Friday 8 June 2012

You can learn a lot of things from the flowers...

"You can learn a lot of things from the flowers
For especially in the month of June"


so the flowers sing to Alice in Disney's Alice in wonderland.  You may have noticed I'm rather fond of flowers.  My favourite flowers are peonies and heavily scented old English roses.  Last year I bought a beautiful David Austin rose for my Garden - it was reduced at the garden centre, thrifty!  David Austen breeds the most beautiful roses but they are not cheap.  Any way what better time to write about flower pressing.

You can press flowers using a flower press, I have got mine in a charity shop.  A flower press is simply two bits of wood with layers of cardboard and blotting paper inside, held at each corner with a screw and wing nuts, you could make one yourself very easily .  However you don't have to have a flower press to press flowers.  You can simply pick your flowers and lay them between the pages of a phone book or on blotting paper between two heavy books.  Leave for a few weeks and then admire the results.

The girls and I have been pressing flowers for number of summers now & it's lovely to open up the flower press on a grey winters day & remember the flowers that graced our garden the previous summer.  However, other than the obvious greetings cards and book marks I am always at a loss what to do with these delicate beauties.  So I've been looking up some ideas and thought I would share my finds.

 
A stunning Pansy and Viola wreath by Martha Stewart 

 The following two ideas came from countryliving.com I love the arrangement of the rose picture with the text in the background & the old frame.  I definitely will try this.  Also I have just bought some candle making supplies (more on this later) so think I'll give the candle idea a whirl too.



These coasters may not be very thrifty to make (glass is expensive) but would make a wonderful wedding present or house warming gift.  How about using flowers from the brides bouquet of table decorations as a thoughtful keepsake for newlyweds.


Using pressed flowers to adorn gifts is a simple but effective idea from Martha Stewart again


Do you have any tips for pressing flowers?  I'd love to know what flowers you enjoy pressing most and what you like to do with your pressed flowers, please leave your comments below. 

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