This is my first instructable so bear with me.

My wife always asked me for flowers but she could never keep them alive for more than a week. So i decided to give her something that would last longer.

If you got the time and enjoy mechanics as much as I do (and you have a geeky wife) hopefully you can give her one of these without making her mad...

Step 1: Materials

- Metal cutter (i recomment you use a smaller one)

- 0.3mm titanium sheets

- Pliers

- 0.14*0.4mm screws and nuts

- Screw driver

- Epoxy

- Drill

- Hammer

- Scissors

- Card paper

- Paper clips

- 6.5cm metal rod

- 3.3cm spring

Step 2: Design

This was my initial design. Some parts have been modified or left out.

Step 3: Upper and Lower Disks

The two disks are 3.2cm in diameter with the lower disk having a 0.9cm hole in its center.

The 8 slits on the edges are 0.5*0.15cm. After drawing a disk on card and cutting it out, i traced it on a titanium sheet. I only had access to a big hand cutter, but if you have better tools go for it. Cut the disks out of titanium and drill a 0.9cm hole in one of them. On both disks drill smaller holes in the section between each slit, about 0.1cm.

Step 4: Disk Rings

This was the easiest bit. Find two big paper clips and straighten them out with pliers.

Then, bend the clips into a circle so that the clips circumference matches the disks'.

Step 5: Ring Clips

To hold the rings in place over the disks I used small clips that i cut out of titanium.
These clips go in the section between the slits and are screwed down holding the rings and the disks together.

Step 6: Petals

The petals are 9.06cm long and its widest point is 2.65cm.

Draw a petal on card paper and cut it out. Do the same on the titanium sheet until you have 8 pieces. Once you have cut out the petals bend the end flaps together with pliers and hammer. Find the center of the tip of the flaps and drill a 0.1cm hole through the two. The distance between the center of the petal to the end of the flap should be 0.8cm.
Bend the petals into a curve to give it more of a flower feeling.

Make sure that all the petals are bent in the same way.

Step 7: Hinges

This was the hardest part. Cutting out small pieces with a big cutter wasn't easy.

Just like the other parts, draw them on card then trace it on metal. There are two pieces to this part. Part A attaches to the upper disk while part B is glue with epoxy to the petal.

- Part A:
This piece has an angle of 90 degrees degrees and holes at each end.

- Part B:
This piece is slanted towards the center of the flower. Use pliers and bend the flat end at 90 degrees degrees. Drill a hole in the center of the round end.

Step 8: Base Slider

This part was a little tricky. Once you have cut out the piece in the picture, bend it into a cylinder so that it fits nicely around the spring.

At the bottom end, (the side with the smallest flaps, 0.1cm long) bend in the flaps inwards slightly with a hammer. Just enough so that the spring cant come out. The top flaps (the long ones, about 0.4cm long) should be bent outwards at a 90 degree angle.

Step 9: Putting It Together

Upper Disk:
- First put all the hinges (part A) through the disk rings (the paper clips).
- Make sure that the end that goes through the rings is the shorter side.
- Place the ring over the disk and make sure that the hinges align with the slits cut at the edge.
- Place a ring clip in the space between the slits so that it holds down the ring onto the disk. Make sure that the disk holes and the clip holes align.
- Then, screw everything in place.
- Next screw together hinges part A and B. Make sure that hinges B are all facing the same way.

Lower Disk:

- Thread the petals through the second disk ring and place them on the lower disk. Make sure that the petals align with the slits on the disk.
- Do the same thing for the lower disk as done for the upper disk to hold down the disk ring in place with the clips.

Putting the two together:

- Place the upper disk ove the lower disk and use epoxy to stick the base of each hinge B to a petal.
- The base of the hinge should be placed about 1cm from the bottom tip of the petal.

Slider:

- Now pass the metal rod through the center hole of the lower disk and stick it with epoxy to the bottom of the upper disk.
- Next screw the spring over the rod and through the center hole pushing at the bottom of the upper disk until you see the flower closed.
- Now put epoxy at the upper flaps of the slider cylinder.
- Slide it over the rod and spring and glue it to the bottom of the lower disk.

Now leave everything to harden over the next couple of ours and...

YOU ARE DONE!