Lesson: Book Page Flower Pins

September 24, 2015 | By Rachel Zink

September is Creatures + Wearables Month at Arts For Life! What is a “wearable,” you ask? It’s sort of a made-up word that we use to describe a piece of art you can wear. A wearable can be anything from a mask, to a pair of 3D glasses, to a fetching piece of jewelry like this Book Page Flower Pin.

Goals:

To promote the repurposing of materials we would usually throw away or recycle.
To create a piece of art with an everyday object, encouraging students to think outside the crayon box and consider what ordinary items can be used in art.

Materials:

Old books with thin pages
Circle templates; optional: circle punches
Pencil
Scissors
Spray bottles, the miniature ones in the travel section
Stapler
Watercolor Magic (or liquid watercolors)
Water
Scrap paper or paper towels
Buttons
Pin backs
Hot glue gun and glue

Directions:

Choose the size circle you would like your flower to be. Think 2-inch diameter or larger.
Tear 10 pages of your book and stack them. Trace your circle and cut out (or punch out). The book pages are typically thin enough that you should be able to cut through all 10 pages at once.
Cut “spokes” around the circle. See image at right.
Un-stack all of the cut circles, then restack. This is important for a later step.
Staple in the center of the papers.
Place the stapled circles in the palm of your hand and crumple. Rotate and crumple again. Repeat until you have the desired effect. Don’t worry if the “petals” fall off; a few most likely will in the process.
Place some Watercolor Magic in your mini spray bottle and add water, about a 50/50 mix. If you want the color to be more diluted, use more water, and vice versa for darker.
Lay a sheet of scrap paper or paper towels under your flower. Spritz with the watercolor dye. Allow time to dry (speed up with a blow dryer).
Hot glue a button to the center of the flower. Hot glue a pin back to the back to wear as a brooch.

Tweak It!

Use to make cards or in place of a bow on a package.
Make a whole bunch of book flowers and glue them down to paper to create a garden; use twisted tissue paper for the stems.
Make a whole bunch of book flowers, cut a wreath shape from cardboard, and glue them down to make a floral wreath!

Photos: Example pin by Betsey