Once your flowers have been pressed and are completely dry, you are ready to “play.” Look for craft supplies that you can use in your bookmarks.

You can use a variety of papers – from rag paper, scrapbook paper, construction, paper, pages from old books, or print background images from online sources.

Cut your paper to the size you want your bookmark to be. It is fun to layer the papers and it adds more colors and textures. Laminating them creates a durable bookmark and the flowers stay protected. The laminating pouches make this easy!

Once they are laminated, you can cut around each one, leaving about 1/8 inch around the outer edges. If you want to add a tassel, use a paper punch to make a hole and thread it through.

I lay out my flowers, papers, tassels, etc and match them up to create styles that I like.

Another option is to use petals to create bookmarks. This one has petals from yellow blanket flowers, orange zinnias and red drift roses. I used a laminating pouch and put a grid underneath so I could keep the petals in a row. Then I carefully lowered down the top of the pouch and laminated it.

The finished project. The pink one was made with craft paper and red drift rose petals.

You can use whole flowers, petals, buds, leaves, and stems. Just try to keep the bookmark as flat as possible.

If you don’t want to use a laminating machine, another option is to place a strip of clear contact paper over the flowers. If you use the rag papers, this allows the jagged edge to show.

After you have put the contact paper on top of the bookmark, you can use the paper punch to make a hole and add a tassel.

All of these were made using contact paper. This method works better if your design is not completely flat. Fun project to make with the kids! Try to remember to add your name or initials and the date, then it is a keepsake!

Enjoy!!!!

I have recently made a few rag quilts and love creating and sewing them for those special little people in my life. There are so many tutorials and tips on Pinterest for the beginner. So fun to make and always look cozy. Here are a few of my completed projects.

Grandma Steinhauser really enjoyed her English Garden.
She always had purple and yellow iris.

When I was a little girl, we lived just about a mile from my grandparents. We would often visit Grandma and Grandpa Steinhauser, especially on the weekends. We watched TV shows like Wrestling with Bob, Lawrence Welk and Lassie (that show always scared me – so Grandma and I would have cookies in the kitchen while Lassie was on – I still like to have cookies when I am scared or worried). I remember watching her make homemade noodles and angel food cakes. She would let us do “fun” things like ironing – that we weren’t allowed to do at home.

Grandma and Grandpa Steinhauser on the south side of their home,
where she had planted pink hollyhocks and red poppies.

One of my favorite “jobs” at their house was helping Grandma with her flower gardens. Grandma had iris, peonies, daffodils, poppies, lilacs and an assortment of other beautiful flowers. She had flowers planted on the sides of the house, along the driveway, and she had an English garden, that she was so proud of, in her backyard. When visitors came, she always took them to look at her gardens. My sister remembers that when we took a stroll through Grandma’s gardens with her, that she would always hold our hands. Sweet memory!

I love old photographs and I really liked these three of Grandma with her flowers. I decided to experiment with the images. I used the photo editing tools in My Pictures and added more contrast to the original. Then I printed off the images on watercolor paper and used watercolor paint to add a new life to the photos.

Beautiful picture of my Grandma Steinhauser.

I loved the way these turned out. They make great keepsakes and wonderful family gifts. I have these hanging by my kitchen. They make me smile and appreciate all the memorable hours I spent with my Grandma and the many things I learned from her .

Supplies needed – Watercolor paper, paint and brushes.

To do this project, print off the image on watercolor paper and then use watercolors to add life to your photo. You could also use other types of paints, crayons or pastels, but I like the transparency of the watercolors.

I printed a color photo of these pansies on watercolor paper and then painted
them with the watercolors to add more dimension to the photo.

You might want to experiment printing images off in color on watercolor paper and then painting them. The watercolor paper adds texture and dimension to the images.

Have fun painting and making memories! I like this quote by Gertrude Jekyll:

“The love of gardening is a seed once sown that never dies.”