http://crafterscommunity.com/crafts/floral-crafts-24/ Crafts, Projects and Ideas, holiday craft projects, kids craft ideas. Free arts and Crafts for all ages. en 60 enlighten/misc/rss.jpg http://crafterscommunity.com/crafts/floral-crafts-24/ http://crafterscommunity.com/crafts/floral-crafts-24/pressed-flower-wall-quilt-120/ http://crafterscommunity.com/crafts/floral-crafts-24/pressed-flower-wall-quilt-120/
Prepare the frame: Remove the back board of the frame. Stretch the fabric over the front of the board. Fold the edges of the fabric to the back of the board and glue with a glue gun.

Prepare the flower squares: Cut out 12 - 4 1/4 inch squares of cardstock. Arrange the pressed flowers and leaves on the squares of card stock. Using white glue, carefully glue the flowers and leaves to the cardstock. Write the name of the flower on each square.

Finish: Place the flower squares on the fabric covered board and arrange so each square is evenly spaced. Glue each square to the fabric using a small amount of white glue or spray adhesive. Replace the frame onto the back board.]]> Wed, 21 May 2008 12:31:17 Floral Crafts Floral Crafts cupcake en http://crafterscommunity.com/crafts/floral-crafts-24/air-drying-flowers-119/ http://crafterscommunity.com/crafts/floral-crafts-24/air-drying-flowers-119/
Once you have a place to hang them set up, you can begin to find flowers to dry. Hopefully you have a variety of flowers growing in your yard to experiment with. If not, you can find wildflowers growing alongside roads or in forests. If you are using these flowers, be sure to take care of the plants you take the flowers from. This ensures that there is plenty of plant growth for insects, birds and other wildlife to use.

Some flowers that have air-dried well for me are: Yarrow (Achillea millefolium), pompon Dahlias (Dahlia hortensis), Poppy seed heads (Papaver somniferum), Roses (Rosa), Marjoram (Origanum vulgare), Delphinium, Larkspur (Consolida ambigua), Lavender (Lavandula Augustifolia), African Marigold (Tagetes erecta), Strawflower (Helichrysum bracteatum), Globe Thistle (echinops ritro), Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus), Statice (Limonium sinuatum), Globe amaranth (Gomphrena globosa), and Love-in-a-mist (Nigella damascena) seed heads.

To find flowers that air-dry well, it's good practice to experiment. If it doesn't dry well, you gain the knowledge not to use it next time. Sometimes, an air-dried flower that doesn't look good to one person may look pleasing to another.

With most flowers, the best stage to dry them is when they are just beginning to open. Depending on the flower, if you hang it too late, the petals will fall off. You will learn this as you experiment. Others, you will want to wait until the seed head is developed because this is the decorative part.

The best time to cut flowers for drying is late morning after the due has dried and on a dry day. I like to take a wicker basket with a handle and my scissors with me and take a walk around the yard snipping what looks appealing.

Once you have your flowers picked, you can prepare them for air- drying. To do this, bundle eight to ten stems with a rubber band at the cut end of the flowers. The rubber band works especially well because as the flowers dry, the stems will shrink and the rubber band will shrink to the appropriate size of the bunch. Now you can insert an unraveled paper clip or florist wire inside the rubber band and bend it to form a hook that the bunch can hang over a peg, piece of lattice or hook. Hang the bunch of flowers upside down and depending on the weather, they will probably take anywhere from one to three weeks to dry completely. You can tell they are dry completely when they feel crisp to the touch.

Air-drying flowers make a fabulous decoration by themselves, but when they are dry, you can take them down and make dried flower arrangements, Christmas ornaments, dried flower wreaths and more.

©, 2001, Monica Resinger
About Author
About the author: Monica Resinger is the Editor of Creative Home Ezine http://creativehomeezine.netfirms.com , a fun ezine written by its readers! After each twice-weekly issue, you'll surely be inspired to organize your home, cook mouth-watering recipes, entertain your friends and family, beautifully decorate your home and much more! Don't miss another issue - join now! Send a blank e-mail to: CreativeHome-subscribe@yahoogroups.com]]> Wed, 21 May 2008 12:28:54 Floral Crafts Floral Crafts cupcake en http://crafterscommunity.com/crafts/floral-crafts-24/herbs-and-flowers-valentine-posy-118/ http://crafterscommunity.com/crafts/floral-crafts-24/herbs-and-flowers-valentine-posy-118/
Check All Free Crafts for more free craft projects like this one.
Make the heart pocket from red felt trimmed with a string of pearls and a red satin bow, then fill with lavender, thyme and yarrow - or other sweet smelling dried herbs - and finish by tucking in a tiny teddy bear. cupid (11K)

This would be a lovely keepsake to leave on a pillow or night table - if you add a few drops of essential oil the scent will linger for hours.

Now don't forget to slip a little love note in among the flowers!
How to Make the Felt Hearts
Cut a piece of paper to the same size as the pieces of felt. Fold it half along the longest side then cut out the largest heart shape possible. If you're not happy with the first attempt, practice until you have a heart-shaped pattern that you like. Pin the paper pattern to the first piece of felt and cut out around it. Repeat with the second felt piece. Place the two felt hearts together in a test fit; trim as needed to make both hearts match exactly.

Apply a line of tacky glue around the edge of one heart, beginning and ending just under the "shoulders" of the heart and leaving the top open. Press the two hearts together, then immediately reopen and apply another line of glue over the first one. Felt tends to absorb glue but this extra step makes a good bond.

Run a thin line of tacky glue around the edge of the front heart. Press the string of pearls firmly into the glue. It looks messy at first, but the white glue will be partially absorbed by the felt and should dry clear.

Glue a small red or white satin bow just below the "V" of the heart.

If you wish, add a few Valentine stickers.
Working with the Herbs and Flowers
Place all of the herbs and flowers in separate piles on your work surface. If you are using silk rosebuds, trim the wire stems to about two inches. Leave lavender stems a little longer. Yarrow dries in clumps of small stemmed flowers which are used to fill out the heart and provide support for the other stems. If you don't have any yarrow, use a substitute with similar characteristics. Small bunches of miniature baby's breath or even dried spirea flower heads should work well.

Although our posy isn't glued in place, you may add a little glue to the bottom part of the herbs or flowers before inserting to ensure that none of the materials move or fall out.

Begin by packing the heart pocket fairly snugly with three of four clumps of yarrow. On the left side, add the lavender. If necessary, trim stems to fit. Add slips of green thyme around the lavender.

Add three rosebuds in a triangle design on the right side. Use more slips of thyme as greenery around the rosebuds.

Nestle the miniature teddy bear in the middle of the rosebuds. Ours was firmly supported by the flowers and the side of the heart pocket but, if needed, apply tacky glue to the bottom of the bear to secure it.

Add tiny sprigs of white gypsophylia, or other tiny white flowers, as an accent color wherever you think it is needed.
Variations:

For stronger fragrance, add a spoonful of fine rose petal or lavender potpourri to the heart pocket before adding anything else or sprinkle the posy with a few drops of rose or lavender essential oil or fragrance oil.

Add a pin back if you think the recipient of your herbal heart posy would like to wear it on Valentine's Day.

For fridge display, take one of those free magnets that businesses give away, cut to fit, then slip it into the heart pocket (before adding any herbs or flowers). Test first to see if the magnet is strong enough. If you think that it is, hold the heart pocket open and add a few drops of tacky glue to the back piece where the magnet will lie. Slip in the magnet and press the magnetized side into the glue.

If you want to attach a cord for hanging, add it before assembling the rest of the posy. More string pearls would look nice, or simply use a white cord, gluing the two ends into the inside edges of the heart pocket.]]> Wed, 21 May 2008 12:26:30 Floral Crafts Floral Crafts cupcake en