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Pressed flowers and Pansies

Pressing flowers has been one of my favourite things this past summer and fall. There are still pansies blooming in the garden and so I’ve continued on my pressing frenzy …

Usually my flowers end up in books carefully preserved. I love opening up books and finding flowers that I remember from my garden.

This year, my pressed flowers are getting used at a rapid rate. Collages and altered books seem to be using up many of the flowers. I like working with them since it feels as if I’m still working out in my garden (well, at least in my imagination!)


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9 responses to “Pressed flowers and Pansies”

  1. Clare Avatar
    Clare

    Very cool, Kate!! The top flower looks like a beautiful fan — or an exotic feather. The colors are amazing. I love that you press flowers and use them in your art. And later opening a book and finding them between the pages must be fun. I’ve bought some old books before and found pressed flowers inside — and I always wondered about who put them there and what event they might have been from. Big hugs from Moose and I to you and Lytton!:)

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  2. red tin heart Avatar
    red tin heart

    i love to press flowers and make things out of them. have you ever pressed queene anne’s lace and put it on a royal blue background? beautiful combination. xoxo nita

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  3. Willow Avatar
    Willow

    Pansies are the perfect flowers to press–soft, thin, colorful!

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  4. Alyssa Avatar
    Alyssa

    I still find pressed flowers and leaves in books that Ashley and I did years ago. It brings back such wonderful memories. Please, you never explained what the “altered books” are. I can’t imagine what you will be doing with the pressed flowers in them.

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  5. Yolanda Elizabet Avatar
    Yolanda Elizabet

    I used to press flowers too but for some reason I stopped doing so. Perhaps I should pick it up again as it is such a nice surprise to come upon the odd dried flower or two unexpectedly while reading a book.

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  6. jodi Avatar
    jodi

    Long ago when I worked at the herbarium at the Ag College, I spent a summer pressing wild plants; even though I have a clay flower press from Lee Valley, I’ve never gotten into doing it again. There is an extremely talented artist here in the Valley, Anna Spooner, who does Stoneleaf Lamps (http://stoneleaflamps.com); pressed leaves and flowers and other items into handmade lampshades and mounted on Valley stones. I have one lamp and an additional lampshade…so far…she’s very talented!

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  7. Rowan Avatar
    Rowan

    I always love to see pressed flowers and the cards etc that are made from them. I’ve never done flower pressing myself though. It seems a very leisurely,peaceful pastime, for me it always conjures up a picture of Victorian and Edwardian ladies on a summer afternoon or on a winter day, leafing through their flower albums and turning the memories of summer into bookmarks and cards.It’s hard to imagine you having snow already, it is still relatively mild in the daytime though late afternoon and the nights are cold – by our standards anyway:)

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  8. kate Avatar
    kate

    Hi Clare – The top flower is a pressed poppy petal. I loved the way they turned out. I hadn’t thought of this before, but it does looks like an exotic fan. I love coming upon pressed flowers in books … especially second-hand ones … what a story they might tell!Nita – I haven’t tried drying Queen Anne’s Lace on a blue background. It must be really pretty though and something I’ll try next year! Willow – Pansies are perfect for drying – they don’t change colour and they dry easily – sometimes I think they look better dried than fresh. Alyssa – Pressed flowers do bring back memories – those must be very special ones for you too. Altered books is a way of transforming a book that is no longer read into a work of art, through painting, collaging, adding embellishments, photographs and incorporating bits of the book’s text as you want. Some people glue together many of the book’s pages and then make little niches to hold small objects. Anything can essentially be added to the book, such as little pockets or envelopes to hold messages or memorabilia … Yolanda – Pressing flowers is a fun pastime. I hope you get back into it, because it is a treat coming across pressed flowers in a beloved book. Jodi – I checked out the Stoneleaf Lamp website. Anna Spooner is a talented artist. I love the lampshades. They are beautiful … I used to have a clay Lee Valley press but gave it to a friend because I like the Microfleur presses better. They are easier to work with. Rowan – Pressing flowers is a very relaxing and peaceful activity. Unlike Victorian and Edwardian times, we can use a microwave which is good for avoiding the yellowing and discolouration that sometimes happens to book-pressed flowers.And yes, snow already. It is staying too and the roads are really icy this morning.

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  9. Ki Avatar
    Ki

    I remember finding the first pressed flowers I ever saw when I was a kid, in an old dictionary. I thought it was quite wonderful how the papery delicate flowers were so delicate yet wonderfully preserved. Several years ago there was mini craze to use tiny pressed flowers to decorate your homemade greeting cards. My cousin sent us one and again I was captivated by the delicate beauty. I love to look at them but don’t know why I never pursued the hobby, it wasn’t for lack of flowers. I even bought a press which was never used. I bought a used book on Japanese maples and the previous owner had placed several leaves and twigs of different kinds of maples in the book. It was a lovely unintended gift.

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