!?

Separate the individual egg cups from the carton by cutting them with scissors. Cut four petal-like shapes around the cup. This will form the pod of the cotton ball.

Use brown paint to paint the entire ball, inside and out. Here watercolor paint was used, but you can use acrylic or craft paint. Bend each “petal” of the ball towards the middle and set aside to dry. This part doesn’t have to be perfect because nature isn’t perfect.

If you have branches with long limbs, you will want to trim them. Make sure that you pick a branch that is strong, not a more bendable type like Quaken Aspen.

We’ve got our branch and “petals”, so now we need to add the cotton.  I used jumbo sized cotton balls because that’s what I found, but any size will do.   Make a cotton boll with your hands and then using a thick thread divide it into 4 sections..

Next, put some hot glue into the bottom of the cotton pod and stuff the cotton ball into it.

 

To make one branch from start to finish took about 10 minutes, once I got it down. So in hour’s time I got 6 branches for a vase.

I’m already having fun adding them here and there in different displays in my home. They add such a soft, natural element that will last for years to come. I hope you have fun creating your own farmhouse cotton branches.