How to Make a Book Page Hydrangea

I have been wanting to make a book page hydrangea for a while, and I finally sat down and played with the idea. You know me — I rarely measure everything perfectly. I usually start cutting, folding and shaping until the project tells me where it wants to go.

And this one did not disappoint. What starts as a few old book pages turns into the prettiest full, slightly wonky hydrangea-style flower. I actually love that every little petal curls differently because that is what gives it so much character.

Supplies

• Old book pages
• Scissors
• Pinky Shears that you can get HERE
• Hot glue
• Pencil or similar round object for shaping
• Decorative-edge scissors, optional
• Small base to build the flower on

Step 1: Prepare the Book Pages

Start by removing several pages from an old book.

I like the naturally aged cream color of older pages, but you could absolutely use newer pages, music sheets or even lightly tea-stained paper.

Fold the pages into smaller sections so you can cut several pieces at one time. There is no need for every piece to be exactly the same size. In fact, a little variation makes the finished hydrangea look much more natural.

Step 2: Shape the Petals

Book page I was using was your typical book 7×9 so i folded in half on the long side folded 2 more times and cut each fold to have 8 rectangles. Depending on how big you like your hydrangea cluster to be I would cut at least 10 pages into rectangles

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Now its time to form petals out of those rectangles .. I like to pick a corner on an angle and roll loosely and secure it with a dot of Hot glue

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Step 3: Begin Building the Hydrangea

Start attaching the curled book-page petals to your base with hot glue.I began around the outside and continued working my way inward, filling open spaces as I went.Do not worry about keeping every petal facing the same direction.Some can stand taller, some can lean outward and some can curl inward. That unevenness is what begins creating the rounded hydrangea shape.

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Step 4: Keep Filling

Continue adding petals until the entire base is covered.

As the flower gets fuller, tuck smaller petals into any gaps and use them to build height through the center.At this point the flower really begins to take shape.

Mine looked a little wild before the final step — which is usually a very good sign around here!

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Step 5: Trim the Petal Edges

Once I had the fullness I wanted, I decided the petals needed just a little more texture.Using decorative-edge scissors, I carefully trimmed some of the exposed edges.

You do not have to trim every petal exactly the same way. I actually prefer the irregular edges because they make the flower look softer and less manufactured.

You could also simply tear or gently distress some of the edges by hand.

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since my cluster was 80% intentionally i decided to fold my paper in half and outline a leaf that i later wiggled cut edges and lightly stained with my oxide pad to add a bit different color

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My favorite way is to display them in the low container all over the house

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The Finished Book Page Hydrangea

And that is it. A pile of old book pages becomes a beautiful oversized hydrangea-style flower with tons of texture and personality.

I love projects like this because there really is no perfect way to make them. Yours may end up rounder, wider, tighter or even more wonky than mine — and that is exactly the fun of it.

I can already see these tucked into a vintage bowl, added to a wreath, displayed on top of old books or grouped together into a full book-page bouquet.

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Never underestimate what you can make from an old book page.

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See other flowers idea below

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Save This Book Page Hydrangea for Later

Love this idea? Save the pin below to your favorite Pinterest board so you can easily find this book page hydrangea tutorial when you’re ready to make one.