May Day is a holiday I grew up with thanks to my mom, and her mom. It’s something that they marked on May 1st with visits from the “May Day Man,” a shadowy figure who dropped off no-bake chocolate coconut cookies at the front door, rang the doorbell, and then *disappeared*. Until the year my brother locked my mom out so she couldn’t slip around to the back door of the house. That was quite the May Day surprise, let me tell ya. Our May Day surprise is a stitched wire flower tutorial.
Ideas for how to celebrate May 1st

When I was a floral designer, I celebrated May 1st by making posey’s and hanging them from my friends’ doorknobs. As a mom, I continued the tradition of the mysterious chocolate cookies. But as we didn’t have an easily accessible escape route, I ended up just leaving them on the table for my son to find. And when I wrote my book, Creative Bloom; I included as one of the projects, a May Day basket of chicken wire and pearls.
A blast from my past…
Today I thought I would give you a small May Day gift, the stitched wire flower tutorial video I created 8 years ago for an online class I taught. It was THE only online class I taught. So the camera’s a little shaky (I think it was my 6 year old filming) and I look a lot younger. But it’s a pretty good first attempt if I do say so myself.
How to Make a Stitched Wire Flower
Supplies used are 16 gauge steel tie wire (links in resource page) and fabric scraps. I usually get the tie wire at Home Depot.
So enjoy the day, oh and if you’d like Grandma’s recipe for May Day cookies let me know. 🙂

PS – If you LOVE the handmade wire look then you would LOVE my Best of Art as Usual Pinterest Board or the tutorials saved on my first blog, Art as Usual.
