Picture Worth a Thousand Petals

Today I finally attacked a project that I have been putting off for ages. I could never quite figure out how to go about working all the elements together. All I knew was that those fake petals and one of those frames plus glue had to equal something. 

 I tried decoupaging the petals flat onto the darker frame, but it is plastic, and the curl of the petals just wouldn't stick no matter how much Mod Podge I threw at it. Eventually I decided on a throwback to kindergarten. Some of you may remember wrapping an unsharpened pencil in tissue paper and gluing that to paper in little tufts. After two episodes of Sesame Street and a lot of "Get that out of your mouth!", "Don't touch the glue gun!" this is what we had...

Some of the petals are a little frayed, but there was no way that I was going to have time to melt the edges of each one. It is much easier to just do touch ups after everything is together. 

Helpful hints if you are going to attempt something similar:

~You will probably need at least 2 boxes of petals, three sticks of hot glue, and at least an hour. 

~If you are planning to set this on a table or other flat surface, don't glue petals to the "bottom" edge.

~It may be helpful to paint your frame a matching color before you start gluing.

~Do the center edge last in order to keep from accidently blocking the picture.

~Use a sticky lint roller to pick up all the hot glue "threads" floating around. I rolled it right over the petals. 

~If you are hanging the frame, you may need to glue thin cardboard strips to the back of the frame to push the petals forward a little. Kinda like this...

I can't say that this is my favorite project ever, but I can see how it may have some uses. It does go nicely with our wedding picture since we had red accents. I think this would look awesome in a shabby chic themed room if it was made with pink or white petals, or as the table number holder at a wedding reception. Maybe try it in a girl's room made with aqua, hot pink, purple or lime green. Now that I start thinking about it, I've seen these petals in over 80 different shades, so I'm sure they could come in handy other times too.

♥Momma Tart

Running Tally:

#42 - Rose Petal Frame