Activity 2 April 2008

“Floral Note Reminders”

Use this activity from Ann Ball’s Catholic Tradition’s in the Home and Classroom, p. 110, to create beautiful note cards with signs of spring time! Go outdoors and collect flower petals and/or leaves for this activity. Once note cards are dry, direct students to write words of kindness on each and place around the room or attach to their class materials as constant reminders of the need for harmony among us.

You can use some of your most delicate pressed flowers to create one-of-a-kind note cards for special messages to special friends. Make them for yourself and for gifts.

You will need:

• plain note cards with envelopes to fit
• dried flowers and leaves
• white craft glue
• crystal clear glitter 
• tweezers
• scissors
•  watercolors and small brush 

We used Strathmore blank greeting cards which we obtained at an artists’ supply store, but you can cut heavy paper to fit standard envelopes.

First, take a small brush and, using green watercolor paint diluted with plenty of water, make some feathery strokes from the bottom left side of the card’s front toward the top of the card. These will simulate stems for your dried flowers and leaves. The stem should have a center stroke that goes straight up about halfway up the height of the card and several side strokes that curve slightly toward the edge of the card. (We used blue deckle edge cards with a blue stripe across the bottom front of the card. If you are making your own cards, you may want to paint a similar line across the bottom front.) Allow your watercolors to dry thoroughly.

In a small container, mix 2/3 white glue and 1/3 water. Use your tweezers to help you arrange a pretty pattern of dried flowers and leaves over your stems.

When you are satisfied with your arrangement, paint the glue onto the card where the flower or leaf is to go and lay the dried specimen on the glue.

Using more glue mixture, paint over the top of the flowers and leaves, making certain each is flat against the card.

Do not try to use dried flowers with too much bulk; the flatter the better. Before the glue dries, take a small pinch of clear glitter and dust it lightly over the design.

Allow cards to dry thoroughly. If any of the flowers seem to be sticking up from the card, you can add a dab of the glue mixture and re-stick them.

When the cards are thoroughly dry, store them in a box or tie several of the cards and envelopes with a pretty ribbon to present them as a gift to a friend.

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