Roses for Lois

...and for everyone else, too!

Yes, Lois, the wild roses are blooming. I was hoping to get a better picture, but since you are waiting, these will have to do!

Rosebuds add an extra touch to my designs, but it's a tedious process to prepare them. I slice each rosebud, and then use a tweezer to remove the bulky filling.

The picture above shows part of the pile of treasures still to be pressed!
(the "yellow umbrella" flowers on the right will have their own post soon.)

From the garden

I'm enjoying this color combination. The orange poppies are late this

year, but they really complement the blue flax, don't they?

June Blooms

It was a lovely June afternoon for walking in the pasture,

especially since recent rain showers brought new growth.

This picture shows prairie smoke in the foreground.

and a closer look...

The blue flax are blooming, too:

This is a crocus gone to seed.
It's another favorite feathery filler.

Chokecherry & Yarrow

Last year, I tried pressing chokecherry blossoms, and they were a great addition. They are not quite fully open, but very close to prime pressing!

Another item I have been eagerly waiting for...yarrow ferns. When I mowed the lawn last week, I discovered a plant, so mowed around it! Today was the day for picking and pressing. These ferns do an amazing job of adding a bit of whimsy and feathery detail to a framed design. They come in sizes from small to large, and often have a lovely curvature. Oh, they also have a tangy herb like smell when they come out of the microwave press!

here is the yarrow in the lawn

a plucked plant to press

and a look at the ferns

Mid-May Sunday

On my walk this afternoon, I found

a few new flowers blooming...

here are wild sweet peas

and a wild violet

This is my well loved prairie smoke,
in the "red-bud" stage.

Yes, Bluebells!

My walk in the pasture this afternoon had a definite

purpose, to see if I could find any of these...

Yes, the bluebells have just started blooming.

A few more warm days, and I should

find plenty to press!

Can you guess what will bloom here?

I have been watching for these broad leaves to appear. Can you see them, right

by the toe of my shoe? The flowers they are sheltering should be out soon.

Here is a little closer look. I believe one of my sisters has said this is her favorite spring flower!
As soon as I spot the first flowers that go with these leaves, I will post a picture for you.
Maybe this weekend?

At home in France!

A lady I work with attended a wedding in France last month. She hosted the groom as a foreign exchange student a few years ago. She wanted something from our area to take as a hostess gift, and asked what I had on hand. I decided to do this arrangement I call my "botanical" design. (not technically correct, but it's not as flowery as some other designs)

The frame found a home with the bride's mother! She had minimal English, but managed to let them know the frame would work well in her room, and she was very pleased!

You might recognize this design from the April 2 post.

The same flowers and grasses are used, but it always turns out a little

differently, because each flower/grass is unique.

Work in progress

Oops, I made a mistake in the order of these pictures. The bottom one should be first. Take a look at the little bluebell on the right. It's not very distinct, and doesn't show the shape of the little bells very well.

Okay, see the tweezers? That's used to add in a few individual blue "bells" and make that part a little more pleasing to the eye. The larger 3 part plant in the middle is prairie smoke, the blue flowers on the left is prairie crocus. I'll add another crocus and bluebell, a little yarrow fern and some grasses will balance it out, and we'll call it finished!

We're getting ready for a larger craft bazaar coming up, so there probably won't be any new posts for a little while....

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.