what I'm getting for Christmas

I don't know about you, but I'm getting the glory of God for Christmas.

My youngest takes after his Dad so much, especially in his passion for giving carefully selected, thoughtful gifts to those he loves.

The other day, with a sparkle in his eye, and a sincere look on his small handsome face, he announced to me that he is giving me the "glory of God" for Christmas.

Wow... Really?
"Yes Mommy, the glory of God."

Since then, when I get crabby or fed up with the slushy, sticky, dirty, or crumbly mess my kids have just made, my young one says, "The glory of God, Mom, remember I'm giving you the glory of God."

What is the glory of God? I'm not exactly sure - but I've heard it said that God's glory is everything that makes up God; His authority, power, and sovereignty. I also know that the Psalms mention God's glory a lot, and Pslam 19 says , "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands."

Is a little first grader really going to give me the glory of God for Christmas? I highly doubt it. But the great thing is, I am getting it for Christmas. And so are you. God himself has blessed us with it, in the gift of His son. Emmanuel=God with us. We get God, and His glory. He gave us the gift of Himself. Isn't it ironic that this gift that comes from a child?

Gifts for Gardeners

I am thrilled and honored to be among the Botanical Art sites chosen in Kathy Purdy’s article on “Gifts for Gardeners”

Kathy writes the very informative “Cold weather Gardening Blog” as well as a new blog entitled “Blogging Art and Practice which contains good information for those of us still trying to get the hang of blogging.

Kathy is also an accomplished photographer and the beautiful flower pictures on her gardening blog transport me right back to my garden in July. That’s a great place to be this time of year in Wisconsin!

free organic reading material

A $23.94 value! Stonyfield organic yogurt is really good (I like the lowfat vanilla), and they are offering a free one year subscription to Organic Gardening magazine, when you collect 4 specially marked yogurt container lids. Bless their hearts! Hurry, you only have until the end of next month.

chasmanthium latfolium

Have you started to think about next year's garden yet? I have. I generally don't allow myself to look at the shiny new garden catalogs until I've got my Christmas cards written...but I gave myself permission for one quick peek, and then an hour later...

At any rate, the picture at the right is a quick scan I took of an awesome, but under-utilized ornamental grass called Northern Sea Oats. I like to use them in my botanical art and pressed flower cards because they're beautiful, but better yet, the unusual seed heads are perfectly flat - no pressing needed!

They start out a beautiful spring green, mature to a rich sage green, and finally turn an impressive bronze color in the fall. I have them planted in one of my flower gardens, and they do a wonderful job screening a hose I keep there. They also keep their color well, making them perfect for dried flower arrangements.

Northern Sea Oats aren't always easy to find, but they are beginning to show up in seed and garden catalogs now and then. Keep an eye out for them - and if you can't find them in your catalogs, try Ebay in the spring.

time marches on

I have crow’s feet. Crinkly wrinkles radiating from the outside corners of my eyes.

On Friday, I met with two good friends, for our semi-annual get-together at Panera. We’ve known each other since grade school, and times flies when we get together and catch each other up on our lives. At one point, while we were in the midst of a good laugh, I was surprised to see my two friends had pretty noticeable crow’s feet when they laughed. I smugly breathed a prayer of thanks that I don’t have those yet.

Well, my delusion didn’t last long.

That night, while brushing my teeth, I smiled broadly into the mirror, just to confirm my earlier conclusion. What I saw horrified me. I have crow’s feet. Huge, canyon-like wrinkles that come out of nowhere when I smile. Rats. I guess I never really smile at myself when looking at the mirror.

Jimmy Buffet (of all people) once said that wrinkle will only go where the smiles have been. I guess if wrinkles are a result of smiles, I’ll take smiles over smooth skin.

I really, really should be doing anything but surfing the web this morning...I'm not even sure how I got here but wanted to share an intriguing artist's site with you.
Bonnie Ferrill Roman creates the most amazing works of art out of handmade paper, branches, leaves, seedpods, etc.

In her artist statement, she shares. "...it is my hope that viewers will discover with in these abstracts something resonates with a remembered experience or inspires an insight. They are intended to communicate at a deeper level than what is possible with language."

Wow. That's exactly what her work did - in me. Check out her site, and see what you think. She is definitely someone I would like to learn more about.

Happy Giving Thanks

Years ago when I was of a more cynical mind, I got so tired of the syrupy talk of gratitude around Thanksgiving time… but now I have a very different attitude. If you are a believer in God and His Word (the Bible) like I am, we are commanded to be thankful in each and every circumstance. It’s mandatory.

Thankfully, being thankful just happens to be beneficial, both psychologically and physically. WebMD says so, and if you have some spare time you can check out the 1,880,000 entries listed under “benefits of gratitude” according to Google.

How can one cultivate a grateful heart? I’m still working on this myself, but I think one of the keys lies in the words Viktor Frankel. Back in college I had the privilege of hearing him speak. He was a Jewish Austrian existentialist who was a prisoner for three years in concentration camps (mostly in Auschwitz).

His wife and mother died. But in the midst of his suffering he came to the conclusion that a person can choose his attitude in each and every situation. According to Frankel, “everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."

So we can choose to be thankful in every situation - we can make it a habit. It can be our default attitude, if we choose to make it so. I'm thankful for Thanksgiving - it reminds me to keep working on this! Happy Giving Thanks to you.

Ocean Art

Today's post has nothing to do with plants, for once!
My friend Bonnie from the Antioch Fine Arts Foundation
(the gallery I belong to) has been accepted into the prestigious Milwaukee Public Television Channel 10 Holiday Art Show to be held this coming weekend.

Bonnie loves diving (even with sharks, which concerns me) and her passion for the hidden beauty under the surface of the sea really shines through in her ocean art.

Bonnie and I are both trying to find our way in the world of marketing our art, and we enjoy bouncing our ideas off of each other. Lately we've been discussing a very interesting CD called "Dynamic Sales and Customer Service Techniques - for Artists" by Bruce Baker. Some of his ideas are very basic, but as an artist who has sold his work for many years, he shares some very valuable and even surprising insights. I'm looking forward to hearing how Bonnie puts some of these techniques into practice at her show this weekend. Good luck Bonnie!

Windy Day

This is one of my favorite recent pictures, and it will be on its way to the South Carolina coast tomorrow morning. I sometimes get attached to my pictures, and I'm a bit sorry to see this one go. Wind symbolizes the Holy Spirit in the Bible, and I love how this picture reminds me of how the H.S. actually moves us and has a true spiritual impact on our lives. I really hope this picture graces the walls of the new home it hangs in.

The kids are finally off to school today (after two days off for teacher's conferences) and I'm off to spend the day in my studio - I know that may sound glamorous, but it's actually just my basement. I'm down to only two pieces of unsold pressed flower art on my website, and really need to build up my portfolio for some upcoming shows.

leaf casting with recycled paper pulp

Several weeks ago I made a paper casting of one of my 36 inch elephant ear leaves, and I am so thrilled with how it turned out. (Unlike the elephant ear I tried to press!) Using recycled paper pulp (discarded printer paper paper I shredded, soaked, and blended), I placed the leaf vein side up on a mound of sand in our sandbox, and carefully applied about a 1/2 layer of the pulp.
I mixed some sand into the pulp to enhance the texture, and in order to make the paper casting rigid, I added several tablespoons of carboxymethylcellulose. "CMC", which reportedly "promotes fiber to fiber bonding and gives needed strength to paper castings", and I'm happy to say it worked! My leaf turned out extremely strong and rigid, and my kids insist that I've created a fossil.
I haven't painted it yet - I'm almost afraid to, because I'm afraid of ruining it. Maybe one of these days I'll get brave.

How to make pressed flower cards

I frequently get asked by readers and customers how I make my pressed flower cards, and I’ve always been happy to share about my techniques on my l blog, or via personal emails.

But, after making my cards the same way for years and years, I recently completely changed my technique.

I’ve told many of you that I have tried a number of adhesives, and that I swear by Elmer’s Glue. Well, not any more. Now only use Perfect Paper Adhesive.

Also, I never protected the pressed flowers on my cards. I assumed the handmade paper I mounted my flowers on would be sturdy enough to get them through the mail.

I’ve changed my mind. Now, I always protect my pressed flower cards with a thin application of a tough, flexible, UV resistant and acid free sealant. It’s barely perceptible and it makes me pressed flower cards as tough as nails. Conveniently, the sealant I use just happens to be the adhesive I use: Perfect Paper Adhesive.

I wrote about my discovery of Perfect Paper Adhesive(PPA) just a few weeks ago, and soon after I was contacted by the maker of PPA, and invited to sell it on my website. I was thrilled! So now, you can purchase Perfect Paper Adhesive at Elizabeth's Flowers, if you’re interested. And, if you’d like to check it out, I’ve re-written my tutorial on “How to Make Pressed Flower Cards”.

Happy creating!

Pesto time

The kids and I went to what we call "the mushroom store" yesterday - it's a cute little store down the road featuring Wisconsin grown produce, specialty cheeses, and their own delectable mushrooms, and pasta sauces.
We like going because the store is known for its generosity in providing free samples. Yum! One of the samples we had was pesto butter on a small chunk of french bread...out of this world! I made quite a few batches of pesto this year, but not any pesto butter. Why don't we do that this afternoon? If you have a few scraggly bushes of basil still hanging around in your garden, why don't you join me. Here's a recipe:
Basil Butter

• 4.5 cups loosely packed basil leaves
• 1/3 cup pine nuts
• 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter

Directions:

In a food processor: use the steel blade to finely mince garlic. Add basil and process until finely chopped. Add pine nuts and Parmesan; process until coarsely chopped. Blend in butter. Store in the refrigerator for up to a week; freeze for longer storage. Serve at room temperature.

By the way, the mushroom store charged $4.25 for only 4 ounces of pesto butter. This recipe makes $8.50 worth of pesto butter!
Here's an interesting recipe that uses pesto butter.
Enjoy!

See you next year, God willing

As I type this the windows are rattling and I can feel a rumbling vibration under my feet. The farmer is harvesting the corn from the field bordering our backyard. I am not a farmer, but how great it is to experience a bit of the harvest up close.

Tomorrow night we’ll celebrate God’s Harvest as a family, and forgo the usual Halloween traditions. Tom and I will take the kids out to eat, and afterwards I’ll break out the candy corn, autumn colored M&M’s (I love those!) and we’ll talk about God’s many blessings to us.

I loved Halloween as a kid, and my brother and sister and I took trick or treating very seriously – it was an athletic event we practically trained for. My kids are aware of what they’re missing – they are certainly exposed to Halloween in the public school they go to. But, I think having a cornfield in our backyard and seeing the actual progression from barren ground, to seed, to seedling, to plant, to glorious huge golden cornstalk loaded with corn…helps them to see and feel the rhythm of God’s providence, His blessings. I know it has blessed me, and I'm grateful.

it's arts week!

I'm so excited that it's Arts Week! This week at Midday Connection, a daily program held on the Moody Broadcasting Network, they are exploring Christian faith and the arts, with a variety of authors, artists, and speakers.

Exploring how my art relates to my faith, and how my faith relates to my art... and how I can use my art to glorify God has on my heart for a long time.

*Listen to the Arts Week programs anytime here.
*Interested in learning more about Arts and Faith? Check out the Arts Week suggested reading page
I am going to start out with Francis Schaeffer's "Art in the Bible". Join me!

you never know...

This is a bee balm flower that I pressed earlier this summer in the Microfleur. I never thought of pressing bee balm, since it had such a bulky center...and I didn't have the heart to take them away from the hummingbirds. But, the hummingbirds must have been hanging out elsewhere this summer, so I tried pressing a few of them. What pleasant surprise! They look like fireworks! I'm thinking of making a large vertical collage with them...something dramatic and unusual.

Remember my elephant ear leaf pressing experiment awhile back? Well, that didn't go so well. The leaf turned brownish black and brittle, and had a bit of a mildew order. Perhaps I put too much pressure in the leaf? I'm not sure. I have one leaf left, and will try it again with less pressure to see if I'm right.

I also made a handmade paper leaf cast of one of the elephant ears, (one that was over a yard long!) and that turned out remarkably well. I took pictures and will show you that soon.

Part Two: Turning over a new leaf

Continued from previous post...
The next morning I accidentally stumbled upon a scrap- booking web site raving about something called “Perfect Paper Adhesive”. It was touted as a great adhesive, but also works as a flexible, strong matte sealer that just happens to be UV resistant, and it was reportedly safe on flowers. I jumped in the car and flew over to the nearest Michael’s, and by late afternoon I knew my dilemma was solved. It works great! Thankfully it’s completely non-toxic, and all I had to do was to apply a very thin coating over the flower, stem, and leaves with a soft brush. When it dries, it covers the botanicals in a barely perceptible, but tough, flexible film, that is amazingly durable. The pressed flowers on the cards can be stepped on, crumpled, folded, spilled on, (not that anyone should do these things to their handmade cards) and they remain intact! And what a blessing that it’s UV resistant as well!

This extra step is easy, but time consuming – partly in the application, but mostly in waiting for the cards to be completely dry before I can place them in cellophane wrappers or boxes. Because of the extra time needed, I will now be offering four cards in my boxes of pressed flower cards, instead of five…but I think the change will be worth it. My customers will be getting a much more reliable and higher quality product. Isn’t amazing that God cares about the little dilemmas in our lives, as well as the really important ones? I’m thankful.

Learn more about Perfect Paper Adhesive here.

Turning over a new leaf...

I make pressed flower cards.
I’ve been selling them for about five years now, first to friends and relatives, then at a local farmer’s market, and a few small craft fairs.

Today I sell most of them via Elizabeth's Flowers, to stores, galleries and individuals throughout the U.S., and a number of them even find their way to other parts of the world.

I have always taken pride in the fact that because I use heavyweight card stock, and mount the pressed flowers on my sturdy handmade paper, they are tough little cards and can make their way through the mail with out a problem. I was glad, because I don’t like the look of contact paper over the delicate flowers, I didn’t want to use messy Modge Podge, and I wasn’t about to laminate all my cards as some people do.

But… every once in awhile it came to my attention that one of my cards didn’t make it. Someone opened up a card, and a little cloud of pressed flower confetti fell into their lap. I must be a fluke, I told myself, for awhile.

Finally I came to the point of deciding not to make pressed flower cards anymore. I couldn’t guarantee that each one would reach their destinations intact, and I didn’t know how to remedy the situation in a way that wouldn’t detract from the beauty of the flowers. I said a quick prayer about this, not really expecting the God of the universe to care much about my card making dilemma, but wouldn’t you know it, I had my answer with in 24 hours.

To be continued…

Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
let them say among the nations, "The LORD reigns!"

That’s from 1 Chronicles 16:31, and isn’t that appropriate for this time of year?

I cringed when I saw the date of my last blog entry…I haven’t been meeting my goal of blogging 3x/week lately, have I?

Well, I’ve been busy enjoying this glorious season…not doing anything too important, but mainly just being outside during every spare moment in the midst of this fleeting season. I have been pressing last minute flowers and even long blades of grass so that I have plenty of slender “stems” to use for my pressed flower art during the winter. And, of course, I’ve begun my search for the brightest and best autumn leaves to press, along with my kids. Our search gets quite competitive, but it yields some of the most incredible leaves.

Speaking of being competitive, I finally posted my first blog “Give Away” after some prodding from a few friends, and then I forgot to announce the winners! Remember my ornamental pepper seed give away a week or so ago? Well, I feel bad about not following through on that, so I declare everyone a winner! Anyone who e-mails me their address by October 26^th will get a few seeds from my stunning orange and purple pepper plant. Just go to the contact page of either one of my websites to find my e-mail address.

I will be putting the “rejoice” picture up on my etsy soon. Enjoy autumn!

Selling our art

I regularly read artist Luann Udell’s blog – it’s witty, sometimes a bit sarcastic, but more often than not, very, very practical for those of us trying to be artists.

Lately she’s been blogging about creating good booth displays (and how to avoid bad booth displays) for the upper end art shows she tends to do. It’s been interesting, but a bit out of my league. However, yesterday she blogged about a recent visit to a small local craft fair (the kind I tend to do) and her observations in regards to how the booths were set up, how items were displayed, and how people acted in their booths.

She holds the stick pretty high since she is primarily familiar with "cream of the crop" expensive shows, but she points out many correctable omissions that I know I’m guilty of in my usual booth set up. Take signs for example. I usually print out a few price signs in a rush as I’m packing for a show, but rarely go beyond that. But why not go beyond that, and actually highlight your creation’s uniqueness, its usefulness… give your customer a reason to take a closer look at it. According to Luann, our signage needs to quickly tell “our story” for our customers. I know mine doesn’t.

She also briefly covers lighting, and display set up, but I especially loved her advice on how to talk to customers. Most customers go to a show prepared to buy something, but they need a bit of encouragement to buy… permission to buy, in a sense. We need to be able to talk about our creations intelligently – not in a pushy way, but in a way that conveys our love for our art, and allows them to love it too. I know this is easier said than done, but its definitely food for thought.

I know several of you are beginning to sell your work as well. Go check out Luann’s article, and hopefully we can all improve our booths and selling techniques this year.

Art Classes!

The Antioch Fine Arts foundation has just released its Fall and Winter Class schedule for students of all ages. If you live in the Antioch, Illinois area, you will want to check these classes out. I will be teaching my Basics in Paper Making workshop at the Gallery once again.
If you don't live in northern IL or southern WI, I have some great art classes for you as well - and they're free!
http://www.artyfactory.com/index.html
http://www.artpromote.com/onlineclass.shtml
As soon as my flower pressing chores slow down after the first hard freeze, I intend to take a good color theory class or two.

Remember, you can register for the seed drawing giveaway until Sunday. Have a good weekend!

Unusual Seed Give Away!

This is a close up of my “Trifetti” ornamental pepper plant.

I originally received the Trifetti seeds years ago when pregnant with my first child. Kenosha County was conducting a research project and they were offering free seeds for gardeners who agreed to grow them according to their directions, and then fill out a series of questionnaires regarding the progress of the plants, how easy they were to grow, etc. Well, soon after I planted the seeds I had my daughter, and in the midst of adjusting to life with a newborn I never did fill out any of the surveys, and I still feel guilty about it to this day!

This is one of my all time favorite plants, even though there is nothing worth pressing on this plant! The leaves are a confetti mixture of green, purple, and a bit of cream, and the peppers are even more amazing. They start out as beautiful deep purple blossoms, which turn into small purple peppers…but not for long. They soon turn cherry red, and finally a fiery deep orange. I never fail to get compliments on this unusual plant, which does equally well in containers as it does tucked into my herb or vegetable gardens. I sometimes even put a plant or two in my flower gardens for a burst of unexpected color.

In a vain attempt to rectify my lack of filling out those surveys years ago, I am offering a packet of free Tri-fetti Ornamental Seeds to one of my four beloved readers. No strings attached. Just leave a comment, and I’ll draw a name next week. Enjoy!

Monday Mornings at Bodi’s

One of the things I’m finally realizing that I need to do in order for my pressed flower “mini business” to be successful, is to PLAN. I have always prided myself on being spontaneous, but I’m finding that trying to get by on a wing and a prayer is not effective.

The woman talked about in Proverbs 31 is a woman to admire. She had several “mini businesses” on the side and “she saw that her trading was profitable”. In fact, her ventures were so profitable that she was able to buy a vineyard out of her earnings. I would love that! A nice vineyard in the Sonoma Valley…

Back to reality. Being highly productive and effective takes planning. Long and short term goals that have are the result of much thought, thorough review of relevant facts, and prayer.

So now that the kids are back in school, I spend an hour of my Monday morning drinking Chai Tea at Bodi’s Bakery in Twin Lakes, with my Franklin Planner spread out on the table before me, and a prayer in my heart as I plan my months, weeks, and days.

This post reminds me that last year I came across a helpful series on a blog that talks about highly effective habits for women, and planning was one of them. You might want to check it out when you have the time.

leaf mates

Yesterday I spent quite a bit of time working with pressed autumn leaves, trying to make a leaf collage picture that I would be able to donate to the art gallery I belong to for our annual silent auction coming up in a few weeks. Autumn leaf collages have always been popular with my customers, but I find them so hard to make! I select, and reselect many different kinds leaves that I've pressed, and then I arrange, and rearrange over and over until finally, just when I'm about to give up, I am blessed with an "aha" moment. A masterpiece! Well, not quite, but it is such a joy when something finally comes together.

Yesterday I was aiming for a large, bold composition that would encompass a wide variety of different leaves, with varied colors and shapes. It didn't happen. Something simple occurred instead. Why? I'm not sure. I believe that creativity is a gift from our Creator, but who knows why a certain picture happens one day, and a different one the next. I would love to gain more insight on that. One thing I do know: my art is a celebration of His work, and my hope is that it glorifies Him.

I really like this picture. I may just hang onto it awhile and make something else for the silent auction. I wonder what kind of picture I'll make next...

This is how I feel...

We are getting a new roof today. It's so NOISY! I'm having trouble concentrating on my art, so I might as well make this a cleaning day. But, this afternoon I'm going to take a quick break to do this paper box making workshop at Etsy at 3:00 EST. I wish I could have shared this with you earlier, but a friend just called it my attention. If you miss the workshop, there is a picture tutorial here.

Free!

Today is another resource day – I want to share with you some more of my favorite free internet resources that I’ve found helpful for my pressed flower business.

Number one on my list today is Google – what would I do with out it? As a search engine, it is phenomenal. With it, you can find anything on the web! I find the best deals on cardstock, envelopes, framing materials, printer ink, and shipping materials. I can check out my competition, and find information on any topic I want to know about. I have never taken a class in papermaking or pressing flowers. I have learned 95% of what I know from reading whatever I can about them on the internet. For free! I love it.

I also make use of the free webmaster tools that Google offers, which have helped my web sites perform better in the search engines, which is key for good internet sales. And, recently I’ve been making use of Google Alerts, to learn more about certain topics I’m interested in. Simply go to the Google News page, and sign up for an alert on any topic. Then, you’ll receive an email alert whenever anything is published on the web or in a blog about that topic. I have Google Alerts on my domain names to alert me to new incoming links, and on pressed flowers, cooking with herbs and using handmade paper.

A word of caution: as amazing and helpful as Google is, it may occasionally lead you down a seamy path. Be ready to hit the back button in case you end up some place you shouldn’t be.

Another wonderful web resource is http://www.about.com/
What a fascinating site – one could get lost on there for days. I have found a lot of helpful information on website design, setting up and maintaining a small business, how to do any craft imaginable, blogging, computer maintenance, desktop publishing, cooking techniques, and on and on. Amazing. And it’s free!

One last resource that I’d like to recommend to you is http://www.flylady.net/
It’s kind of a wacky site, but I have found it very helpful for getting my house in order. The “Fly Lady” is touted as being “your personal online coach to help you gain control of your house.” Through barrages of email, she takes you on a journey of tackling your house “zone by zone” and helps you set up a daily, weekly, and monthly cleaning and organization plan that really works. Like I said, the site and her approach are a bit wacky, but I like the results I’ve achieved. I needed direction in this area, and her ideas have given me the structure I needed. My dear husband is very much a “neatie”, and when we decided that I would embark on my home business, I agreed to keep our home neat and orderly. Well, I’m not normally neat and organized, and I’ve failed more often than not in the past. But since I’ve realized that I need to pray about this area of my life, and since I made a commitment to keep on track with the Fly Lady, I am doing so much better.

We certainly blessed to have so many resources at our fingertips.

In the beginning...

Years ago, with 3 little ones under the age of 4, I saw two T.V. programs that nudged me onto a new path.

While drowning in a sea of tippy cups and toddler toys, I saw Lynette Jennings on the Discovery Channel make paper. Amazing! It looked so easy. And cheap! All I needed was a kitchen blender, and some type of frame with a screen. I was on it.

Then, I saw Rebecca, from a show called “Rebecca’s Garden” press flowers with some type of microwave flower press. The flowers were stunning. Maybe I could put them on handmade paper…

So, I began with an improvised paper making kit, and a Microfleur Flower Press and those are still the primary tools I use. And here I am today, blessed with a small but hopefully growing pressed flower/botanical art business that started with a little inspiration lots of Divine Intervention, and a few other blessings along the way.

One of the first blessings was Anne Post of Preserved Gardens. Soon after I began making pressed flower cards, I came across her amazing pressed flower site and discovered that she had a free Pressed Flower Store, where she graciously allowed pressed flower artists show and offer their work directly to the customer right on her website. After I sold a number of cards via her site, I gingerly ventured into web retailing on my own. I created my own site with Yahoo’s Sitebuilder, and eventually purchased my own domain, http://www.elizabeths-flowers.com/

By the way, if you ever need to know ANYTHING about pressed flowers, check out Preserved Gardens. That has been my primary pressed flower information resource through the years, and I still refer to it every now and then. Anne also has comprehensive reviews on pressed flower books on her site you may want to check out. Another good resource is the World Wide Pressed Flower Guild. I am not currently a member, but I was at one time, and learned a lot. There is also a pressed flower group on Yahoo that has some fairly good information on pressing flowers in their archives.

This post is getting a bit long, and I have to get a few orders ready to ship. I’ll be back…

This is fun!

This is an image I just made – via a monochrome photographic printing process.
What does that really mean? I’ll explain: I started with a specially treated fabric square, from the leaf petals botanical print fabric kit. I placed a fern on top of it, and put it outside in the bright sun for ten minutes. Then, I took it inside, and rinsed it thoroughly, and was left with this stunning blue print image of a fern. Isn’t that incredible?
I love these kinds of things!

This image is called a cyanotype, which was an early photographic process. It was used by Anna Atkins; one of the first woman photographers, in the late 1800’s to create some stunning books on ferns and other plants.

The weather forecast for today is bright and sunny, not a cloud in the sky. Guess what I’ll be doing this afternoon?

Mega Botanical Press

If you are one of my three regular readers (bless your heart!), you may remember my "How does one press this?" post where I discovered alocasia (elephant ear) leaves. I was determined to grow them here in Wisconsin, so that I could try pressing their remarkable leaves.
Well, so far, so good! The alocasia bulb I bought has thrived, and the foliage has been spectacular. The picture above is the first leaf I harvested, along with my improvised press. The wood is actually laminated shelving (approx. 18" x 24"), and I've used large pieces of fiber fill quilt padding and felt as the filler.
To hold the press together, I've used ratchet clamps, which can be made tighter as the leaf shrinks.
I'm guessing that it will take about two weeks until the leaf is fully dry. I hope it works. Stay tuned!

leaf petals

A few weeks ago I quietly launched my second website, called leaf petals. At this point it’s still a small site, but I’m excited about it because it will enable me to eventually branch out in other “botanical” areas I’m interested in, such as nature printing, botanical cyanotype prints, and it’s a good venue to showcase my new line of cards called “leaf mosaics.”

By having another site, I won’t be “diluting” Elizabeth’s Flowers with non-pressed flower items; therefore it will hopefully (God willing) continue to rank well in Google for pressed flower cards, art, etc. Do you have a website you’re working on? One day next week I’ll be blogging about how I got started in my web business, and will share some valuable online resources that proved to be wonderful blessings to me along the way. In the meantime, have a quick peek at leaf petals!

Oshibana

Thursday nights are “my nights." I am off limits to all kids, husband, and pets once the supper dishes have been cleared, and I set up my laptop in the living room, grab two or three diet cherry 7-ups, and “work” on the computer until the wee hours of the morning. Sometimes I do much needed updates on my web sites and answer e-mails, but more often than not I do what I like to call “necessary marketing research." I surf.

Last night I came across this site while googling “oshibana” which is the Japanese art of making pictures with pressed plants. If you click your way through the menu down the center of the page, you’ll see quite a refreshing array of pressed flower art. I don’t really care to make pictures with pressed plants as the oshibana purists do, (I prefer a more “botanical” art style), but I admire the amazing talent and creativity of these artists.

This is the picture that I found most the inspiring on the site. I love how they put a translucent orchid on top of what looks to be a poem. That gives me an idea…

See, “necessary marketing research” is a valuable way to spend one’s Thursday night. Try it sometime.

The lazy rainy days of August

We are having the most unusual August in my corner of Wisconsin. Sadly much of Wisconsin remains in drought conditions, but the southern border where I live has been skimmed by an almost continual parade of heavy rain storms over the past month. My yard is as lush as it is in May – the grass is a dazzling emerald green, when usually by this time it is a tired brownish “army green.” The most spectacular result of all this rain is the corn. The cornfield that borders my backyard towers above us and, according to the paper, has reached record heights. It’s as if there is a tall green living wall fencing us in.

I’ve been doing a bit more internet surfing lately (which I blame on the rain) and came across a wonderfully inspiring site dripping with creativity. I’ve only begun to explore it, but I wanted to share it with you – just in case it’s raining where you are too.

http://practicallycreative.net/ Be creative today!

The red poppies above are one of three pressed flower pictures I recently created for a customer, in honor of her new baby.

Over 50 Ways to Use Pressed Flowers

Here are 52 ways to use pressed flowers:

1. art
2. jewelry

Use pressed flowers to decorate:

3. knobs/dresser hardware
4. night lights
5. handmade paper
6. trivets
7. paper weights
8. decorative bird house
9. antique watering can
10. decorative plaques

Read about 42 more ways to use pressed flowers!

It's time to make herb butter!

If you haven’t done so already, now is the time to make herb butter. If you’ve never had herb butter before, I promise you – you are in for a treat!

Using herb butter really kicks a person’s cooking skills up a notch. I use herb butter on cooked vegetables - even corn on the cob, fish, pasta, grilled chicken or steak, and of course on really on really good bread. I also use a pat in the pan when cook omelets, or for sautéing different things such as shrimp.

Harvest your herbs in the morning after the dew has dried, gently wash them and allow them to dry. You can carefully blot them dry with a towel, or place them in a salad spinner to speed things along.

Here’s a very basic recipe for herb butter to get you started:

Herb Butter
makes about 1/2 cup (equivalent of 1 stick)

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature (you may use regular, salted butter if you wish, just eliminate the sea salt)
1/4 cup finely chopped mixed herbs (such as basil, thyme, sage, parsley, dill, chives, tarragon, oregano, marjoram or rosemary)
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients. Mix well until herbs are distributed evenly. Place mixed butter on a piece of waxed paper or parchment, shape into a cylinder or disk, and seal ends by twisting. Chill in refrigerator until firm, at least an hour.

Herb butter keep in refrigerator for about 2 weeks and in the freezer for several months.

Here are some of my favorite herb butter combinations:

*Italian: oregano, basil, parsley and chives

*Chives and parsley: especially great for steak, or baked potatoes

* Pesto butter: just basil, with a bit of grated parmesan cheese - absolutely decadent on tortellini pasta!

* Dill and parsley: wonderful on green beans, and other veggies.

* all purpose: I use just about all my herbs – chives, basil, oregano, thyme, parsley, tarragon, rosemary, and a tiny bit of sage.

Here’s one more hint for you. For the ultimate herb butter, use fancy European butter. In my grocery store I can sometimes find Irish or Scandinavian butter. Herb butter made with these decadent butters is out of this world, and is worthy of your best home baked sourdough bread.

Do you have a favorite way to use herb butter?

Forever

Isaiah 40:8

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.

It’s true. The flowers will soon be gone, and the green grass as well. How comforting to know that God and His Word will never fade.

Speaking of God's word – want to get to know it better? You should.

There is a simple yet very effective scripture memory tool called: BibleMemory.us
Sign up, and you’ll receive a daily email with a personal link to the verse of the week.
The first day you just read the verse, but then the following day one of the words is missing, and you need to fill in the blank. On consecutive days you eventually fill in more and more of the blanks, until you have learned the entire verse. It’s really a fun and painless way to learn scripture!

Above is a picture of one of my new blank botanical journals. This one has an orange osteospermum on my handmade grass paper.

An Herbal Arrangement

Here’s one last short but sweet entry today for the “Flowers in the Home” series: Herbal Arrangements.

I grew herbs in my garden for years, but rarely used them. Often times I would be just about done preparing a meal when I realized that I could have put some basil in this, or thyme in that, or chives on this. A few years ago, I came upon an article in a magazine which had pictures of small bowls of snipped herb bouquets – they were adorable, and I immediately made one of my own. The whole point of the article was that if you keep a fresh herb bouquet in your kitchen, not only does it look inviting, you will be much more likely to incorporate herbs into your cooking.

Here’s how to do it:

* Select a colorful variety of herbs: basil, oregano, a bit of sage, thyme, chives, and any other herb that’s that you might have. If you grow nasturtiums, their edible flowers would add a wonderful burst of color. If you don’t have your own herbs, fresh herbs from the produce department, or farmer’s market will do just fine.

* Wash the herbs well, and gently shake off the excess water.

* Select a small bowl, add cool water and place the herbs inside. A vase could also be used, but it is easier to gently tug a sprig or two of herbs from a loose arrangement in a bowl, than a tighter arrangement from a vase.

* Keep the bowl on your kitchen counter by day, and place it in the refrigerator at night. Change the water daily, and the herbs will stay fresh for days. Replace with new sprigs as needed. Don’t throw away old sprigs, put them in the garbage disposal enjoy their delightful scent.

Now, don’t forget to use them! I’m off to enjoy an omelet with fresh basil and chives.

It's been fun to be a part of the 2007 Finishing School this week. I'm grateful for the opportunity, and hope you've been inspired to bring more of God's beauty into your home.

"...the beauty of each blossom speaks silently of God's love..."

Flowers in the Home

Yesterday we looked at making table centerpieces, and today in our “Flowers in the Home” series we will look at ways to bring flowers/plants into other areas of our home.

Although it’s not a flower, one of my favorite ways to bring “the outside in” is with ivy –it’s almost indispensable. I have a regular, common ivy plant, as well as a variegated type, and one with larger heart shaped leaves, and use them all through out my house. Since ivy cuttings can survive for months in water, I place cuttings in decorative glass bottles or small vases and place them anywhere a touch of green freshness is needed, such as in the bathroom, on my computer desk, in my studio, and even in a gloomy corner of a large bookshelf. Once a cutting develop a copious amount of roots, pot it up (and give it to a friend), toss it in the compost pile, or in the spring, they can be added to your container plantings.

Another beneficial plant (with flowers this time) is the scented geranium (see above picture). They can be somewhat difficult to find, and a little pricey, but worth every penny. There are many varieties, but the rose scented varieties are among the best. Place one on the front step, or anywhere someone can brush against it and release its wonderful scent as they pass by. The leaves can be dried and used in potpourri, or pressed and used to scent stationary.

This is kind of off today’s topic, but I also wanted to mention a few strategies to use when buying flowers from the florist, since many of us aren’t blessed with flowers in our gardens year round. The most important thing I’ve learned is this: make friends with your local florist! Florists often have to guess the needs of their customers at any given point in time, and often times they have too much of this, or that. Once your florist gets to know you, they likely will be willing to give you special deals on their extra flowers.

When buying flowers from the florist, carnations are always a smart buy. If the water is changed at least every other day, and you occasionally re-cut the bottom of their stems at an angle, they will last up to 3 weeks. Also, don’t overlook foliage. I bought some large pieces of “silver leaf” eucalyptus from my florist last winter, and it lasted well over two months – and it looked very dramatic in my entrance way.

Finally, edit your bouquets as needed. As one type of flower fades, replace them with other flowers, or remove them and place the remaining flowers in a smaller vase – it will look like you have a brand new bouquet!

Tomorrow: Fragrant Herbal Arrangements

Flowers in the Home: Centerpieces and Place Settings

Today’s “Flowers in the Home” Installment features a random list of centerpiece and place setting ideas. If you have an idea of your own, please feel free to share it with us!

Table Centerpieces

- should basically be fragrance free
- relatively short: below each person’s eye level
- should not to be too expansive – to avoid overcrowding the table.

A few ideas:

- Seasonal fruit or vegetables, or even large seed pods, in a decorative bowl: there can be a colorful variety of items, or a monochromatic look (i.e. a bowlful of lemons) is even more dramatic. For something really different, try some of the new and interesting winter squash varieties seen at your local farmer’s market.

- A series of small bouquets in unusual containers, going down the middle of the table, such as cans (see above picture) or tea cups.

- a basket of dried flowers, arranged as a bouquet, or with long stems tied together, lying in the basket.

- a clear glass bowl, with several flower blossoms floating on top.

- a large handful of dried grasses or grains, cut the same length, about 8”-10”and tied together with a decorative ribbon. If you twist the stems in the same direction before tying them, they kind of flare out like a fan and should stand up on their own.

Individual Place Setting Embellishments:

By placing individual vases or place cards at every plate, you help each person feel welcome and valued.

- Pick up some inexpensive glass votive candle holders from the dollar store, and place a single elegant flower in each “personal vase”. Or, an ivy sprig, or several colorful hosta or heuchera leaves.

- Create individual place cards. For each person, fold a small white index card in half, write their name on the card, and embellish with a pressed flower . If you need a really good flower press, you can find one here, or here. (Shameless plug).

- In the fall, press large, colorful leaves in a phone book about a week or so before you need them (or use the flower press mentioned above). Once pressed, write each person’s name on the leave with a good quality gold, bronze, or copper metallic marker, and place a leaf on each person’s plate. This was a big hit at our house last year at Thanksgiving. By the way, pressed leaves also look nice discreetly taped on a mirror in the entrance way, or on a front door window.

- Finally, browse through Better Homes and Gardens, or a similar women’s magazine. They are loaded with examples of centerpieces – even the advertisements!

Growing a Cutting Garden

Many gardeners grow flowers to create fresh bouquets for their homes, or to give away to friends, but they also want to be able to enjoy the beauty of their garden itself. In my case, I need to be able to harvest many of my flowers for my pressed flower business. Can one have it both ways?

Well, yes and no. The ideal solution is to have a cutting garden – a utilitarian flower garden dedicated solely to the production of flowers.

A cutting garden is ideally placed in a side yard or someplace generally out of site. Because this is a production garden, design correctness isn’t as important as making sure flowers are placed as close together as they can tolerate, and that they receive an optimal amount of daily sunshine.

Set up your cutting garden as you would any garden, in a well drained location with plenty of peat moss and soil amendments as. I use my vegetable garden as my primary cutting and pressed flower garden. Some of the flowers weave in and out of the vegetables, and the flowers end up beautifying the vegetable garden, yet they aren’t missed when I’ve cut them. If you have a separate dedicated space, plant your flowers in long narrow rows, for easy harvesting. It’s also a good ideas to plant annuals in succession, with early season, mid-season, and late season bloomers each grouped together – just read your seed packets to determine what blooms when. To encourage flower production, pick blossoms regularly. Remove faded blossoms (called deadheading) as this prevents them from forming seeds, which slows down flower production.

Your choice of what to plant is almost limitless, but as a rule, long-stemmed annuals and perennials make the best cut flowers. Include some foliage plants for texture and color in arrangements and floral bouquets.

Your local university extension office can give you a list tailored for your location, but here’s a brief list of flowers that I have found to work well here in Wisconsin.

Annuals: zinnia, cosmos, small sunflower, larkspur, calendula, pansies, statice, sweet pea, scabiosa, baby’s breath, strawflower, celosia, dianthus

Perennials: black-eyed Susan, yarrow, coneflower, huechera, delphinium, Russian sage, Shasta daily, foxglove, asters, and mums.

Foliage: hostas, artemisia (silver-leafed varieties), coleus, lavender, dusty miller, and lamb's ears.

In case you might be interested, here's a list of flowers that press well.

Tomorrow: Centerpieces and place settings.

Simple flower Arranging

I’d like to extend a warm welcome to our visitors from the online Finishing School today.

I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to cover the topic of Flowers in the Home, and today we’ll begin with simple flower arranging.

In all honesty, I believe flower arranging is something you are already good at. Even children are amazingly good at it, but I want to remind you of the basics and give you a few good tips along the way. And, remember that God has already made flowers incredibly beautiful.
All we have to do is gently place them in a different setting.

Types of Flowers: Tending toward the frugal side, I tend to use what I have readily available. Tomorrow I’ll cover cutting gardens, but use what is in abundance in your garden, in a nearby meadow, or whatever seems to be a good deal at the florist or supermarket. It’s also nice to have some greens of filler flowers to accent your primary flowers.

Vases and accessories: Anything that holds water is fair game. In addition to standard vases, I love using green Perrier water bottles, old lab ware, interesting votive holders, and mismatched china pieces such as sugar bowls or gravy boats. Use a clear vase or vessel when you are using flowers with beautiful, graceful stems, like calla lilies or tulips (see picture below).

Other tools: A knife, scissors, or shears that are really sharp (a sharp, even cut allows the flowers to absorb water and nutrients more efficiently). Also, floral foam and floral frogs are very useful for holding stems in just the right place. Personally, I usually prefer informal arrangements and rarely use them, but they are available from any good craft store. To keep stems in place when I’m in a hurry, I sometimes tie them together loosely with saran wrap.

Making your arrangement: After obtaining your flowers and selecting your vessel, remove any leaves that will fall below the waterline. This keeps the water and flowers fresher, longer. Also, re-cut the bottom of each flower stem on a diagonal just prior to placing them in the vase. I use floral food when I have it, and always pour a capful of hydrogen peroxide or a few drops of bleach into the water to help inhibit bacterial growth.

Next, think about what shape you would like your arrangement to be. Most arrangements tend to by pyramid shaped, especially for bouquets of more that one type of flower. Ball shaped arrangements are also common, especially for a uniformly shaped flower, such as roses or chrysanthemums.

Shorten the stems as needed to fit the general shape you have decided on. Make sure the flowers face outward, and at a pleasing angle for your shape. Use the largest flower along the bottom of your arrangement, and then work with one flower at a time, spreading each type of flower through out the arrangement. However, you may want to bunch together very small flowers of the same color, so that they can make more of an impact.

As you use up all of your flowers, fill up any remaining holes with greens. Make sure the greens don’t stick out; they should come to rest where the shape of your flowers ends.

Later in the week we will cover even simpler arrangements – arrangements with just a single flower, and arrangements made up entirely of foliage.

Tomorrow: Suggestions for growing a cutting garden and choosing color combinations for your arrangements.