Forget Me Not........

.......Ever since I saw the very first one, I have intended to make some paper roses.  Last summer I took rose bouquets to a local library in June (rose month) and while there, was shown a book with a corsage of paper flowers placed down the middle of open pages - loved the idea and signed up for the up-coming class. Forgetting to write it on my schedule when I got home, I let the day go by without showing up for the class! I was reminded of this again a week ago and finally, I made my paper roses.  I veered off from the exact look of the one I saw and made my own version. And, will have to say, I love the results.

 

The first thing to do was to decide on the book that would be the resting place for the corsage.  It didn't take long after looking through just a few of my books to find the perfect one! It is a very special book to me because it was a birthday gift sent to me by my sister, not a long time before she passed away.  I still had the card inside the book with a short letter written in her beautiful hand writing. So, this project has turned out to be a real treasure for me and I will love having it on display.

 

 

 

 

 

Her hand-made card I had glued just inside the cover.

It didn't take long for me to decide which opening to use - rosebuds and forget-me-nots.

The one I saw did not use a ribbon like I have but, I think it adds a lot and also kept me from gluing directly onto the book pages.

 

 

I selected one of my brooches to pin onto the ribbon. It helps anchor it and I think is a nice added touch. The picture of roses on the page does not look as prominent when you look at the book as it does in these photos. The sample I saw didn't have any pictures or color on the open pages - just print.

 

 

I also added just a touch of white flowers to represent the forget-me-nots.  I have blue ones which would be more realistic but, I think they detracted from the total look.

 

 

If you are like me, you don't like being shown pages without being able to read at least part of it!

 

 

 

 

 

I thought you might like to see the other end of the ribbon. It could be finished off with the V cut but I almost always like the angle better.

 

Now, those of you who have no interest in making one of these can exit now if you wish but, since I will pin this to Pinterest I have no doubt that some will open it hoping to find directions. Here you see everything you will need, except sissors and of course a book that you don't mind tearing pages from. Let me make it clear I didn't use the pretty book from my sister but, found cream color pages with solid print in a novel that I didn't mind ripping out.

 

 

I used my paper cutter to trim off the plain margins. Then I folded what was left in half and then folded that again. This gives you a size you can cut a petal shape from and you then have four petals. I just kept adding petals to each rose until I liked it's size.

 

 

This shows the approximate size but it can vary. For smaller roses/buds just cut smaller petals and or use less petals. Leave enough length at the bottom to be able to glue and grasp.

 

This thick glue is what I find easiest to work with. And, don't try to squeeze through the small cap!  Open the bottle and use a skewer or something similar to dip it out. Do you see the glue on these petals?

 

Before you put the glue on make a fold in the petal and open it back out. This helps when it comes time to "cup" the petals together.

 

 

Before assembling the petals, you need to make a little rose center.  Use a small square of a page, fold it like the top above, fold again and mash and twist until it is similar to the smallest above. This can be left a little too long (it is easier to hold) and then trim the bottom after the petals are all glued on.

 

Before gluing the petals to the center, take a clean skewer and roll the top of the petal around it at the top, backwards.

 

 

This shows the center with two petals glued on. And, I just thought of another tip. I found it good to clip a clothespin around the glued end if you need to lay it down to make more petals or whatever.

 

Hopefully, this will give you enough to get started and you can do like I did, figure it out as you go.

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I really am glad I finally got my paper roses made and the project ended up being far more than I expected not knowing I would run across this very special book from my sister.