She Used PVC Pipes To Make Giant Flowers For Her Daughter's Birthday With An Impressive DIY

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Larger-than-life flowers as party decor? Talk about a beautiful backdrop for photos, and even though they give off some serious fantasy vibes, it's surprisingly simple and affordable to make these decorations a reality. TikTok creator Daniela Brady nurtured her idea for oversized blooms to display at her daughter's birthday, and they are so whimsical. For the stems, she secured PVC pipes in a cement base and applied a layer of green paper decoupaged to the pipes to support the detailed giant paper flowers on top.

Why use PVC pipes as the stems? The tubes are rigid and sturdy, so they'll stand upright easily. But the material also softens and bends with a little heat, allowing them to curve for a more natural look and letting you shape the tops of the stems to make your flowers go in different directions. There are assorted types and sizes of PVC pipes, with some reaching up to 24 inches in diameter, but for this DIY, you'll want a slender pipe no more than 2 inches in diameter to create the right proportions for your giant flower.

The DIYer got creative with the base, using quick-setting cement in a plant saucer to make a weighted disc-shaped foundation. You'll need PVC couplings to secure the stem and a heat gun to bend the pipes to your will. To replicate the inspiration project, grab green crepe paper streamer and decoupage glue, such as Mod Podge, to cover the stems. As far as the blooms go, you can craft your own from paper and other materials or buy premade options, like these giant Chunful Tissue Paper Flowers.

To create the base, you'll need a shallow container — Daniela used an 8-inch plastic plant saucer, but she recommends using something larger for more stability (you could even repurpose an old frying pan if you're able to remove the handle). You can cover the item you use with artificial grass or moss, so looks don't matter too much. Mix your cement, and pour it into the mold. Then, put PVC couplings into the wet cement where you want your flowers to be, ensuring half of each coupling is sticking straight up out of the cement. The original features two flowers per container, but you can adjust the placement for more.

Cut the PVC pipe to the length you want based on your desired flower height and the size of the bloom. Cut the pipe with a hacksaw, miter saw, or ratchet-style cutters. Once the cement hardens, add the PVC pipes to the couplings. 

You may want to keep some of the stems upright, depending on the type of flowers you're creating. But you get to see more of the blooms when you curve the top. With gloves on, gently apply heat to the pipe with a heat gun, and bend it to get the stem shape you want. Shape each stem a little differently for variety. To turn the stems green, brush decoupage glue on a small portion at the top of the pipe stem. Wrap your green crepe paper streamers around the pipe, adding more decoupage glue as you go. When the pipe is completely covered, go back over it with another layer of decoupage glue. Finish by covering the base with greenery.

If you don't want to mess with concrete for the base, grab a wide, sturdy wood round to use instead. You can drill holes into the round and insert a thick wooden dowel into them, securing them with wood glue, or drill a screw through the round and into the end of the dowel. Dowels come in a range of sizes, starting as narrow as ¼ inch, but you'll want one closer to 1 inch or wider. Choose a dowel that's slightly narrower than your PVC pipe for maximum stability. When the flower is completely created, slide the stem over the dowel. This option makes it easy to disassemble for storage.

The PVC bending trick is adaptable for multiple variations on this flower project. Skip the base completely if you want to hold the flowers as photo props. You could also attach this version to the wall as an artificial variation on a DIY floral wall hanging for party backdrops or suspend them from the ceiling for a magical floating flower effect.

Using different materials to cover the PVC pipe stem and adding extra detailing also sets your flowers apart. Instead of decoupaging the stems, wrap them in green floral tape or ribbon, glue on strips of fabric, or paint them. Gluing on large artificial leaves is a simple way to add more detailing. Apply more of the stem covering over the attachment spot to help it blend in, and then add other details, like giant butterflies and bees, on the flowers and stems to fit your party theme.