February 25, 2014

Child Picking Spring Flowers Spring is one of the most beautiful and exhilarating times of the year. After the long, cold winter, green grass finally reappears and the flowers bloom once again. Spring is also one of the best seasons to spend quality time with your kids, whether outside or in the comfort of your home. One long-time favorite activity is making homemade bookmarks from pressed flowers.

Picking Flowers

To begin, take your children on a walk, preferably in middle or late morning, to pick some of their favorite flowers. It’s best to press the flowers immediately after picking them, to preserve their freshness. If you must press them later, let them soak in a vase of water overnight before creating the homemade bookmark.

Pressing the Flowers

After you have selected the flowers you will press, place them on a heavy piece of paper. Be sure to place the flower so that it spreads out and the center is up. Place another piece of heavy paper on top of the flower and then press the two sheets of paper together between the pages of a heavy book. Alternatively, you can also press the flower between two books. The flowers must remain pressed for seven to 10 days for optimal results.

Creating a Homemade Bookmark

Cut contact paper into two strips of 2 1/2 by 6 inches each. Separate one piece of contact paper from its backing and lay it on your workspace with the sticky side facing up. Take your pressed flower out of the book and remove one sheet of stock paper. Using tweezers, transfer the flower from the stock paper to the sticky side of the contact paper. Separate the other piece of contact paper from its backing and place the sticky side of the paper on top of the flower. Be sure to line up the edges. If you’d like to add a ribbon or a piece of yarn to the homemade bookmark, punch a hole near the top and loop the ribbon or yarn through it.

After you and your family create your homemade bookmarks, share them with us! Post the photos on our Facebook page.

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Categories: Parenting Tips

Tags: homemade bookmarks

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