Last week was unseasonably cold for April.

On my walk in the pasture,

It was a pleasant surprise to find....

buttercups!

Posting a Post! (fencepost, that is....)

This is one of my favorite fenceposts!

It is right beside the cow trail I often take when

I gather praire flowers and grasses.

here is a close up of the grain and shape of

a knothole

and more color and character...

Picking Piles of Purple Posies to Press

here they are, a heap of crocuses, fresh from the pasture

arranged on the felt pad that is part of the microwave flower press (notice the nicely curved stems?!) I like a bit of wind when the crocuses are blooming, it makes a more graceful stem, easier to use in designs, than just straight sticks...

sandwiched in the microwave flower press, about to cook for 30 seconds on each side

ready to be finished off (to take the last bit of moisture out) in the traditional press, between layers of yellow pages and newspaper.

all secured in the traditional press

more crocuses

These pictures are from my friend Ruby. She did a great job on the close ups, including the fuzzy stems. I hope to press a few more batches of crocuses this weekend.

Guess what?!

The other day, I went out walking in our pasture along one of my well traveled trails.

See those fuzzy shoots in the center left part of the picture? Do you know what they are?!


Yes, I'm happy to report the crocuses are just starting to bloom. It's always amazing to see these hardy flowers show up even before the pasture turns green. I will soon be picking and pressing!

Orange cosmos

My sister suggested a post with some "orange flowers." So, here are some orange cosmos. I love these flowers for a splash of color, and hope to plant them again this year.

The frame on the left was a 5 inch square. It sold at the second craft bazaar this spring. The frame on the right has a copper tone frame, and the outside dimensions are 12 inches by 15. The openings in the mat are 4 inches by 6 inches.

(title unknown)

Just a quick look at our most recent craft bazaar. The pictures were taken by a fellow pressed flower artist. (thanks, Ruby!)

"Yes, these are real flowers. No, I'm sorry, they're not for sale."

My sister, who is my main PR person at craft fairs, had a great idea. She wondered if we could get some fresh flowers for our table last weekend. I called the greenhouses in the area of the craft fair, and luckily enough, the closest one had some violas in bloom. They were in the little 3 inch black plastic pots. The very helpful lady at the cash register added this colored foil to fancy them up a bit. They were a hit!

What happened?!

No, we didn't have a wreck.... this is how it looks when we are all packed for a craft bazaar. It's amazing how much we can get in a little car. (Notice the table behind the seats in the picture on the left.) Maybe another time I'll get a picture of the trunk!

Collage with botanical look

This frame is brown "leather" with a tan mat. The opening on the left contains a small crocus with a few crocus that have "gone to seed." The opening on the right is prairie smoke. Dimensions of this frame are 19 1/2 by 8 1/2 inches.

Pansy in mini frame

This is a very small arrangement

of violas. It's about 2 inches by 3
and was fun to do.