A post with three titles: Pressed Flowers or I have a new website! or I have a business now!

Well, my cyber friends, I have been very busy in the past few days.  Tommy and I did receive our paper work from the state and the city, and so we are now officially in business.  We now have a company called Redding Creative Arts, offering photography and custom scrapbooking services.  If you have a minute, you can check out our site, http://www.wix.com/reddingcreativearts/home.

I also had time to get some flowers and press them.  Why?  Well, pressed flowers make lovely bookmarks, greeting cards, and art.  My mom and I found an artist that makes pictures only using pressed flowers and leaves.  I have a scene of hot air balloons flying over woods.  You can do something just as pretty, and for very little cost.  Pressing the flowers is the first step, and as long as you don't get arrested for stealing flowers from people's yards, it is pretty much free!

To begin, collect some flowers and leaves.  The leaves are important, please don't forget them.

Then, you will need some white paper or tissues.  You are going to flatten the flowers, but it is important to remember this as you lay the flowers out.  Try to get the petals as open as possible.  You may have to separate petals from the more elaborate flowers.  Arrange the flowers on the white paper so that they do not overlap.  

Next, lay another sheet of paper or tissue over the top of the flowers.  You may need to gently flatten this some.  

Put your "flower sandwich" into a book to press, and stack other books or heavy objects on top of it.  I used this particular book because it had large pages.  I paid 10 cents for it and it was water-damaged when I got it.  If the flowers get it a little bit damp, it won't make much of a difference.  If you do not have such a book, I have this suggestion:  Put your "flower sandwiches" in newspaper, and put the newspaper under a stack of books.

You should check the flowers after about a week to see if they are dry.  If they are, take them out and store them in a dry place.  Sandwich bags work nicely.

A few words about drying flowers:  You should try drying things that you like, but throw in a few odd things, too.  You never know how you will be able to use them in your pressed flower designs later.  Also, colors change as the flowers dry out, and sometimes after a flower is dry, it does not look as pretty as you thought it would.  Don't stress over the ones that don't work.  That is part of the reason why trying odd things is important.  As flowers change, you may find that you like the result.  White flowers may turn a bit brown as they dry, and flowers that are more moist will dry differently than flowers with drier petals.  Experiment!  It's fun!

Next week, when my flowers are dry, I'll show you some ideas on how to use them.