Our crafting is definitely rubbing off on our kids.That became very obvious this past summer when we were sitting on the beach and my 6 year old son handed me a small, flat, uniquely shaped rock and said “Mama, this looks like a vase”. After a moment of self-congratulation for raising such a creative, genius child (he then said, “or maybe it looks like poop”) I started thinking of ways to use these “vase-like” rocks.
Around the same time, we were preparing our Friday Five post on Inspiring Pressed Flower Crafts. In the previous weeks, my husband had picked up several picture frames at a garage sale for $2 apiece. He insists that this one was not broken when he bought them, and the kids deny any role in this mishap, so it must have magically broken.
So, all these things came together to inspire our new art project. To make your own, this is what you’ll need:
- x1 sheet of 8 ½” x 11” white cardstock paper
- x3 small sized flat-on-one-side rocks
- Fine tip black marker
- Pressed flower petals (we used rose petals- see below)
- Parchment paper
- Glue gun or other glue strong enough to hold the rocks on the paper
- Craft glue to hold pressed flower on the paper
- Mod Podge
- Picture frame without the glass or a shadow box
Before you can begin to assemble the artwork you will need to prepare the rose petals. An easy way to press flowers/petals is by sandwiching them in between two sheets of parchment paper and applying a heavy weight on top. Leave for one to two weeks. Or a quicker way is by drying the flower/petals inside a microwave. Lay out the petals spaced apart on a piece of parchment paper. Put inside the microwave and heat for 30 seconds at a time depending on the size of your flower or petals. Check often to avoid over drying. Once the flower petals are ready, put aside.
Once you have your dried flowers, you are ready to start assembling. Position the rock “vases” onto your card stock evenly-spaced along the bottom and place the flower petals as you would like them. We chose to do three flowers in each vase but a single flower also looks really nice.
Once you are happy with the arrangement, hand draw the flower stems coming out of the vases. Using the glue gun affix the rocks to the paper.
Add the craft glue to the back side of the petal and stick to the top of each stem. Apply a little pressure but be careful not to over press the flowers. Once the glue had dried we applied a thin coat of Mod Podge to the pressed flower petals with a fine paint brush. This gave the petals a subtle shine but also helped to preserve the structure and colour of the petals. Avoid getting Mod Podge on the paper as it will wrinkle the paper when it dries.
The final step is to frame the artwork and hang on the wall. Enjoy!
Do you have any tips for pressing flowers?
Across the Boulevard
Friday 16th of October 2015
This is great! And how fun that your son sparked the idea! Thanks for partying with us at Snickerdoodle.
Jane and Sonja
Saturday 17th of October 2015
It's amazing the ways in which we are inspired! And actually, he's been full of some really creative ideas...perhaps he'll be our future Sustain My Craft Habit blogger!
Jamie (TigerStrypes)
Tuesday 13th of October 2015
That is beautiful!! I love when you can use something for something else...even if it magically breaks!! :) Thank you for sharing with us at the #HomeMattersParty
Jane and Sonja
Saturday 17th of October 2015
Absolutely! This craft kind of magically all came together. Thanks for stopping by!
Audrey
Tuesday 6th of October 2015
Spontaneously breaking objects, we have those in my house too. ;)
Love the project though!
Jane and Sonja
Saturday 17th of October 2015
With young kids around, no object is safe;) Thanks for stopping by!