Book Page Flower - Hydrangea

Book Page Hydrangea

Materials:

Book pages 

X-Large Scalloped Circle paper punch

Newspaper 

White glue

Hot glue

Flower stem - I actually used discarded artificial floral stems. This is a great way to re-purpose something that would normally be considered trash. You could check with a local florist or craft store that carries artificial floral arrangements. If you can't get these; wire, bamboo skewers, or actual twigs would also work. 

Lets get started!

Go and find any newspaper. 

      Tear the newspaper in strips. 

Place strips in a pot or bowl that you no longer use with food. 

Pour boiling over the paper and stir. Let sit for at least an hour and stir occasionally. Drain off the water. Take a handful of paper and squeeze out the water. Form a tight ball, squeeze a little glue in your hand, and rub the glue over the outsize of the newspaper ball.

Place the news paper balls on wax paper and let dry. It will take several days for them to dry completely if they are indoors. They dry much quicker if you place them outside in the sunshine! This way only takes a day or two. 

 Glue a floral stem to a newspaper ball. I hammer a nail into the newspaper ball to create a hole. Next, I put hot glue in the hole and add the stem.

I used a an extra large scalloped paper punch. Any size will work. 

Here is another view just to get a better idea. This one has a 3 inch diameter. 

Punch out  several scalloped circles. The number you will need depends on how large the center of your flower is. When you think you have enough...punch a few more! It takes more than you think. :)

Gently fold the circle in half. Do not crease. 

Gently fold in half again to make fourths. Do not crease. Add a dab of glue to hold the edges together like this. 

Fold and glue all of your circles. Be careful to fold them flat. You want them to have volume to fill in your flower. 

Summon your patience!! Start gluing the petals to the center. 

Place petals randomly. You don't want them to all go the same way. It will go slow at first because you need to hold the petals until the glue dries. A helpful tip is to place the first petals all over the center. Then go back and fill in the spaces. When you fill in, you won't have to hold each petal because the other will do this for you!

Keep filling in until the entire center is covered and you can no longer see the newspaper. 

Finished! The best part is that no water is required! 

She is so pretty. I might even name her. :)