Best sealant for pressed flower greeting cards
yukisammy
19 years ago
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yukisammy
19 years agoRelated Discussions
How long to press flowers?
Comments (4)Stitch, I guess this will be a project for later this spring, although Pansies can be bought cheaply now and dry beautifully. I was thinking you could perhaps dry some flowers ahead of time to show the girls the finished product, then let them collect their own and start the drying/pressing process. Or are you planning a project with the girls making bookmarks, greeting cards, etc.? If so, of course you'll want the girls to have their own dried flowers to use. Trouble is, I can't think of a flower which will thoroughly dry in just 3 days by pressing, and haven't used the microwave enough myself to be able to advise. Hope others more experienced will give you better advice. Not much help...but I think it's great that you want to introduce this fun craft to young girls...josh...See MoreBooks on Dried & Pressed Flowers
Comments (10)Most of my books are older, but some I haven't seen surpassed in good solid information by the newer full-color oversized books, so I'll list my favorites. Perhaps someone might like to seek one on the used-book sites. Penny Black's books are great! I have "A Passion for Flowers", "Dried Flowers", "Book of Cards & Collages" and "Scented Flowers". The first listed is a great read as well as inspiration toward imaginative use of all sorts of botanical treasure. Very well illustrated. My best illustrated (mostly in b/w drawings) and most wide-ranging book is by Maureen Foster, entitled "The Flower Arranger's Encyclopedia of Preserving and Drying". She shows a few finished arrangements but it's primarily a fine resource for how to prepare the material. An older book is Arno & Irene Nehrling's "Garden for Flower Arrangement". My copy is of a Dover reprint in 1976 but I'd urge that if you could locate a copy, it would be invaluable. Back cover states it covers methods for drying 371 different plants. Also covers fresh arrangements, and forcing 53 different types flowers/branches. Only a few b/w illustrations. Somewhat later book (1987) is Malcolm Hillier & Colin Hilton's 'The Book of Dried Flowers". Nice color illustrations and fairly wide selection of plants covered. A very useful book is the RD Handbook "Flower Arranging", also edited by Malcolm Hillier, which is about half-devoted to fresh, half to dried flowers. Very well illustrated. Mine is dated 1990 but may still be in print. I have even more, but these are the most thorough and wide-ranging. I haven't bought any in recent years...possibly there's a great new one that covers even more material. jo...See MoreHave you ever pressed flowers ? What did you do with them ?
Comments (5)I've pressed many little flower blossoms over the years. I just use a thick telephone directory or similar book. Look for blooms that are more 2-dimensional rather than 3-dimensional... a pansy rather than a chrysanthemum, for example. Obviously a rose won't press flat! And avoid ones with thick centers like some daisies. If you want the daisy petals, pull them off individually to dry them, then reassemble for your project. You can use a piece of paper for the center. Do the same with other thick or complicated blooms - disassemble them and press the individual parts. Some dried flowers retain their colors well, others fade over time. And some dry to a different color... for example, some white blooms dry to a funky tan or yellow. You'll discover which suit your needs by trial and error. Be sure to press weeds and grasses, too. And four-leaf clovers! They add shape interest and color contrast to your compositions. Just go ahead and try drying some... it doesn't take much time or space. If you use a big book like a telephone directory, just start in the back, then as you discover more flowers to press, you can put them in the book closer to the top as you go. Just leave a few pages between each pressing so the moisture doesn't move to another batch. Pretty soon you'll have lots of pressed material to work with!...See MoreHomemade Greeting Card Makers
Comments (17)Stephenei: What got me hooked was a section on home made cards in a Feb issue of either MM or CK magazine. And I REALLY got hooked! Card making has replaced (for the time being) scraping. As for ideas, I got some from the aforementioned magazine, some from looking at cards in card shops, and some from my own imagination. ItÂs amazing what creative creatures we can be when doing something we enjoy! One idea for an Easter card came from a quote I found onlineÂÂGive hugs, if you carrot at all! My sonÂs best friend calls me ÂAunt Carront, so I made a little card out of lime green card stock. I made three little carrots out of orange and brown card stock and cut thin strips of dark green card stock for grass. I attached the grass and the carrots to the front of the card with pop dots (for the 3D effect) and outlined the edges of the front of the card with thin strips of orange card stock. I made one large carrot for the inside to hold the latter part of the quote. It turned out to be a cute card and the idea came after seeing the quote. Other ideas come from looking through my materials and Âplaying with them,Âi.e., seeing what goes together. IÂve never scanned anything for use on the computer, but if you like, IÂd be happy to try and scan and post-to-you some of the cards I made to help you get started with ideas. I know what itÂs like to feel like...where do the ideas come from?! And once you get started, believe me, thereÂs no stopping!!!!!!! Also, some others have posted about tea-bag/paper folding which I have tried yet. As Sally said, when your scraping and stamping, the ideas just seem to flow. p.s. there are also books on card making and paper projects. My husband gave me one for a present and one was referenced in the magazine that I have been looking for but have yet to find. Hope this helps. karen...See MoreCandyWA
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