native bee balm

I love this native bee balm I came  upon while gathering Queen Anne's lace near our local dog park. I temporarily pressed it in a phone book until I was able to pop it in the Microfleur.

New picture soon to come...

Handmade gift tag surprise...

As a heart felt "thank you," I send along a pressed flower gift tag in appreciation for each order.  During busy times I don't always keep up (if I've missed you I'm sorry), but recently a friend started helping me make the small pieces of handmade paper, so I've been able to stockpile quite a few.

Customers regularly tell me that they frame the pressed flower cards they receive from me, but here's a first - a framed gift tag!  I love it!

This tag is a calendula flower pressed in the Microfleur, mounted on a 2 x 2" piece of handmade paper from our gift tag mold and deckle kit.  I also cover each gift tag flower with PPA (a great pressed flower sealant), to help seal in the color, and protect it from handling. They are so much fun and so simple to make - instant gratification!
   

Pressing crocus and wild violets in the Microfleur flower press

"Hi Elizabeth, I love your blog and website and am ordering a microfleur press in the next day or two. I'd love to make my mom a mother's day card out of wild violets, but don't really know where to start. I looked at your crocus tutorial, but can't tell if you split the stem and flower into two parts, remove some leaves, or press the whole thing at once. Can you offer any advice for wild violets? They won't be here for long. Thanks so much." Melissa - Lawrence, KS

Hi Mel,

Thank you for your questions! First, regarding crocuses, I snip the crocus flower at the base of the stem, and I press the crocus whole - with out removing any of the petals.  Sometimes, if I cut low enough a few of the leaves are attached, and I press them too, but usually I need to cut extra leaves and press them separately.

Regarding wild violets, cut the stem as close to the ground as you can, so that you get a nice long stem (violet stems are so perfect! I also use them for other flowers that have gnarly stems). Then cut off the violet flower at the back, where the stem and the flower meet.  Be sure to cut some extra leaves as well.

If you are using the Microfleur, you will find the flowers will need more time in the microwave than the stems and the leaves, so press them separately.  I gently press the flowers between my thumb and index finger before laying them on the Microfleur pads, so that they lay nice and flat. In my microwave, I give them about 3-4 30 second bursts on high.  When I do the leaves and stems, they tend to only need one 30 second burst.

I hope this helps!  As always, feel free to let me know if you have any more questions.

In a matter of days... pressing crocuses in the Microfleur

Yellow Crocus Spring Greeting

12 x 12"

Pressed flowers on handmade paper
 

In a matter of days I will be pressing the first crocuses of the year (smile).  This winter has seemed unusually  l  o  n  g  to me, has it been that way for you? I'm hoping not. At any rate, my little purple crocuses have begun to peak out, and I am on the look out for the large yellow crocuses in the picture above which usually aren't far behind..

For those of you new to pressing flowers, you may want to check out my tutorial on pressing crocus flowers in the Microfleur.  Crocuses are delicate, but with care both the flowers and the classy stripped leaves press very well. This year, since Easter is so late, I will have plenty of time to make pressed crocus Easter cards.    

Fireworks in December

One of the new plants I couldn't wait to grow last spring was Burpee's exclusive Fireworks flowers , an unruly shockingly pink Globe Amaranth. What a fun flower!  The ladies who walk past my house every morning stopped by several time to get a closer look, and even my kids, who are a bit "flowered out," as you can imagine,  found them "cool."

Although they are dimensional, they ended up pressing very well in the Microfleur, and their flat, graceful stems are an added plus.

This piece of Fireworks pressed flower art is created on 5 x 7" handmade paper, and mounted on fine Gilbert Oxford card stock.  It has been sealed with  UV resistant polymers, and is ready to frame in the 8 x 10" frame of your choice.

You can grow your own fireworks next spring!  The seeds are available here.  If you are interested in purchasing a Microfleur, you can do so here, and, remember, free gift wrapping is available on all Microfleurs and paper making kits from now until December 20th. 

Time to make gift tags...

For the past few Christmas seasons I've been offering free Christmas gift wrapping on all Microfleur flower presses and Going Green paper making kits, and I've always included a free handmade paper gift tag.  Sometimes it's a pressed fern/Christmas tree tag, other times a pressed Queen Anne's Lace flower/snowflake tag, either way, they are fun to make, and a great way to showcase two of my favorite things:  pressed botanicals and handmade paper.

Here's a quick tutorial of my favorite way of making handmade paper gift tags...

1988 Confirmation Keepsake

I am so excited to share this idea!  

Andrea, a customer friend of mine is traveling back to Norway to meet her extended family.  Before leaving she and her mom and sister decided to make pressed flower gifts for each of the relatives they would be meeting.  Originally she decided to make pressed flower glass "sun-catchers," but then she came upon this wonderfully unique idea - embellishing copies of her great-grandfather's confirmation certificate from 1888 with pressed flowers, and framing them.  

Adrea emails: "We made 30 of these 5x7 frames with Bachelor Buttons, Potentilla, and Feverfew (they smelled like a lovely herbal tea when they were drying)... I did most of the flower pressing in the Microfleur, and my mom and sister did most of the artful gluing onto the documents, to highlight his name just right!"

Stunning.  I can't wait to hear about her family's reaction to them!

I don't care for light blue...

I just can't stand light blue.  Like finger nails against a chalkboard, so is light blue to my eyes.  I don't like light blue walls, clothes, carpeting, or blankets.  Remember light blue eye shadow?  Thank God that's over with! At least I hope it is. 

However, there is an exception to every rule, and I have two.  I love light blue skies, and I love light blue tradescantia - otherwise known as spiderwort.  It's a native plant here in Wisconsin, and this time of year you can see it along shady roadsides - if you are up and about early.  The beautiful triangular flowers with their bright yellow stamens melt away by 10:00 am.  Tradescantia aren't easy to press, but they are definitely worth the extra effort.  I pressed these with the Microfleur which captured their color perfectly, but it was tricky getting them off the liner sheets with out tearing them. 

This card is one of 25 assorted pressed flower cards I'm making that will be included in gift bags for the judges in the Lake Geneva Flower Show later this month. 

Flower Pressing Tips, Part I - Revisited

Back in April of 2005, I entered my first blog entry.  I reread it the other day, and was happy to see that it wasn't too bad, considering!  I've dusted it off and polished it up a bit because it contains some good information for my newer "pressed flower" readers. 

Flower Pressing Tips, Part I

* My most used press - I love the "Microfluer" microwave flower press. It's essentially two thick pieces of thick durable plastic, 4 clips, and a set of thick fleece liners. I use this press the most, because it's so FAST and easy. I can press about 15-20 decent sized pansies in about a minute. The color is exceptional - often the color seems richer after being microwaved, since they are both pressed and dried in just a little over a minute. There are a few flowers that turn strange colors, or don't tolerate the microwave at all, especially very moist flowers like impatiens.  Also, the timing can be tricky, i.e. how long to zap the flowers, but it just takes some patient trial and error. Please practice on some "not so perfect" flowers first. 

* Gently flatten the flowers - before placing them in your press. That way they have a better chance of pressing perfectly.

* Don't forget the leaves! - It's easy to get so carried away while gathering flowers, that you forget to snip a few leaves and stems. Find young fresh leaves, as they press best. Also, if the stems of a certain flower are thick and bulky, substitute a more slender stem from another flower.

* Cultivate a sense of wonder - Take a moment to look...really, really, look at a flower. See the intircate handiwork of each flower - the precise symetry, the irridescent glowing colors on such a tender canvas. How kind of our Creator to sprinkle such beauty at our feet!

* Cultivate a sense of humor - I try to gently knock the bugs off each flower I gather, but those little pests are persistent! Can you believe God made so many odd looking bugs? I try to be patient and carry those little bugs back outside, but after the millionth one...

* A few of my favorite flowers to press - Cosmos, osperspermum, pansey, viola, violet, verbena, coreopsis, calendula, transcantia, borage, edelweiss, mallow, and lavender,just to name a few.  Here is a complete list of flowers that I have found to press well in the Microfleur.

If you haven't pressed flowers before, please try it! If you have any questions, just email me. I'd be happy to help get you started!

I'm in here...

I'm not sure if this quite equals my ship coming in, but I am thrilled that my Elizabeth's Flowers website was mentioned as a source for the Microfleur flower press in the August edition of Canadian Living.

Editor Karen Kirk contacted me a few months ago to find out if I ship to Canada, which I have been gladly doing for years. Her article, "Blooming Frames" details an interesting way to use pressed flowers to decorate frames, and has a wonderful step by step pictorial on using the Microfleur. My site is listed as a source under "Things You Need," and you can view the article online here.

It has been exciting to see my website in print and mentioned online, and I'm eager to find out what kind of traffic will be generated to my site. But mostly, I hope the article convinces more people to press their own flowers, and enjoy the beauty they bring.

"The beauty of each blossom speaks silently of God's love..."

Pressed for all time...

July already? Do you ever get the feeling that God pushes "fast forward" during the summer? It never fails to whiz by.

This time of year almost every spare moment I have is spent pressing flowers, so that I have plenty to use all year long for my framed and unframed pressed flower art, as well as my pressed flower cards.

Today I pressed the last of my violas, the first of my red poppies, many blue and purple cornflowers, a fern sprig, and lots of calendula and osteospermum.

Can you tell what the silver star shaped flowers in the middle of my Microfleur flower press are? They are edelweiss flowers - not an easy plant to grow, unless you are in the Alps. I am thankful when ever they grace me with their presence here in Wisconsin, and this year I've been blessed with a modest amount of small blooms. Many of them will be used for consignment pictures customers have ordered, and any leftovers will be used for cards that I will put up on my Etsy page.

If you are new to pressing flowers, here's a Microfleur Flower List I complied a summer or two ago about on what flowers I have found to press well in the Microfleur - if you have any to add, please email me, and I would be glad add them to the list.

Northern Wisconsin

I'm interrupting my normal flower/plant post to bring you this stunning picture I just found on our camera. It was taken on Sunday just before we headed home, by my husband. I'm not sure what I like looking at better...the beautiful fall foliage, the reflection on the lake, or the silhouette of the wispy beach grass in the forefront. Part of me wishes we were still there, in that peaceful place.

Below is another picture, of one of my enthusiastic leaf hunter helpers and I, deep in the north woods looking for "perfect" leaves. We found quite a few - several gallon ziplock bags full.

I will be pressing most of the leaves in regular flower presses , but some of them I will be pressing in the Microfleur, so that I can use them right away.
I was thrilled to find an abundance of really, really red maple leaves this year - some years they tend to be more orange than deep red. They'll come in handy for maple leaf collages.

You frame it Friday: Orange Cosmos Flowers

Orange Cosmos are among the cheeriest flowers I know. The brilliance of their color never fades, and I love how the flowers tend to dance and bob above their sharp, finely cut foliage.

However, I don't always like pressing orange cosmos. Sometimes for no reason (that I can tell) cosmos flowers turn dark when I press them in the Microfleur. The very next time they all turn out perfect - no rhyme or reason. Their leaves always press perfectly, but are very brittle when dried. I skip my morning diet mountain dew when working with those very delicate leaves.

However tedious they can be, they are definitely worth the effort. I make a lot pressed flower pictures for myself with sayings or verses I want to remember, and I've noticed that I tend to choose cosmos.
This "Orange Cosmos" flower art picture is sealed with 2 different UV resistant and moisture proof polymers, so it's all ready for you to pop into a standard 8 x 10" frame, or even an 11 x 14" frame, with standard matting. If I were framing this, I would go with an 8 x 10" frame with a plain white mat.

House cleaning

Let's clean up some loose ends today.

First of all, I've received a number of emails from people interested in purchasing Perfect Paper Adhesive, one of the sealants I use primarily for my pressed flower cards, but they've been unable to find it on my website. Others are having trouble finding the web page showing my un-framed pressed flower art.
All for good reason - it has been hard to find these items...but I have finally revamped the navigation on the Elizabeth's Flowers website and now each of those has it's own link on the left side of every page.

Also, I've received inquiries regarding when the regular Microfleur will be back in stock. Actually, it's been back in stock for some time, but it may look like it is still out of stock unless you hit the refresh button, and then the "out of stock" message will disappear. I'm not sure why that is - I think it has something to do with "cookies".

I apologize for such a boring post! This fall, I will be redoing elizabeths-flowers.com with a fresh new template, so it will be much more professional looking, and, thankfully, much easier to navigate. By the way, I am looking for a graphic artist to update my logo with a fresh new look as well. Please email me if you're interested.

And, one last thing. I thought I'd let you know that Midday Connection is airing the "Women of Moderation" series again. Basically it's a Bible study that can teach you how to be "moderate" not only in regards to food, but in other areas of your life as well.

When I went through it last Spring, I found the principals I learned valuable in helping me to learn to say "no" to myself, not only in regards to my tendency to indulge myself with too many Krunchers, cookies, large portions, etc, but I also learned to say no to myself when I was tempted to spend too much time surfing on the net, buying something I didn't need, or not making the time to exercise. Being "moderate" is definitely a process, and I have my share of slips, but if I look hard at my life I can certainly see progress. I really recommend it, and it's a great study to do with a friend.

You frame it Friday

I love poppies, and suddenly my garden is on the verge of exploding with them.

Not only do I love their dazzling red color, I love that their fuzzy green stems have a mind of their own. They will curve where they want to curve, and bend the way they want to bend, and there is nothing I can do about it. Most flower stems are pliable and I can bend them precisely the way I want them to go before placing them in the Microfleur, but definitely not so with poppies.

This pressed flower art collage is mounted on an 8 1/2 x 11" piece of Gilbert Oxford card stock, to give you plenty of framing options. You may choose to frame it in a small 5 x 7" frame with or with out a mat, but better yet it can be framed in an 8 x 10" frame with a standard mat, or even an 11 x 14" frame, which would allow the deckled edges of the handmade paper to show.

The poppies have been sealed with a UV and moisture resistant sealant, but as with all fine art, I would recommend using acid free matting and UV resistant glass or acrylic.

Who am I?

I just finished pressing these beautiful spring flowers a few minutes ago, but I have no idea what they are. My aunt gave me the bulbs last fall, but I forgot to write down what she said they were. They also come in pink. Do any of you know?

As you can see, the delicate color of the flowers came out brilliantly with the microfleur, but the slender leaves turned slightly brown. A quick touch up with a moss green prisma color marker will quickly take care of that.

Daffodils

God made a masterpiece when He made daffodils, didn't He?

It's looking like spring might have been canceled in Wisconsin this year, but if you've been blessed with spring weather where you are, you might find this question and answer about pressing daffodils useful:

Dear Elizabeth,

I am an English A Level student currently studying art in my first year. For my exam I am creating a collage based around daffodils including photographs and painting but would also like to include dried out daffodils, but am at a loss where to start! I wanted to include a large proportion of the stem (to give a 'still planted' impression) so the microfleur press doesn't seem to be large enough!

Do you have an suggestions or advice? I'm sorry if I have missed anything already mentioned on your website (which is wonderful by the way!) about this specific flower. I appreciate that you obviously get a lot of emails but I await your reply as daffodils are, sadly, briefly seasonal.

Thanks, Rachel

Dear Rachel,

Thank you for your kind compliment regarding my site. Your collage sounds like it will be very interesting! I'd love to see it.

If I were you, I'd press the flower in the Microfleur, and press the stem (and leaves?) separately in a large book. The stem and leaves will probably turn brown, but you could recolor them with a green leaf colored marker (Prismacolor markers are good). Also, since daffodil stems are thick, try slicing them in half.

Hope this helps!

Kind Regards, Elizabeth

strange flowers

Here's the flowers from my unusual air plant I mentioned last month. Purple tube flowers, ending in long stamens with neon yellow pollen. Strange!

Speaking of strange, lots of things are strange around here in Wisconsin. We had 15 inches of snow on Good Friday, but thankfully it's been in the fifties lately and most of the snow is gone. However, we are supposed to get 6 more inches tomorrow.

My crocuses are nowhere in sight. Last year at this time, I was busily pressing crocuses, and making pressed crocus cards. If you've been blessed with crocuses where you are, here's a tutorial on how to press crocus flowers - they press beautifully with the Microfleur flower press. I hope to be able to join you in pressing crocuses soon!

Interview with Jennie Beecroft - Part 2

Here's the completion of my online interview with Jennie Beecroft, the designer and manufacturer of the Microfleur microwave flower press.

Today's responses are especially interesting from a "home business" point of view, as we get to see how Jennie ran with her passion and took her idea (along with and her husbands design) and marketed it into a product with international appeal and demand.

Elizabeth: How did the creation of the Microfleur come about? How did the conception of your idea turn into an internationally sold product? Were there hurdles you had to overcome?

Jennie: On our return to Australia we were looking at whether we would buy a business or join the work force. As I mentioned earlier Bob (my husband) designed Microfleur for me so we eventually decided to market it. After at least 6 months of research and testing we came up with the product you see today. We also needed a name - micro (for microwave) and fleur (French for flower) was the final choice. Then came the logo, User guide, packaging, etc. Originally we only had the small press and we launched it at a large Craft Fair in early 1995. Luckily Microfleur was one of the few items to be shown on local television the first night of the show, and the rest, as they say, is history. During the year we had so many requests for a larger Microfleur that we launched the MAX early in 1996.

Friends of ours had visitors staying from USA who were very taken with Microfleur and asked to be our USA distributors - as we were novices in the international scene and felt comfortable with these people we agreed and early in 1996 went to our first HIA show in Las Vegas.

Getting into the European market was a lot harder - we attended several trade shows in Europe and England as well as retail shows in England. The demand was there but getting the European supplier to take on a product from Australia was quite difficult. We found we needed to attend the shows for at least 3 years before we were taken seriously. I guess we had to prove we were there for the long term and able to sustain exhibiting at the shows.
We also had to have the guide translated into the many European languages and get interpreters to help out on the stand.

When we first started we were working out of one side of our garage and Bob and I doing most of the assembly by hand. As we grew we moved into a rented factory and Bob designed box folders and felt slicers (so we could get the correct thickness of felt) and we needed to hire a casual to help with the packaging.

Also, we had found that most of our retails buyers were first time flower pressers and wanted to know how or what to use their flowers on - so I wrote the Project book which has helped to sell the press.

Elizabeth: Are there any innovations to the Microfleur or other pressed flower products in the works?

Jennie: No not at this stage, we have looked at specific glues and sealers but there are so many on the market, now, that do the job that it seemed unnecessary.

Elizabeth: Any parting comments?

Jennie: I guess I would suggest that people try anything and everything. And I am often amazed at the uses customers come up with, and some of the designs and pictures are beautiful.

Thanks again for sharing with us Jennie! Your story is an interesting one.
If you are interested in learning more about using the Microfleur, here is a tutorial on How to press Crocus flowers in the microfleur.

Interview with Jennie Beecroft - Part 1

Today I'm happy to present you with the first part of my online interview with Jennie Beecroft of Beeline Productions - the manufacturer of my favorite tool, the Microfleur Microwave Flower Press.

Elizabeth: Jennie, thank you so much for agreeing to share a bit about yourself with us. Please tell us a little bit about you and your family, and where you're from.

Jennie: I was born and grew up in Melbourne (Victoria). As a child I was horse mad and when we moved to the acreage I was lucky enough to get a horse for Christmas when I was 12. Mistie and I were inseparable for many years and it was with great regret I sold her when I married. I now live north of Brisbane (Queensland), 20 minutes drive from the beach. I am still married
and have 2 sons, who live in Melbourne with their wives and 1 daughter who lives near us in Queensland. I also have 2 grandchildren (boy and girl) who live in Melbourne, which means I drive to Melbourne several times a year (2000klms home to Melbourne). Because of my husbands work we traveled and lived overseas a lot in the late 1980's and early 1990's, including China, Indonesia, Japan and England. We have been settled here since late 1993.

Elizabeth: When and how did your interest in pressing flowers begin?

Jennie: I always had a flower press with me on our travels and picked many a flower, leaf etc to put in the press. Usually though the result wasn't as great as I would like!
I used to make paper whilst we were overseas and included some of the pressed flowers. We now live on acreage and as I have always been interested in gardening it seemed logical to try and combine gardening and papermaking. I experimented a lot more and complained a lot more, especially about the time taken as I wanted to include the flower now.
Eventually my engineer husband came up with a flower press I could use in the microwave.

Elizabeth: What kind of pressed flower creations have you done? What are you working on now?

Jennie: Most of my pressed flowers are used in cards or in pictures - my mother is more 'creative' than I am and uses lots of barks and feathers in her work. I have also done put the flowers on cups (special occasion one use only), made lampshades, combined with water colour in paintings of gardens, and my latest fun thing is to combine the flowers in resin for use in beading.

Many thanks to Jennie, for sharing with us. On Friday we'll hear more about how the Microfleur actually came to be.