Flowers for Scrapbooking
Embellishing scrapbook pages can be a creative art. Making your own flowers of various materials for scrapbooking purposes, crocheting flowers or preserving a vacation flower can enhance your memory-keeping. Doing this can take an ordinary scrapbook page to the next decorative level.
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Paper Flowers
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Paper flowers can be made in a variety of ways: Use a die cutter and decorative punches or make a wet, crumpled paper flower. For a simple flower, use a heart punch. You can punch out approximately seven or eight heart shapes. The exact total depends on the desired flower size. Add dimension to your flower by drawing accent lines at the flower's center with a decorative gold or silver pen. Hold one heart-shape punch and continue overlapping hearts in a circular pattern. Continue repeating until the flower is complete. You can add decorative touches with a different punch, glitter or flat beads.
Fabric Flowers
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Create fabric flowers with any type of fabric, such as a woven or knit cotton, tulle or printed patterned fabric. Make a simple flower shape with fabric strips. Cut a 2-inch-wide by 12-inch-long fabric strip. Although there are no set rules for a fabric flower pattern, the wider the width of the fabric strip, the larger your flower will be; longer length results in a fuller flower appearance.
Add a basting stitch on one side of your fabric strip length. Gently pull the loose threads by gathering your flower until it forms into a circular shape. Shape the petals by pleating into an accordion shape prior to pulling the thread. Sew the two ends together and add decorative embellishments at the flower's center.
For crochet beginners, your crochet flower can be made from just about any type of yarn. Choose the right type of crochet hook to accommodate the yarn selection. For a fancy finish, add sequins or beads at the center of your flower.
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Preserving Flowers
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Press flowers when they reach their blooming peak. You can opt to hang them upside down or press them in a book, which is best for scrapbooking. Cut the stem from the flower's base with gardening shears. Get several sheets of white tissue paper. Open a heavy book and line the pages with tissue paper on each side. Some crafters prefer black-and-white newspaper. Do not use colored newspaper because it can bleed onto your flower or book pages. Place your flower in the book and close it. Put heavier books on top to secure. Allow three to four weeks for your flower to completely dry before removing and using it to decorate your scrapbook.
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