Watercolor Paper Flowers from Old Book Pages

Today I am so excited to share how to make paper flowers out of the pages from an old book.  Here is a peek at the finished product:

This isn't my first time making paper flowers.  I made a lot of the stuff for our wedding 5 years ago including all the boutonnieres, corsages, and centerpieces which featured dogwood blossoms made out of crepe paper.  

They took me awhile to make as I had to individually cut out each petal using a template that I had.  For this project I simplified things a ton by using my Silhouette Portrait.  The shape I used was the 3d peony flower from the Silhouette Online Store.  I wanted a different center so I ungrouped the shape and deleted the center and leaves.  If you don't have a Silhouette you can totally still do this project. Just look for a paper flower template that you can print out online.

Instead of cutting the shape out of paper or cardstock, I decided to use old book pages.  Now books are a sacred thing in my family so I didn't just take a book off the shelf and start ripping out pages.  I found a book in an antique store that already had lots of damage including a broken binding, tons of pencil and pen marks, and water stains.  I used an exacto knife to cut out the pages.  

For cutting purposes I made sure to select a book that had thick enough pages to cut with the Silhouette. The settings I used were blade 4, speed 6, and thickness 4.  This seemed to work with the book I had but you may need to experiment since not all books are created equal.  Also, I suggest using an old cutting mat with this project otherwise you might have trouble taking the petals off of the mat without ripping them.

After taking the petals off of the mat I painted them with watercolor paints.  I mixed the colors until I came up with a nice orange red which reminded me of poppy flowers.  I painted both side as the book pages were too thick for the color to soak through.

For the centers of the flowers I took black cardstock which I cut into strips and then snipped like I was making grass.  For assembling the flowers you will need floral wire pieces, a glue gun and glue sticks, and floral tape. Here is the process of assembly:

1. Put a dot of glue on one end of the center piece, then place the floral wire in the glue.

2. Roll the center piece around the wire and place a dot of glue on the other side to secure it.  I separated the pieces a little bit before starting to glue on the petals.

3. Place a dot of glue on the 4 smallest petals and place on the center piece.  Start farther up the center piece but not all the way at the top.

4-6. Stagger the other petals until you have used all of the petals.  

7. Wrap a piece of floral tape around starting at the base of the petals until you get a little past the bottom of the center piece.

 I made the flowers for my porch decor and placed them in the bottles that are sitting on the chest I have out there.  I collected these bottles from various antique stores in South Dakota, Iowa, and Oklahoma this past summer.

I took a ton of photos because the morning light on my porch was so pretty when I was taking photos this morning. I am also very proud of how this project turned out.  

Well there you have it.  I love it when I project turns out exactly like you were envisioning it in your head! My favorite part are the printed words of the book pages on the petals. It is such a fun way to continue my book and reading them in the decor of the porch. Have a great day!