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Topic: Pressing wildflowers

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Cheryl
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Joined: Feb 20 2005
Location: Massachusetts
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Posted: Aug 23 2006 at 11:41am \| IP Logged

Have any of you had success with pressing flowers?

I ask because I was thinking about the upcoming Loveliness Fair of Elegant Simplicity in the Bedroom and I'm realizing that my bedroom walls are completely bare. I was window shopping online and I found this, which I really like, but can't buy. So I thought that maybe I could make something like it.

If you have tried pressing flowers and mounting them, how did you learn how to do it? Was it worth the effort? What has your experience been?

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Cheryl
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Cay Gibson
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Joined: July 16 2005
Location: Louisiana
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Posted: Aug 23 2006 at 11:52am \| IP Logged

Cheryl,
I have so much to say on this and lunch is almost over so I'm running out of time.

We've pressed flowers, and weren't happy with the results. If you go to this nature study post back in July and scroll down, you'll see one of our pressings. The flowers are always brown and ugly.

I researched...not long ago...on how to preserve a flower's coloring as the girls and I have a very small sideline business Vintage Garden Graces where we take flowers from special occassions and decoupage them onto frames.

The only thing that came up is to freezer dry them or to dry them in silica gel but that makes the petals brittle which doesn't work well with decoupaging.

I'm anxious to see what information others share. I really think you could make your own arrangemnts for your walls. If you have any questions, just ask and I'll see how I can help.

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mary
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Joined: Feb 17 2005
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Posted: Aug 23 2006 at 1:22pm \| IP Logged

i have pressed a fair amount and had good luck. colors are never as vibrant. arrange your flower in the press with an eye to getting the most detail, centered flower. try to pick thin leaved/stemmed flowers with lots of detail and not so much petal. that's why you always see queen ann's lace in those frames. you may have to press a few flowers before you get some that you like. when you glue them down to your backdrop, be sure and use acid free paper and glue.

i learned how to press and mount flowers 20 yrs ago when i did an internship at the st. louis botanical garden. what a beautiful place that is. my oldest is just getting into pressing flowers but he hasn't done anything more with them.

cvbmom
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Joined: Feb 15 2005
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Posted: March 23 2007 at 1:57pm \| IP Logged

Hi!

I'm bumping up this thread from the fall because dc want to press flowers and leaves from our neighborhood trees to make their own local flower and tree field guides. Sounds like a great idea, except that I don't know how to press the petals and leaves so that they could go in a book/binder and not crunch apart or turn brown when they dry out. We have a flower press, which I thought of using, but the end result is still delicate (too much so for a book/binder, I think). Maybe I'm wrong. I've never used a flower press, we just got them recently.

Any suggestions???

If anyone has any good directions for using a flower press and then what to do with the pressed flower/leaves so they stay nice, I'd appreciate it. Please don't assume any knowledge on my part, I'm new at this and need a step-by-step type instructions.

Thanks for understanding and not laughing too hard at my ignorance

Christine

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