22 May 2022

Flowers: Pressed and Framed

Nice to be with you today!

I love flowers! They have always been a muse for my work. From card making, wreath assembly, floral arranging, embroidery, block printing, and gift wrapping, there's usually some kind of floral element present. 

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That is why when the springtime months come around, I'm out in the park gathering fresh flowers. One of my favorites is this fragrant lilac bush.

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I keep them in a plastic container to maintain their shape until I get home.

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Then I position them between sheets of scrap paper and cardboard then place them in a flower press (an old book works just as well but you may need to weigh this down with a heavier book).

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After two weeks, I check on my flowers to see if all moisture has evaporated... 

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...and that they are flat.

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There are certainly many applications for these pressed flowers like cards and jewelry. Today, I am going to frame them. I want to use the different flowers that I collected.

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Lay them out on dark colored paper and once satisfied, apply a small amount of acid-free glue at the back of each flower with a small paintbrush.  Lightly press the flowers onto the paper.

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Allow the glue to dry for several hours.

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Then I put this in an old frame...TADA! This is a nice way to remember a season that has passed.  It also makes a beautiful gift allowing these pressed flowers to last for years to come.

Instead of just letting the flowers wither, I turned them from "blah to TADA!" 

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2 comments:

  1. Your framed flowers turned out lovely, Claire! There are a lot of wild painted daisies around here (in northern Texas). I bet they would also be beautiful pressed and framed.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you as always, Priscilla! I would love to see those painted daisies!

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