Pressed Flowers – Creating a Greeting Card

On August 20, 2015August 19, 2015 By TimelessladyIn Pressed FlowersLeave a comment

In the past I sold pressed flower greeting cards by the dozens at craft shows and even through a local hardware store. I don’t pursue this line of making a bit of money any longer, but I still like to create an occasional card for friends or family.

I have posted many tips on how to press flowers in the blog. If you use the search box in the right hand sidebar, and search for “pressed flowers,” you will find quite a bit of useful information.

I create my cards without using glue by creating a design on regular paper, and then dropping the flowers onto clear laminate backwards and right side down. I’ve included a quick video of one of my cards start to finish in 8x normal speed. You will even see me deal with a dilemma at the end of my creating. It’s a good idea to place the finished card in a book with a weight on top for a few hours before using it. Any questions…feel free to ask me in the comment section of this post. Thanks for stopping by and taking a look.

Quirkiness – Wacky Wednesday/Creating Cairns on Block Island

On July 22, 2015July 21, 2015 By TimelessladyIn Quirkiness2 Comments

I recently composed a mantelscape using “beachy” items in honor of summer and the many seashore areas we have visited. I created a cairn (stacked rocks) with a few pebbles I brought home from Block Island, Rhode Island. I have created many a cairn on the Block Island beaches and admired hundreds more of these impromptu works of art built by the talented stone stackers who roam the bluffs, rocks and sand of this beautiful place.

“A cairn is a man-made pile (or stack) of stones. The word cairn comes from the Scottish Gaelic: càrn (plural càirn).” ~ Wikipedia

Here are a few of the cairns I have photographed over the years on Block Island. As you can see cairns can be stacked quite tall…

Or very small…

Some have a picturesque backdrop…

While others adorn the muddy clay at the base of the bluffs…

Some stand alone…

While others stand en masse in a madrigal choir of stone.

There are even a few who have gotten married! (See note about this photograph at end of post)

Block Island cairns are created with the beautiful rocks and pebbles found on Block Island Beaches.

I composed and photographed the bride and groom photograph on Block Island a few years ago. I have used it many times as a wedding or shower greeting card. Please feel free to copy and use the photograph for non-commercial uses. It looks terrific mounted on a piece of black cardstock and then double-mounted on a white 5 x 7 greeting card. The photo is a standard size and should be easy to have reproduced anywhere they print out digital photos. Better yet, try your hand at creating your own bride and groom photograph from natural items…so much fun!

Plantings and Pressed Flowers – Growing Snow Peas

On November 20, 2013 By TimelessladyIn Planting, Pressed FlowersLeave a comment

This beautiful blossom is not a Sweet Pea blooming in Springtime, it is instead the bloom of a Snow Pea blooming in my Square Foot Garden in mid-November. I planted the peas near the end of August and they are still producing pea pods for me. I love the fact that anything at all is still growing in the rapidly falling temperatures. The flower of the Snow Pea is quite attractive, a beautiful lavender and deep purple combination.

What a bonus that the flower develops quickly into a tender, delicious peapod. They are such a welcome addition to my salad greens.

Another bonus: the twirling fronds the snow pea uses for climbing are a perfect foil for my pressed flower compositions. They press within three days inside the pages of a book. They add the perfect delicate touch to a Victorian Pressed Flower Card.