Wednesday, March 20, 2013

The Making of a Paper Flower

I have always wanted to be a person who crafts.  I love to save scraps, ribbons, little boxes, pretty paper, stickers, stamps, fortunes, markers, and crayons “just in case.”  I’ve tried scrapbooking, jewelry-making, ceramics painting, and collaging, all with mixed results. Recently, I’ve taken on a new project, one I’m determined to love and to be successful at: I’ve decided to make the flowers for my wedding out of paper.  I have several reasons for doing this.  First, as my fiancĂ© and I are bibliophiles who chose a “books and comic books” wedding theme, I’m going to make the flowers out of the pages of old books.  Second, I am determined to master at least one craft skill.

Working with friends, we’ve spent the first few afternoons planning, testing out techniques, and of course, talking and drinking tea.  Recently, we made several flowers worth showing to others.

A few things I’ve learned as I go:

  • It’s much easier to follow a pattern for a whole flower rather than cutting out and gluing individual petals.
  • It is very easy to glue your fingers to paper and to each other.
  • Glue guns and glue are generally sold separately.
  • Your flowers will probably not look exactly like the pattern, but they can still be lovely.
  • Your pets will want in on what you’re doing, so you may need to find a distraction for them.
  • If painting the paper (which we are), make sure it’s completely dry before trying to work with it
I can’t say that I’m an “expert” flower-maker yet, but I am pleased with the results so far!

If you're feeling up to the challenge, here are few books from the library catalog on making flowers and other crafts from paper:

The Paper Garden: An Artist Begins Her Life's Work at 72 702.812 Delany

Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Crafts: An A-to-Z Guide with Detailed Instructions and Endless Inspiration   745.5 Martha

Papercutting: Tips, Tools, and Techniques for Learning the Craft by Claudia Hopf  745.54 Hopf

The DIY Bride, An Affair to Remember: 40 Fantastic Projects to Celebrate Your Unique Wedding Style 745.5941 Cochran

The Michaels Book of Wedding Crafts edited by Linda Kopp 745.5941 Michaels

Making Flowers in Paper, Fabric and Ribbon 745.5943 Biddle

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Great job! I had the same idea for my wedding (but I have a year to make way too many flowers). Thank you for the extra book recommendations, and congrats on your engagement, and to add to the things learned: if you ask your fiance which kind of paper flower he prefers, he will always pick the hardest, most complex and time consuming method. :) Good luck!