Memories Deserve More Than A Shoebox ^TM

Flower Power

by Lindsay Teague

I can think of no decoration more beautiful than that of fresh flowers. Just seeing them in my house brings a smile to my face. Since it’s not practical for me to constantly have a vase full of flowers on my kitchen table every day, I have adorned many of my counters and tables with faux flowers. Although they aren’t as fragrant, they do the job and with regular upkeep they always look beautiful.

The same goes for my scrapbook pages. Lately, I rarely finish a page without a flower or two to decorate it. It adds that extra texture and design to my layouts to make them really stand out. I know what you’re thinking, “I don’t do a lot of girly pages,” or “Flowers just won’t suit my rough-and-tumble kids.” No worries, here are a few ideas to think about. You might just be surprised at how versatile they are.

First, go to your local crafts store and seek out the types of flowers you think would look great on a page. Then choose one of these ideas for embellishing your page, or come up with a creative idea of your own.

Choose a few flowers that match the page and hide them underneath a picture or an element on the page, letting them peek out a little bit. This will make the flowers more discreet and they won’t take up too much room. This is also a great way to add flowers to a masculine layout without them looking too feminine.

Make the flowers really stand out by using them as a recurring theme on a layout. Start by using floral patterned paper, and then embellish the page with similar-looking or matching flowers.

Attach a cute charm, button or brad to the center of the flower.

Dye white silk or paper flowers for custom colors. You can then add a little bit of acrylic paint for a truly unique look.

Often times, less is more. Little flowers can be just as effective as the big ones. You can sew the stems to the page with a sewing machine, or by hand.

Use several flowers to create a border or photo frame.

Cut your flowers for variety. Make them jagged or messy for a crazy, manly feel or just use the petals to tone-down the feminine flowery look.

I find that the best way to adhere silk flowers is with Glue Dots or Tombow Mono adhesive. Both of these are really sticky and won’t let you down. You can also fasten them onto the page with a brad.

Another way to use flower embellishments is by pressing real ones. You can do this by picking out the flowers and putting them into a flower press for a couple of weeks or simply lay them in between two pieces of tissue paper and put them in between the pages of your heaviest book (like a dictionary or encyclopedia).

Have fun, be creative and think outside the flowerbed!