FLOWERS FOR FRAMING AND FUNDS
Framing flowers for funds has made Eartha to become a real business doer. She began her handcraft with flowers pressed and framed them into a nice arrangement that soon grew into a source of gifts, by giving them to her friends and relatives on all occasions. Then she began marketing her craft into a community store where others welcomed and liked it. With her imagination and creativeness her genuine local handcraft has sold itself.
FIELD-SIDE MEMORABILIA
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FLOWERS FOR DRYING
The following are good materials for beginners, guaranteed
to dry well. Some of my pictures made from these
ingredients are now two years old and haven't discolored,
faded or deteriorated. Flat-petaled blooms are best . . .
petunias, roses, dahlias, etc., are no good unless you pull
apart the flower heads and rearrange them after they've
dried (a challenging project).
Every spring and summer, not so long ago, I'd grub daily in
the earth . . . weeding, mulching, coaxing my flower patch
to bloom. By July there would be buds, by August blooms and
by September death: the growing season over and a lot of
work and beauty lost. No more! Now, with the seedlings just
popping out of the ground, I'm looking forward to turning
those fleeting delights into long-lasting, attractive
floral "pictures" . . . and a handy source of extra cash.
I got started in this profitable craft almost by accident.
One day I picked a few cosmos blooms, brought them inside
and placed them between the pages of an old magazine
(remember the orchid from the high school prom?). Two weeks
later, I returned to find the flowers dried and still
perfect in shape and color. Inspired, I dug out an old
picture frame and was on my way. Here, for all you other
flower freaks, is the technique I've worked out since that
beginning.
First, the flowers. I've included with this article a list
of beginner-proof species, and you'll soon find other good
kinds near you . . . probably right outside the kitchen
door. Pick them, on a sunny day around noon, when there's a
minimum of humidity and dew on the petals.
Indoors, away from breezes and the kids, lay your treasures
on two thicknesses of paper toweling. Press each bloom flat
with your fingers. The center part can be removed if it's
too bulky, and the stem either snipped off or left,
depending on whether you like its looks. Space the prepared
materials half an inch apart on the sheet. When the page is
full, cover it with two more layers of toweling and several
open facial tissues. Then carefully place the "sandwich"
between the pages of a magazine. (Use an old, discarded
periodical—not a MOTHER—so you won't mind if
the paper is discolored in the process.)
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