flowersandhomes.com
Make a beautiful home with dried flowers
I intend this article for all the ardent flower lovers who stay enthusiastic about the idea of pressing flowers. With this article you will come across some innovative connoisseur tips that will help you conserve some of your favorite flowers and your precious garden flora. Let me tell you pressing flowers can be a very exciting and inventive hobby which can at the same time relieve you from stress and dejection and also be a great method of earning a few extra bucks.
First, a few ideas…
Pressing flowers is a very easy art which can be effortlessly internalized. With a little intent attention and urge you will soon learn all the techniques making you capable enough to try your hands at a host of inimitable and lovely floral articles.
You can use the pressed flowers for making framed pictures, decorating greeting cards, embellishing photo albums and beautifying telephone directories. Even candles, lampshades and school bags can be festooned with sprays of pressed flowers. So the catchline is there’s no end to the list of what all you can make with pressed flowers.
How do you start??
Other than the flowers to be pressed and your undying spirit to press, some of the other tools necessary for pressing are quite simple and easy to obtain, sometimes being already there in the house. For example, a flat wooden board, heavy books for pressing, a few bricks, some paper glue, trash newspapers, a blunt knife handy while removing the pressed blossoms from the papers, etc.
What all can be pressed??
Pressing is most of the times taken to be akin to flowers and blossoms alone. But you need to know that flower pressing is not only related flowers, you can jolly well press other plant materials like,
• Leaves
• Ferns
• Tendrils
• Vegetable toppings
• Fennel Seeds
• Stamens
• Bits of barks
• Patches of lichen
• Grasses
One of my personal favorites is the fine seed heads of ordinary lawn grasses. When pressed these portray an exquisite touch of finesse. They add an unusual originality to the decoration. Even some of the common garden weeds look very pretty when pressed so you may very well try a hand at a few.
Keeping a cautious eye…
While you are sorting the greenery and foliage you intend to press do keep an eye on the individual stages of growth of those plants akin to various seasons. For example, a maple leaf collected in fall (reddish golden in colour) will look completely different from the one picked in spring (deep green). Again the tendrils of the Virginia creeper are very gentle with a beautiful tint of lush green in spring and it looks great when pressed.
read comments (0)
Pressed flowers are just terrific when it comes to designing and ornamenting, but when actually dealing with dried flowers it’s better to keep a few things in mind.
The first point you need to keep in mind is that pressed flowers are flat and two-dimensional. Hence they look far better in a flowing, poised appearance, so plan your designs in that line-up. So the trick is to hit on the curves a little skillfully and the effect is sure to achieve your preferred effect.
Make use of the chic curve tendrils and the coiled leaves in your flower designs as these eventually add to the natural flowing look.
Pick up an extra stem and try a gentle curve with it. Try to bend the stem gently without breaking, run it flanked by your thumb and the back end of a scissor. But you can’t do this once the stem is pressed because then it will dry and will be too brittle to curve. So better do the curving parts before you start to press.
With pressed flowers there’s huge room for experimentation and that is exactly where the fun lies. So be creative and try out all your little tricks but remember that pressed flowers neither in a floral arrangement nor in a collage should look stiff by any chance, as that will mar their beauty. Place them in a way so that they look attractive and alluringly natural.
So now with the little tips we gave you make lower pressing one of your favorite hobbies, who knows someday it will be potential enough for you to think of a full-scale business from home!
If you are intending to press flowers quite often henceforth then there are a few common tools that you will need frequently. If you get hold of them and store in the attic or the store room pressing flowers will no more be an issue, just a few choiceable flowers at hand and this littler kit around will be enough to help you start off.
Here the tools:
• A 4” stainless steel tweezer: The tweezer will help you pick up the small and delicate petals of the dried or pressed flower and handle it with care without any serious damage to them. Be careful while handling with the harp edges of the tweezers.
• A large clear round sticker: The clear round sticker is handy rather the perfect tool while bending a blossom to make an envelope seal or an ornamental sticker.
• An extra-large empty clearpack: This is to store the individual flowers and the foliage with perfection while they are pressed and prevent any insect attack.
• A few heirloom cards: these cards generally used as thank-you cards or date reminders when stick on with pressed flowers or foliage the cards look great.
• A Pressed Flowers Project Book (not mandatory): This is a handy inspirational book that encloses about 15 pressed flower projects. A few of these may guide you well while you are pressing flowers and trying your hands at this craft for the first few times. It gives you a detail set of tips and guidelines for making framed pictures, trinket boxes, egg ornaments, bookmarks, note cards, paperweights and lampshades.
So now you know what all can help you or at least enhance your flower pressing purposes, what are you waiting for? Grab a few of these and get going….
Dried Flowers: What flowers to press? Which all to be dried?
Posted by admin in Dried Flowers
Here’s a little discussion on all those flowers and foliage kinds that look the best when dried or pressed and thereon used in floral decorations and arrangements. We have picked on a few selective blossoms which grow rampantly all throughout the year. These flowers are both easily dried or pressed (whichever way) and convenient to use when ready. Dried and pressed flowers make great ornamenting stuffs and just look too gorgeous. Have a look at the list.
We start with the flowers,
• The Assorted Alyssum tops our chart. Botanically known as the Lobularia maritime this bloom comes in an exciting series of colours like pink, red, purple, apricot and yellow. Commonly grows in the garden in varying shapes and colours.
• Next is the Apricot Alyssum which ranges in an exciting colour range of apricot, moving somewhere between medium to dark. You will also get to see this plant growing no much care in your backyard garden and the blooms are too appealing.
• Following not far behind is the Pink Alyssum. This bloom falls in the same species category alike the former two, only with the difference in the tinge of colours of its blooms which range from medium to dark pink.
• Also in the series are a range of other alyssums like the purple, red, white and yellow ones. A little special among the all is the creamy white one with its pearl like blossoms. The soft yellow ones also turn out very well when dried or pressed, whichever.
• Next, on our list is the Assorted Baby’s Breath (my personal favorite). Though the originals come in just a natural white, but if you dye these little blooms into multi colours or just blue or green they look great. A little pressing gives them an elegance that positively adds to the grandeur of the entire floral arrangement.
As we all know just flowers don’t make a floral arrangement look great. They also need to be accentuated with some good looking foliage. So tell you something about the foliage as well.
Some of the most favorable and attractive foliages that give a nice effect when dried are here,
• To start with is the Acacia leaves, which are a beautiful and delicate individual feathery fronds found on a stem. These are generally light green in colour and range from 1 and ½ to 2 inches in width.
• The Amur Maple leaves follow next. Both the fall leaves and the green ones make great adorning items once dried. The fall leaves mark a unique assorted combination of red and golden and green and some other variegated fall colours. A deciduous shrub by species when the leaves are green they are light green with fancy notched edges. The leaves retain the unique pigment even when dried. That even adds to the glory.
• Next come the Aspen leaves. These leaves come in a mottled variety of bright green as well as brilliant fall colours. The fall leaves feature a dazzling orangish-yellow with a characteristic spotting all over the leaf blades.
• Now it’s turn for the Autumn Teardrops. This foliage kind is too inimitable with its graceful orange, golden and reddish muted leaves.
• Trailing next are the Birch Leaves. Again preferable in both green and fall stages, the exquisite fall leaves portray a delicate golden yellow colour akin to the ambience of the autumn. The fall leaves may have a few darker edges. Whereas the green ones have a lacy edge and come in bright shades of light green.
• Last but not the least is the Boston ivy fall leaves and the Burning Bush fall leaves. The leaves of Boston ivy resemble small red and orange autumn gems while the alter come in pretty and delicate small leaves with dark red shades. Some times you may found a few golden accents on these leaves as well.
Dried Pressed Flowers: Drying and Pressing Orchids
Posted by admin in Dried Pressed Flower
Orchids are the biggest and most assorted plant family on Earth. They generally grow in the tropical belt where the heat and the humidity are the favorable factors for budding. Orchids characterize few and far between blooming of flowers and have infested the planet aside with the dinosaurs since prehistoric times.
The sheer beauty of this plant from tip to toe, including the leaves, foliage and the blossoms makes it a favorite of hundreds and thousands of people all around the globe. Orchids grow very well if cultured in little pots in the nursery or in some place away from direct sunlight, a little damp is favorable.
So now we would like to share with all the orchid-lovers a very innovative way of preserving orchids which surprisingly extends their endurance making them your favorite embellishing items.
1. To start with, you can obviously do the pressing with a big heavy book and out some more books or weight on top. Or else you can put them amidst the pages of a sketch book or gardening book and place it under a huge pile of books or magazines. Yet again a home-made flower press may also aptly serve the purpose.
2. Aside to pressing you can jolly well dry orchids. Some of the methods are,
- You can always serve the purpose with drying agents. Flower drying agents are frequently found in any craft store or florist’s shop.
- One of the most common flower drying agent is the silica gel powder which leaves the flowers almost in the condition akin to when they were about to be dried.
- When drying with silica gel powder first place the orchid in an air tight container.
- Now sprinkle the silica gel powder over the orchid covering it completely.
- Check after some time, may be a few days, to see if it’s done or will it need some extra time.
3. Another way you can dry orchids is by freeze drying. Freeze drying is so far the best method to preserve fresh orchids retaining the natural exotic look. They retain the exact original look even when completely dried.
4. One reminder, do not go for air drying when it comes to preserving orchids. Not only will the blooms decay but it will take a long period of as much as a month to completely dry. So it’s better to vote out air drying.
Flower Arrangement: A special home décor for the Halloween
Posted by admin in Flower Arrangement
This Halloween how about a nice exquisite décor for your home, prepare it up for a fun holiday atmosphere or rather a little scary one!!
• When decorating for holidays the first thing on your list should be the element of colours. A nice mix and match of the various shades of red, orange and yellow would look nice topping which will be the extra tinge, a dash or a two of black.
• So while you are selecting the dried flowers for the Halloween floral arrangement the first thing on the list is a hollowed out gourd or pumpkin (a unique combination of orange and yellow tint).
• Consider a cauldron for the base, as that will both be firm and at the same time have an eerie look.
• Don’t just use dried flowers but also include some dried greenery, twigs and branches, these elements help the accenting part.
• Now to create the final illuminated Halloween effect introduce some tapering candles, preferably red, orange and yellow.
• Placing the entire arrangement on wrought iron candelabra will add an extra shade of chilling effect.
That’s it! Your spook-tecular and boo-tiful Halloween arrangement is ready to scare.
Every one wants their house to look just the perfect, the one meticulously decked abode which everyone is appreciating about. Anything that makes a house look inviting and evokes a welcome is flowers.
Flowers in general and dried ones in particular look exquisitely beautiful when used for home decoration. Group together a few large blooms and tie them at the base with some nice pink satin ribbon (you can very well opt for any other colour that suits better other than pink). Make a subtle statement with a dual use of colours, you can preferably use some dried lavender and dried sunflowers, which will create a nice array of yellow and a light violet tinge.
Place the flowers in a vase or a glass and place anywhere you like. For example, you may place it on the work station and make it a little more exciting or place two similar ones on either side of the TV or a nice big dried flower arrangement at the entrance.
Now I am about to share with you one of my all time favorites. I always do this when ever I have my favorite blossoms ready after drying. Take a big, spacious, traditional urn or a terracotta jar, preferably an oval-shaped one. Now insert some long stemmed dried blossoms alongwith some dried wheat ales and other dried vines like ivy into the pot making a nice grouped array. If you want you can also add some dried fruits and vegetables as well and place it on the staircase landing. This thing looks great.
A nice collection of tiny vases with dried china roses and some baby breath also looks great on the freezer or the study table.
The main thing is with flowers be a little creative and think of different ways, anything that comes out will be good and nice, after all it is flowers you are using, and anyway they always look great.
With changing seasons even the arrangements and accessories of interior decoration should change. That is precisely the secret of a beautiful house with a nice interior décor. As the fall season approaches the bright summer bouquets are replaced by the dried flower arrangements hinting the change of season and the arrival of the holidays. This time how about adorning the kitchen a bit, after all most of the times it goes overlooked even though it is the focal point of the entire abode.
Now when you are seriously considering to decorate kitchen don’t take it to be an act of simple oblivion, there are a few arrangement directions you may follow.
The best possible way is mix and match bits and pieces from the kitchen itself to create a nice arrangement. Take a few seasonal fruits and vegetables, natural exotics that the season offers, may be a few elements you enjoy relishing and include all to make an arrangement that reflects your exclusive signature taste.
For example, make an exclusive dried arrangement signifying the fall season. Take a vessel or a mug or a jar. Put some dark and light dried wheat ales. For the filler, some earth and pebbles would be too apt for a nice natural look. The brown and earthy tone will look great; fill up 3/4th of the glass.
Now surround the arrangement with some foliage and dried vegetable sand fruits.
You can either place it on the counter or on a stand beside the sink or the freezer.
Anywhere you put it I am sure you will just cherish beauty.
A little piece of enunciating info:
Participants at a Harvard University Research Program has informed about the positive results of flowers having mood-boosting effects when placed in some of the common areas of the house like the family room, dinning room, kitchen and bathroom.
With that as the catch-line for our present post let us discuss a few ways we can transform the house into a better place for living.
• The first tip on the list is place some nice traditional flower vases in the living room or the lobby because these are the prime places where guests or in that case the family members hang out. Place some nicely dried hydrangea or rose blossoms into the vases. Tie a satin ribbon at the base for extended beautification. A nice crystal glass will also be apt but then place just a few stems for a chic look.
• Next, as already said to you earlier, float some open blossoms in an attractive glass bowl with some floating, fragrant candles and place it on the center table. Enjoy the view of the miraculous aura and enjoy the aura.
• Now, comes my favorite little darling. In the entrance to the hall place a key hanger with an additional curve for a weekly flower vase. Keep it filled all the time with some of your favorite dried flower blossoms. Just a glance will charm your journey on your way out or boost up your mood once you enter after a long and tiring day.
• A nice stuffed bouquet would be just the thing for your bathroom (place it beside the bath-tub for a great feel) or bedroom (a nice view while starting a new day or going to sleep at night).
• The kitchen table too needs some decking up. After all everybody seems to hang around the place. You will find a detailed discussion on this part in a previous post.
• Finally coming to the luncheon table decoration, place as series of crystal vases on a nice and elegant fabric runner. Fill up with fresh or dried blossoms and surround with some foliage or ribbons.
So how about trying them out, I bet you will find these tips real handy!!
Dried Flowers: Dried flowers: The magic wand for decoration
Posted by admin in Dried Flowers
These days the home happens to be the greatest recluse of peace away from the hype and hoopla and the stress and depression of the city and the office. So why not make that place a bit more soothing and relaxing with some additional peace and comfort?
Wondering what way you can do that? Simple, flowers!! Did you know, studies have revealed that if you reside in a place that makes you feel relaxed and your spirits uplifted then you are more likely to have an increasingly healthy and happy life. And one thing that exactly does that is flowers!
Beautiful and vibrant flowers adorning it fragrantly all around the house keeps us feeling boosted and positive all throughout the day, isn’t it?? Anxiety and stress seem to wane away in the presence of nice, glowing blossoms and the effect continues even when we walk out of the house.
Not just that, the very exotic beauty of flowers with the variant textures and lively colours and the distinctive shapes makes them perfect for decorative purposes.
Fresh flowers are always a good idea and have been a favorite option at all festive occasions and seasons, weddings and Halloween, Christmas and Easter and even at funerals.
But a little more appealing (that’s my opinion) are the dried flowers. The very beauty of the blossoms frozen into a subtle state oblivion really appeals. They have a different aura all together.
A little dried flower centerpiece for a silent and romantic candle light dinner, or a nice dried flower welcome wreath on Christmas or Thanksgiving, or a huge stand bouquet for a loved one’s funeral would do intent wonders.
The best part with dried flowers is they need minimum effort to be prepared at home yet look great when used for brightening the little nooks and corners of the house.