Trend of making decorative flowers with velvet zinc

Ingenious

While surfing the internet, Ms. Ha Thi Ngát, from Nghia An commune (Ninh Giang), accidentally learned about velvet zinc flowers. Out of curiosity, she went to YouTube to learn more. “There are many videos online instructing how to make flowers from velvet zinc such as tulips, sunflowers, lilies, lotus flowers, etc. There are videos in Vietnamese and even foreign languages. I found them very attractive, the products were beautiful and very creative, so I ordered the materials online to try making them,” Ms. Ngát shared.

Although she had watched the videos over and over again, it was a different story when she started making them. At first, Ms. Ngát found it quite difficult and involved many steps. She had to get used to hot glue, glue guns, wax tape, zinc branches for the body and some flower decoration accessories. The finished products were distorted and not really soft. After 1 week of getting used to zinc velvet, practicing from simple to complex steps, the zinc velvet flower products she made became more beautiful. She also created many other types of flowers and objects. Up to now, she has been "fated" with zinc velvet for about 6 months.

Ms. Ngát showed me lilies made from pink and white velvet wire that she made herself. The oval petals are soft and curved. The unopened flowers are shaped to be shyly curved. The leaves are dark green, the branches are slender. It is not an exaggeration to say that the people who made the flowers have "breathed life" into the wire, making them look like real flowers. Ms. Ngát took 3 days to complete this vase. "To make velvet wire flowers, you must first be very patient. Those who are not patient should not try it," Ms. Ngát shared.

Ms. Pham Mai Hoa in Ngoc Chau ward (Hai Duong city) just started making velvet flowers about half a month ago. Tet is coming, Ms. Hoa plans to make a pot of yellow apricot flowers to decorate the living room. According to Ms. Hoa, there are many ways to make velvet flowers and each type of flower will have a different method. "To make apricot flowers, you make each petal, then combine them into a flower, make buds and then branch. Make a single branch and then make the stem and leaves", Ms. Hoa said. Every time she finishes making a pretty little flower, Ms. Hoa feels very happy, this is also the motivation for her to continue creating. "Making velvet flowers is not difficult but requires dexterity, meticulousness, and attention to every small detail. An important experience for those who want to try making velvet flowers is to bend the wire firmly only once, because once bent, the wire will be difficult to restore to its original shape. People should not operate too hard to cause the velvet hairs on the outside to fall off", Ms. Hoa shared.

Be creative!

Ms. Nguyen Thi Lam Son, owner of Hai Duong Velvet Zinc Flower Shop in Viet Hoa Ward (Hai Duong City) said that velvet zinc is a soft zinc core, covered with a layer of soft fur on the outside. This material is diverse in color, cheap, and can be bent into many different shapes. Whatever shape fresh flowers have, velvet zinc can be bent and shaped in the same way. Currently, velvet zinc has about 70 different colors, each strand is 30 cm long. The average price is from 18,000-30,000 VND/100 velvet zinc strands. People can buy velvet zinc at handmade flower making material stores, gift shops, decoration shops... or order online.

In Hai Duong, velvet zinc has just appeared since the beginning of this year and bloomed in the last months of the year. On the occasion of March 8, October 20 and November 20 this year, velvet zinc flowers have become a gift chosen by many people.

Compared to other types of homemade flowers, making velvet flowers requires little capital but a lot of effort and the selling price is average. Velvet flowers, if preserved properly, can be played for a relatively long time, with diverse and beautiful colors and designs. The price of finished velvet flowers depends on the size of the flower, the amount of zinc used to create the product and the sophistication of the product. Single flowers cost from 15,000 to 30,000 VND/flower. Large, elaborate velvet flower pots can cost from 700,000 to 900,000 VND, even millions.

The two most important steps when making flowers from velvet wire are choosing the materials and mixing colors. Ms. Ngát shared that only quality wire can create beautiful flowers. Currently, there are many types of velvet wire for making flowers. The quality type has 6-8 mm thick wire with even hair and does not reveal the wire inside. Other types are smaller than 6 mm and have sparse hair, not smooth, the wire will feel very rough to the touch, the flowers will not be beautiful. Everyone should buy velvet wire at reputable stores to be able to create satisfactory products. Mixing flowers and colors is very important to make a complete bouquet, a basket of flowers with eye-catching colors, harmonious layout. Beautiful, impressive products will be created by skillful, delicate and creative hands.