DIY Scrapbook Paper Flower Wall Art

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I made this! It was easy. It was fun. It was inexpensive. It was totally copied from someone else.

Like lots of things these days, it all started with Pinterest. I spotted this super-cool piece of DIY wall art while browsing the oh-so addicting site and pinned it to my ever-growing Things I Should Make board.

Crystal from the idea-packed blog It’s Doable created hers back in January. She was inspired by a photo she found on Pinterest too.

Pinterest is pretty cool.

So I emailed my sister a link and said, “Let’s get together and make these!” And then we did.

You cut scrapbook paper into leaf shapes and glue them onto a painted canvas in a flower shape. That’s pretty much the gist. Mine was a combination of bright, warm colors – red, yellow, lime – with a shot of pink here and there to make sure it’s girly enough. It went above the little play corner I’m still putting together for my baby daughter.

She’s only three months old so the play corner is really a diaper changing area at this point, but she already loves the bright colors and contrast.

My sis made hers with black, white, and red paper.

And my adorable six-year-old niece even got in on the action – as it turns out, this is a really terrific craft for kids too.

These are so, so easy to make, and, I think, look really special. I love the colorful contrast and the whimsical air it adds to the room.

Here’s how we made ours.

Scrapbook Paper Flower Wall Art

You’ll need:

• Canvas in the size of your choice (I used a 16” x 20” canvas)
• Acrylic paint in the color of your choice, but dark colors like chocolate, black, and dark gray work really well – the dark background creates a terrific contrast with lighter-hued scrapbook papers
• Large foam paint brush
• About 10 sheets of 12″ x 12″ scrapbook paper in the colors and patterns of your choice. I recommend at least four different patterns.
• Scissors (an Exacto knife and mat work too)
• Hot glue gun or, for the kids, a glue stick should suffice (or have them arrange the leaves and glue them yourself)
• Matte Mod Podge (optional)

Directions:

1. Using the foam paint brush, paint the canvas with the acrylic paint. You’ll want to paint at least two coats. Let dry completely.
2. Cut leaf shapes out of scrapbook paper, in varying sizes. Mine range from 1″ – 3″ long and are as wide as 1 1/2″. No need to be spot-on here. A range of sizes adds to the charm.
3. Cut a circle out of a piece of paper of your choice. I used the bottom of a glass to trace the circle before cutting it out.
4. Place the circle on the canvas, slightly to the left and bottom of the center of the canvas. This is the center of your flower.
5. Starting with the larger leaves, lay the leaves around the center of the flower, and continue laying leaves on the canvas in the flower shape of your choice.
6. Once it’s just right, use a hot glue gun to secure the paper to the canvas. When you get to the edge, you can either trim the paper at the edge or wrap the paper around it and glue it for a wrapped-canvas look.
7. This step is optional, but I like how it gave my canvas a finished look. Using the foam brush, I brushed matte Mod Podge over the whole thing to help completely secure the paper to the canvas. Be warned, though! This may cause some of the paper petals to buckle and warp. I was able to smooth some of the leaves out (and the rest seemed to smooth more when they dried) but the finished product isn’t *perfect* perfect. It’s perfect enough though. So – proceed cautiously with the Mod Podge.
8. Put it up, step back and admire your handiwork, you talented artist you!

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