If youve ever purchased flowers, crosses and other memorials for gravestones you know how expensive they can be. On top of that you always have to select from what they have - unless you want to pay even more. Thats not the case when you make the memorials yourself. Make many different types of memorials for gravestones by starting with a piece of Styrofoam.
You can purchase small or large Styrofoam slabs or shapes just by visiting your local craft store. Purchasing the slabs will allow you to easily make crosses and other shapes by cutting it yourself. Purchasing shapes like crosses, already cut, can be much more expensive than cutting it yourself.
There are many ways to create the pattern for a cross or other shape. Draw it freehand or trace it from a coloring book. Use a cross you already own to make a pattern or just draw one on a piece of paper and use it that as a pattern. Bunches of silk flowers, with wires attached, makes it easy to cover the cross - or other shape - with the flowers of your choice. Discount department stores are one source for inexpensive flowers that you can add to the memorial. Purchase the flowers by the bunch and cover the cross completely by simply pushing the wire of each flower into the Styrofoam cross. You dont necessarily have to create a cross as a memorial. You can shape the Styrofoam into words like "Mother", "Dad", or "Angel". You decide on the basic shape you want then follow the steps to adding the foliage and flowers. Add the flowers to the front side and the outside of the shape but not to the backside. Instead of cutting Styrofoam into shapes you can also start out with a simple piece of screen. Lay the screen on a flat surface and use chalk to write a word or phrase onto the screen. The wording should be in the center of the screen. Start by using a particular color of flowers to add to the screen and spell out the name or phrase. Surround the wording with a different color of flowers. For example, spell out "Mom" and fill it with red flowers. Fill the remaining areas of the screen with white flowers. This will make the word "Mom" stand out from afar. Of course, you choose the colors you want to use. Make a different plaque for each holiday or occasion simply by using colors related to that holiday. Use red, white and green flowers for Christmas, green and yellow for Easter, or even black and orange for Halloween. With the plaques costing so little to make, and with these crafts being so easy to create, youll have no problem creating one for each new occasion. There are many other things you can use to make the memorials. Instead of flowers you can use pieces of plastic. Stick them to the Styrofoam with glue or to the screen by stuffing the center of the plastic into one of the holes. When finished you can glue a solid piece of plastic onto the backside. Trash bags are one way you can use plastic to fill in the holes of the screen for your new design. If you visit a loved one at the cemetery often take one of these homemade creations with you. Theyre easy to make and wont set you back a small fortune. In fact, you can make the screen versions for next to nothing. Look at yard sales and flea markets for silk flowers and greenery to help make your memorial. You can save money and be able to make many different designs. Online auctions are another good source for purchasing bunches of inexpensive faux flowers. While there search for bows, ribbons and other embellishments.
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