Pressed Flower Artists: A great tip, from a kind reader...

Back in September, Marj from Ontario emailed me with several questions about using Perfect Paper Adhesive (my go-to pressed flower sealant), but unfortunately she had one question I couldn't help her with.

She was having trouble using the PPA to seal pressed flowers that she had glued onto card stock, because in sealing the flowers with the PPA, a slight amount of PPA would get onto the card stock, causing it to warp. Because I glue my flowers onto my absorbent handmade paper, I've never dealt with warping, and didn't have an answer for her.  But, recently Marj emailed me again, with a solution for her problem:

"In September you kindly answered questions I had about the Perfect Paper Adhesive. I have been having great success with the product since then and am so grateful for your help. I think that I was probably using a bit too much initially. Sometimes I 'top coat' the plant material first, placing it on a piece of baker's parchment paper (which can be re-used many times) to dry without sticking. Then I adhere the chosen bits to my card design. It is so reassuring to think that they are then hardy enough for the postal service."
   
I love the idea of "top coating!" I can see that coming in handy for a number of different projects I have planned, especially one involving rice paper...  Marj also included the above Christmas card, and she says:

"...the 'balls' on the tree are hole punched from an autumn Bergenia leaf which turned a lovely red, and the star is a bit of Queen Anne's Lace."


Great ideas Marj!  Thanks so much for sharing them, and your art with us!

The Poinsettia: Mexican Christmas Legend

With its beautiful, red, star-shape poinsettia is a favorite flower in the United States. in central America it is called "the flame leaf" or "flower of the holy night". Now very popular in the US, the American settlers were not quite familiar with this one only a couple of centuries back. A native of Mexico, it was brought here over a hundred years ago by Dr. Joel Poinsett, the first US ambassador to Mexico. Most of the poinsettias used these days come from California.

Fireworks in December

One of the new plants I couldn't wait to grow last spring was Burpee's exclusive Fireworks flowers , an unruly shockingly pink Globe Amaranth. What a fun flower!  The ladies who walk past my house every morning stopped by several time to get a closer look, and even my kids, who are a bit "flowered out," as you can imagine,  found them "cool."

Although they are dimensional, they ended up pressing very well in the Microfleur, and their flat, graceful stems are an added plus.

This piece of Fireworks pressed flower art is created on 5 x 7" handmade paper, and mounted on fine Gilbert Oxford card stock.  It has been sealed with  UV resistant polymers, and is ready to frame in the 8 x 10" frame of your choice.

You can grow your own fireworks next spring!  The seeds are available here.  If you are interested in purchasing a Microfleur, you can do so here, and, remember, free gift wrapping is available on all Microfleurs and paper making kits from now until December 20th. 

Time to make gift tags...

For the past few Christmas seasons I've been offering free Christmas gift wrapping on all Microfleur flower presses and Going Green paper making kits, and I've always included a free handmade paper gift tag.  Sometimes it's a pressed fern/Christmas tree tag, other times a pressed Queen Anne's Lace flower/snowflake tag, either way, they are fun to make, and a great way to showcase two of my favorite things:  pressed botanicals and handmade paper.

Here's a quick tutorial of my favorite way of making handmade paper gift tags...

Bold bee Balm

 

"Bold Bee Balm,"  Pressed flowers on handmade paper
 8 1/2 x 11" matted.  October 2010

Some flowers are sweet and tranquil, like pansies or lavender, others are in your face so to speak, like bee balm.  It's bold colored petals are arrayed like exploding fireworks, and being a member of the mint family, they conspire to take over your flower garden if given half a chance! And they are beloved by both bees and hummingbirds, so a person just about takes their life in their hands when trying to pick them...

Bold Bee Balm is a side view of two deep red bee balm flowers, mounted on my handmade paper, sealed with an invisible UV resistant coating, and is ready to frame.

I never tire of a lavender line

Rarely do I make two similar pictures. Cards, yes, but if I am going to go to the trouble of making something worth framing, I definitely want it to be unique.  Except for lavender!  I love putting it in lines - that's all I want to do with it.  I think it looks awesome!  Someday I'd like to put a whole series of  framed lavender lines on both sides of the my entry way of my home...but until then, here is a lavender line to share with you. 

P.S. Elizabeth's Flowers is on facebook now!  Please press "like" if you'd like - it will help my facebook rating.  Thanks!

1988 Confirmation Keepsake

I am so excited to share this idea!  

Andrea, a customer friend of mine is traveling back to Norway to meet her extended family.  Before leaving she and her mom and sister decided to make pressed flower gifts for each of the relatives they would be meeting.  Originally she decided to make pressed flower glass "sun-catchers," but then she came upon this wonderfully unique idea - embellishing copies of her great-grandfather's confirmation certificate from 1888 with pressed flowers, and framing them.  

Adrea emails: "We made 30 of these 5x7 frames with Bachelor Buttons, Potentilla, and Feverfew (they smelled like a lovely herbal tea when they were drying)... I did most of the flower pressing in the Microfleur, and my mom and sister did most of the artful gluing onto the documents, to highlight his name just right!"

Stunning.  I can't wait to hear about her family's reaction to them!

Free skeleton leaves!

Absolutely free!  Here in Twin Lakes, and actually anywhere I've been in Wisconsin or Illinois lately I am often finding the ground sprinkled with free skeleton leaves!  Granted they aren't quite as pristine and colorful as those perfect albeit very fake looking ones you can buy at Michaels or on ebay, but they are beautiful, and every once in awhile I find an absolutely stunning one.  Often I keep the leaves their natural color, but sometimes I color them using Prismacolor art markers

Next time you go for a walk outside, bring along a small plastic bag in case you find some on the grass or pavement.  When you get home, either place them in your Microfleur, or just put them in a heavy book to press them flat.  Since most of their flesh has been removed (most likely by a Japanese Beetle) they will only take a day to two to completely dry and press flat.   

What have you made with skeleton leaves?

Some great new pressed flower techniques...

Just came across a great video showing some creative ways to use Perfect Paper Adhesive with pressed flowers and leaves.  The creator of PPA herself, Susan Pickering Rothamel, shows how to use PPA with botanicals and a variety of different papers, glitter, and mica to create a very interesting collage.  Check it out!

The top 5 reasons I love anything botanical...

The top 5 reasons I love anything botanical...

1.  Plants are so easy to share.  Press them, print with them, dry them, cook them, photograph them, paint them, pick them.  You get the point!

2.  The lines, geometrical shapes, the symmetry - especially in unexpected places.  I still love seeing the star when I cut an apple crosswise.  And when pressing flowers, I am often surprised to find that the back of the flower is more interesting than than the front.

3.  They are edible.  Who doesn't love to eat?  I adore the fact that I can settle a few seeds in the ground, water, wait, (and weed) then eat.  I also love that I can sometimes eat what I don't plant - mulberries from a tree near the library in town, wild ground cherries from a nearby field, asparagus along the side of the road in the spring. 

4.  Their scents. Lilacs and lavender, are no brainers, but love the unexpected pleasant scents of tansy, yarrow, hay ferns, and even weeds like dandelions, bindweed and creeping charlie.  And don't even get me started on herbs!

5.  Last of all, but most of all, I love that they emanate peace.  The older (and hopefully wiser) I get, the more I love the fact that plants are silent.  I love their peace.  I assume their Creator is responsible for that attribute. 

Why are you drawn to them?

Out with the old, in with the new.

Starting today, I'm changing the focus of my blog.

My friend Bonnielynn and I are taking the "31 days to a better blog Problogger Challenge" together (along with about 400 other women!) and our first task is to write an "elevator pitch" i.e. a short blurb describing to focus of our blogs.

I was hoping to be able to jump right in to something exciting like learning the secret to gaining thousands of new followers in 2 easy steps...but alas there was much wisdom to starting out with this slow, thought provoking task.

Forcing oneself to stop and look intently at why we do something is almost always worth it's weight (time?) in gold, isn't it?  For some time now I have felt guilty that my blog has been less about my promoting my art, and more about "other" things.   But, after looking at how and why I started my blog five years ago, and where it has ended up now, I realized that not only am I celebrating my passion for all things botanical, I am also sharing my passion.  And, even more importantly, and much to my delight, others are increasingly sharing their passion with me.  This web place is becoming more of a sharing place, where others who share a wonder, love, and appreciation for the beauty and simplicity of plants and flowers can come.   

This blog is about "Sharing and celebrating the beauty of all things botanical." 

What do you need to look more closely at? 

I don't care for light blue...

I just can't stand light blue.  Like finger nails against a chalkboard, so is light blue to my eyes.  I don't like light blue walls, clothes, carpeting, or blankets.  Remember light blue eye shadow?  Thank God that's over with! At least I hope it is. 

However, there is an exception to every rule, and I have two.  I love light blue skies, and I love light blue tradescantia - otherwise known as spiderwort.  It's a native plant here in Wisconsin, and this time of year you can see it along shady roadsides - if you are up and about early.  The beautiful triangular flowers with their bright yellow stamens melt away by 10:00 am.  Tradescantia aren't easy to press, but they are definitely worth the extra effort.  I pressed these with the Microfleur which captured their color perfectly, but it was tricky getting them off the liner sheets with out tearing them. 

This card is one of 25 assorted pressed flower cards I'm making that will be included in gift bags for the judges in the Lake Geneva Flower Show later this month. 

Free plantable wildflower paper kit!

I've really gotten into making plantable paper lately, so I thought I'd pass along the fun.  I'm including a free  plantable wildflower seed paper kit in every Going Green Paper Making kit ordered - while my supplies last. 

Included are instructions, ideas for using plantable paper, planting directions, and of course, a nice variety of wildflower seeds.  Going Green Paper Making Kits are available at Elizabeth's Flowers as well as leaf petals.  Enjoy!

got basil?

I do!  It's definitely time to pinch back my basil today. But, since we will be celebrating the end of my son's little league season tonight, I won't have the opportunity to make fresh pesto for supper.  (We'll be eating at Taco Bell...please pass the Tums...)

Instead of pesto, I'm going to try this Basil Lemonade recipe from a good friend of mine.  It sounds great - I really don't think you can go wrong with anything as delicious as lemons and basil.

basil lemonade

makes 4 servings
-ingredients-

1/2  cup rinsed, lightly packed
fresh basil leaves

3 tablespoons of sugar

4 cups of water

1/2 cup of freshly squeezed lemon
 juice

4 sprigs of fresh basil

-preparation-

In a 2-quart glass bowl, combine basil leaves and sugar. With a wooden spoon, crush leaves with sugar until bruised. Add water and  lemon juice.Stir until sugar is dissolved. Pour through a fine strainer into ice filled glasses. Top with a few sprigs of basil leaves.

Enjoy!

Flower Pressing Tips, Part 2 - Revisited

We are in early summer here in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, and it is beautiful. My perennials and annuals are blooming, and the wildflower seeds I planted earlier along the cornfield are beginning to pop as well, so as usual I'm doing lot's of pressing. I love it!

Here are a few more pressed flower tips I want to share with you:

*  I usually press the flowers I gather right away, but sometimes I let certain flowers sit on the counter for awhile, such as carpet cosmos, poppies, and even pansies. I gently flatten them out, and arrange the petals as needed, but then I let them sit for a few hours, and they kind of “draw in a bit.” This tends to concentrate the color of the flowers, and it adds a bit of interesting texture. Try it, and see what you think.

*  A number of you have written in asking me what kind of glue I use on pressed flowers. For years I used plain old Elmer's glue.  However, now I tend to use Perfect Paper Adhesive for both gluing and protecting all of my pressed flower and botanical art pieces. It's UV resistant, moisture proof, and it's even flexible - and virtually invisible.

*  Pansies are a favorite for pressed flower artists, but they can be tricky to glue properly. Here’s how I glue them:
First, place a small drop of glue in the center of the flower, and place a row of small dots of glue along the outer edge of the flower. Arrange the pansy where you want it and press down.

Then take a tooth pick and gently run it under the overlapping petals of the pansy from the middle out, and lift up the flaps that make up the "face" of the pansy.  Place a tiny drop of adhesive on the end of the toothpick, and gently slide it under the unsecured parts of the overlapping petals.

After gluing down the flowers, I would recommend lightly covering each flower, stem and leaf with a light coat of Perfect Paper Adhesive to preserve and protect the them and to maintain their vibrant colors.  If I'm making a piece of pressed flower art that will be framed at some point, I also spray it with clear UV resistant sealer in addition to applying the PPA.

Happy pressing!

Flower Pressing Tips, Part I - Revisited

Back in April of 2005, I entered my first blog entry.  I reread it the other day, and was happy to see that it wasn't too bad, considering!  I've dusted it off and polished it up a bit because it contains some good information for my newer "pressed flower" readers. 

Flower Pressing Tips, Part I

* My most used press - I love the "Microfluer" microwave flower press. It's essentially two thick pieces of thick durable plastic, 4 clips, and a set of thick fleece liners. I use this press the most, because it's so FAST and easy. I can press about 15-20 decent sized pansies in about a minute. The color is exceptional - often the color seems richer after being microwaved, since they are both pressed and dried in just a little over a minute. There are a few flowers that turn strange colors, or don't tolerate the microwave at all, especially very moist flowers like impatiens.  Also, the timing can be tricky, i.e. how long to zap the flowers, but it just takes some patient trial and error. Please practice on some "not so perfect" flowers first. 

* Gently flatten the flowers - before placing them in your press. That way they have a better chance of pressing perfectly.

* Don't forget the leaves! - It's easy to get so carried away while gathering flowers, that you forget to snip a few leaves and stems. Find young fresh leaves, as they press best. Also, if the stems of a certain flower are thick and bulky, substitute a more slender stem from another flower.

* Cultivate a sense of wonder - Take a moment to look...really, really, look at a flower. See the intircate handiwork of each flower - the precise symetry, the irridescent glowing colors on such a tender canvas. How kind of our Creator to sprinkle such beauty at our feet!

* Cultivate a sense of humor - I try to gently knock the bugs off each flower I gather, but those little pests are persistent! Can you believe God made so many odd looking bugs? I try to be patient and carry those little bugs back outside, but after the millionth one...

* A few of my favorite flowers to press - Cosmos, osperspermum, pansey, viola, violet, verbena, coreopsis, calendula, transcantia, borage, edelweiss, mallow, and lavender,just to name a few.  Here is a complete list of flowers that I have found to press well in the Microfleur.

If you haven't pressed flowers before, please try it! If you have any questions, just email me. I'd be happy to help get you started!

Do you juggle?

It gets tiring to keep all of my balls up in the air, so I let my "art/work" ball fall to the ground for a while this spring.  I was secretly hoping no one would notice, but you did.  Thanks to the gentle admonition from several friends and readers to "get going!", I'm ready to get back at it again.   

While I've been gone I happily discovered that my daughter is a budding track star.  I knew she was fast, but I didn't realize she was fast enough to win races and set a record.  Awesome!

I've also been busy with the usual home and garden things (I expanded my vegetable and herb gardens), and visiting and helping my parents as much as I can, as well as trying to help a friend who is going through a hard time.  I'm glad I can be available to them.

And, thanks to my husband, I now have another ball to keep in the air - fitness, of all things.  In March, the company he works for sponsored a 12 week "Body for Life" program involving very healthy eating, and 6 days a week of serious exercise, and we signed up. Getting up at 5 am for cardio or weight lifting was a grind!  But we struggled through, and I am so thankful to feel strong and fit once again.  I haven't been in shape since my college days - and I cringe to tell you how long ago that was.

The most important "ball" in my life is my faith, and thankfully as I occasionally drop one or two of my other balls, that one has stayed with me.  I might have mentioned earlier this year that I am memorizing "chunks" of scripture - for the incredible spiritual benefits, and also as exercise to keep my mind as fit as possible as I age (Alzheimer's is common in my family).  So far I've got the first 11 verses of 2 Peter 1 under my belt, I'm almost done with Psalm 139, and am still struggling with Isaiah 53.  I'm finding memorization takes a lot of work when one is in their mid forties, but what a sense of blessing/accomplishment it is when I finally get it. 

Back to work!

Plantable Paper Making workshop coming up...

Plantable seed paper is all the rage right now and is very pricey…. so why not learn to make your own?

On Saturday April 24th I'll be teaching a workshop on how to recycle the paper we commonly find in our home or office to create plantable handmade paper.  Plant-able  handmade paper can be used to make wonderful greeting cards, wedding or baby shower favors, hang tags, wedding confetti, etc.

In this three hour “hands on” workshop each student will learn the basics of making handmade paper, and will make a number of different seed papers, in different colors, shapes, and sizes.

Class size is limited due to the “hands on” nature of this class.  For more information on AFAF classes, please visit the Antioch Fine Arts Foundation website.

Plantable Paper Making Workshop
Saturday, April 24
9:00 am – Noon, at the Antioch Fine Arts Gallery, Antioch, IL.

Feel free to email me with any questions! 

My first ever painting...

Those of you have read my blog for any amount of time know that I am a botanical artist by way of glue - I take the beautiful pressed flowers, stems, leaves, etc. that God created and simply glue them down.

This past Tuesday I gave a nature printing demonstration at the Antioch Fine Arts Gallery monthly meeting.  Nature printing/leaf printing is something I've dabbled in, and look forward to doing more of, but I hadn't created any significant art pieces with my prints.  While preparing for the demo, I decided make a prints of a large maple leaf on a piece of handmade paper, and then (and this is really reckless for me) I attempted to watercolor within the outlines of the leaves.  I was pleasantly surprised at the results!  I even went so far as ordering a mat and frame for it this morning.

Lunch Time...

 

The microgreens I'm growing on my kitchen table have really taken off, and a friend and I will be adding them to a big salad in just a few minutes for lunch. The seeds I used were Pine Tree Garden's Kitchen Sink Mix, with over 16 different kinds greens. They were surprisingly easy to grow - after planting the seeds I covered the top of the planter with saran wrap, until they sprouted.  After that, they were ready for clipping in just a few weeks.

But, before we eat, I just wanted to thank everyone for participating in last week's Mid Month Give Away.  I'm happy to announce that our winner was Patty S. from Arizona.  She is an experienced maker of handmade paper, and is looking forward to using the mold and deckle to make bookmarks for her visitors at an upcoming art exhibition she will be participating in this May. Best wishes to you Patty!

Something else for free...

 

Lifehacker.com has an interesting article this morning about growing an endless supply of free onions, using their gnarly old roots. I was cutting onions last night, and the bottoms I sliced off are still in a plastic grocery bag hanging on a nail in the garage, waiting to be carried out to the compost pile. 

I'm off to reclaim them and to see if growing a free supply of onions is as easy as Lifehacker says it is...

Speaking of free, don't forget our Mid Month Give Away, which ends Friday at noon Central time.

Mid Month Monday Give Away - Book Mark Mold and Deckle

 

I know last month's give away was a paper making kit - I'm not in a rut, I'm just celebrating two recent large orders of my new bookmark mold and deckles, one to a school and the other to a children's museum.

I have yet to see anyone else selling these on the internet, but this 7 x 2" mold and deckle is perfect for showing off and esprcially sharing  your handmade paper making skills.

To be included in the drawing, please fill out the information below. Please only enter one time per month.  The drawing closes this Friday at noon Central time, and the winner will be notified by Email.

If you have an item of interest to Elizabeth's Flowers readers, and would like to be considered for our Mid Month Monday Drawing, please email me.

Unframed "Groovy Calendula"

I have a number of new pressed flower art pieces to photograph and post on my website, so here's the first in line, because it makes me smile.

Groovy Calendula is made from two of my largest golden calendula flowers from last summer (over two inches across!) with rich burgundy centers, and green fun and curvy stems.

The 5 x 7" piece of handmade paper I made for this piece is really, really textured.  In fact the paper wasn't pressed after it was formed, so it ended up being very wavy, similar to the stems of the calendula.

Speaking of calendula, it is one of my favorite flowers to press in the Microfleur, so be sure to order some seeds when you place your seed catalog order this year.  I've read that calendula is edible! I've never tried it though.

This Month's Give Away Winner

Judy from Pennsylvania was the winner of last week's Mid Month Going Green paper making kit Give Away. She writes:

Dear Elizabeth,

What a nice surprise your email was this morning.  Thank you so much!  I've never tried making paper before but it looks like something I'll enjoy learning.  I have several grandchildren who love crafting and I think this will be a fun project to try with them.

Gardening is my favorite pastime.  I garden on 3/4 of an acre in zone 6 in a mostly sunny yard.  This past summer I dried flowers from my garden for the first time and so my hope is to learn to use them with my own homemade paper.

I really enjoy reading your blog and visiting your websites.  Your beautiful artwork and cards are what inspired me to try drying flowers.  I'm sure that your generosity in offering free tips and information is very much appreciated by all of your readers.

I know you'll enjoy using the kit with your garden flowers Judy! If you every have any questions, just let me know.

Give me a hand...

 This is a handmade paper imprint of my youngest son's hand - we did these for a Mother's day project a few years ago in his first grade class.  This was made with the 5 x 7" mold and deckle from the Going Green paper making kit - which just happens to be this month's Mid Month Give Away, which ends at noon today (central time).

Directions for making handmade paper hand imprints (try to say that ten times fast) are available on my leaf petals site.

There's still (a little) time to win a free Going Green paper making kit for the Mid Month Give Away.

Fireworks!

While scouring through the pile of seed and plant catalogs I've been getting, this immediately caught my eye.  What a fun little flower!  This is "Fireworks," an exclusive globe amaranth gomphrena from Burpee.  I can't wait to try pressing it, and if that doesn't work out, it's supposed to be a great cut flower, and even dries well too!
What are looking forward to pressing this year?

By the way, don't forget about the Mid Month Give Away drawing this week for a free paper making kit!