using dried rose petals

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to use dried rose petals in a scrapbook layout and protecting them from breaking? I saved and dried petals from my girlfriend's bridal boquet and wanted to use them in a scrapbook that I'm making for her butI'm afraid that they will break while turning the pages.

I'm sorry I can't help - I'm also new and I have the same problem, except that the petals, flowers and leaves I saved are from a loved one's funeral bouquets (picked up a few days after the memorial service). I'd like to include them in the memory album together with the ribbons from the same bouquets.

I was wondering if it would be a good idea to laminate the petals with xyron ? (I have Creative Station X510.) I think that cold lamination should be safe to both the petals and the photos (acid-free-wise), but I'm not sure. Is there a risk that the petals might break inside the xyron machine and ruin it?

I also thought of lamination but don't have a Zyron machine and couldn't find anything in my local craft store. Anyone have any ideas to help us out?

If the flowers are already dried, most likely they will break and crumble on your pages. I've had good luck with drying flowers totally flat and using mod podge to coat them and adhere them to LOs, but really don't think adding already dried flowers to a page would work in your situation.

• Here Kitty Said:

Thanks Here Kitty! This would work for me at least, because I pressed the flowers & petals when they were still fresh. Now they are flat, thin as paper, and (petals) almost translucent, almost like vellum... I have xyron but don't have mod podge. Oh well... maybe I should get it, or maybe "Glossy accents" could be used instead of mod podge? Or maybe I will try this out with xyron , using an unimportant "test petal" first.

I'd rather not cover them with anything shiny, I'd like to attach them just as they are so they retain their transparency because I think a part of their beauty is that they are so fragile, but I guess that's not possible. They have to be sealed because of acid.

Edit. Pipsqueak, if your petals are not pressed flat, maybe you could put them in a little see-through envelope? If there is only one "layer" of then and not too many on top of each other, then maybe they would not break?

If they haven't been dried properly, they will go moldy. I put a dried rose in a plastic envelope on one of my pages. It crumbled, which I could deal with. I couldn't deal with the dirt smell that came with it as big blooms of mold showed up in the plastic envelope. Even though I've cleaned the envelope out, my LO still smells a bit. I wouldn't risk using real dried flowers on my LOs again.

I have put petals and flowers that I need to keep in jars and shadow boxes to display.

I did press the petals right after the wedding and they are totally flat and super dry. But they are very fragile. Would the mod podge make them hard enough to survive the page being turned many times? I have seen it in the store and will go pick some up if it works.

I am not sure about the mod podge and brittleness. However, if you want to laminate them and don't have a laminator you can still buy 5x6 laminateing sheets at Wal-mart & at most office supply stores. Just follow the directions and they should be fine. I know it is not nature looking, but it will allow them to be there for a long, long time without damage.

Lamination should stop mold and other odors from stinking up your scrap book as well. With lamination even if they go to pieces it will still hold them in their shape at the very least. You could even leave a bit of a border on the lamination and add some stitching around them or something to hide the fact that they are laminated. Just a thought.

Good Luck and Welcome!

Another idea is to spray them with a sealer. I'd recommend Super Seal. They will most likely crack and could become messy but since they are petals they are really thin and perhaps under a page protector...

How about a clear pocket? You can buy them or I make my own from page protectors and a seal a meal.

I LOVE LAMINATING MY FLOWERS!!! I keep a couple petals from every bouquet I get, and some blooms off the hydrangeas in my wedding bouquet, stick them in the phone book for a couple weeks, and then laminate them. It keeps them in one piece, waterproof, shatterproof, and just awesome. Unfortunately, since I do this with all of my flowers, and then just stick them into my book until I get time to scrap, I forget which is which. I've also laminated fern, baby's breath, and fall leaves. Just be sure you do a whole page of them at once. I just did a small piece of laminating pouch (scotch) and it ended up wrapping around the roller and getting stuck

Oh yeah! And I keep a huge boarder around the petals until I know what I'm going to do with them. I love cutting it into a rectangle, and then cutting two strips of cs with a window in them. I put them on either side of the piece of lamination, write a quote, add a tassle, and it makes a beautiful bookmark. I'll post one once they are done painting my kitchen and I can unpack my scrap stuff again

Thank you to everyone who posted! I'm not the person who started this thread, but your answers have really helped me. Someday soon I will give laminating a go!

Laminating is a brilliant idea! I will have to try this with the rose petals that were thrown at my reception! Thanks for the great ideas!

Well after seeing all the replies about laminating, it seems that people had success with it. I think I'll try it. Thanks for all the great replies.