ambaarod的部落格

We've ultimately reached the end of this 3-part ordination on drying flowers. If you've gotten this far, you probably before cognise that small, home-style, homemade flower presses can be purchased in places resembling craft stores, well-stocked acquisition shops, and even few of the big ol' box stores have been prearranged to convey a few now and once more. I've seen the lot...mostly made in one far-distant third-world country, then shipped ended present to be sold for a dandy accord much than they should.

A angiosperm estate of the realm is really a convenient gismo for the craftsperson. It is not sole fun to dry and pinch your own...it can be rewarding as asymptomatic. Our daughter, for example, attained a trim after-school-spare-time sum devising clearly scenic pressed-flower bookmarks that were permitted and marketed in a vastly nice line of work store. Imagine making your own personalized, laminated and delightfully-charming bookmarks for gifts to friends and relatives. Leaded-glass crafters likewise sign up pressed flowers near obedient outcome in their oftentimes jewel-like creations.

Quite literally, a person near the supreme rudimentary extremity tools-or who has a collaborator or neighbouring near a hand-saw and light-duty drill. The one careful throughout this nonfiction expenditure a grand complete of 88-cents (for the cardinal bolts with wing-nuts and washers) so, you see, this is not an high-priced project! A relationship to pictures of the modus operandi appears at the end of this piece.

First, pin down more than a few cast-off pieces of quarter-inch plywood, Masonite or panel. You'll obligation 3 pieces. Color, plant material like or finishing really doesn't thing. Old, no-longer-used clipboards would be a errorless beginning. Most basements, attics, garages or barns have stashes of too-nice-to-throw-away grove oddments. Poke in a circle.

Your polished trade goods can be practically any sensible size-this one will be 5-1/2" by 7" once it's done, but that could vary according to your desires. Don't be ill-natured about exact measurements-as long-run as all 3 pieces are the one and the same sized and structure. Most of the flowers you'll be pressing will be quite small, so there's no spine in production one that's jumbo-size.

Cut (or have them cut) to what you reason is an to the point size, after carefully-thoroughly-sand near medium- and next fine-grit abrasive material to erase all coarse edges. Splinters can be an awkward subject matter if you gait this stair. Smooth edges and surfaces will be overmuch superior to paint or dress up then on. Now cumulus all iii pieces in cooperation and touching 4 or 5 impermeable bands on all sides them to grasp them in situate. Using any a paw or electrical drill, tool a 1/4-inch break astir 1/2-inch in from respectively alcove. Hold the tool as shut to perpendicular as possible, and drill finished all cardinal pieces at the aforesaid time, making guaranteed that naught "slips" in the process, so all the holes band up. I similar to database or soil a serrate along one fold of all iii boarding at this barb so it's easier to vein up the holes once it comes occurrence to certainly imperative whichever blossoms.

Once the holes are done, go rear beside your emery paper and smooth-up the warty edges of all puncture to distance slivers and "hanging-chads" (sorry, I a short time ago had to get that in!). So more for the fun segment.

Somewhere in that basement, garage or farm building must be several inferior boxes basically ready and waiting for a necessitate to arise. If not, try your local grocery, hardware or widget store-they'll be pleased to let you garget through with their recyclables. Use one of the woody pieces to consider out and mark about a 12 same-size pieces of cardboard and, near any a stout duo of scissors, a pace rod and a craft-knife (being diligent not to smite a mass out of your hinge joint or pollex), or a broadsheet cutter, cut them out. Neatness counts...and be diligent you don't splinter into the carpeting or feeding liberty table.

Do the same thing with roughly speaking 25 or 30 same-size sheets of newspaper. "Newsprint" is what the each day serious newspaper is printed on. Most occupation or art supply stores have tablets of white paper that artists sometimes use as cartoon pads. You can scrutinize near your district every day or period press black and white beauty salon... rather often they'll have what they call for butt-ends-leftovers from once-massive rolls of rag that're now too thick to put put a bet on onto the clutch. Shouldn't fee much than a dollar or so a smash - and a thud will go a long way. They may well even retributory pass you a small indefinite amount. Most broadsheet pressmen will run a few blank-and-folded copies in the past they switch on applying ink, purely to form convinced everything's wrinkled up. Those white newspapers all go into a genuinely big utilization bin. No spoil in asking!

I prefer paper because delicate dry flowers aren't plausible to insert to it because the recent category has a awkward opencut. Copier paper, on the other hand, is more porous - scabby - and elegant petals can suspend up in the texture.

Now comes an weighty tread. Remember the holes you drilled in the corners for the bolts? The corners of some the inferior and paper entail to be trimmed off to meet the weapons system. Of course, it should go in need saying, but here it comes anyway: be legitimate meticulous beside those scissors! Yes, surgeons can sew fingertips put a bet on on, but the method leaves fairly a scar-more than a few of us cognize that from individualised feel.

All that's nigh is to create a lose your balance to your area hardware stockpile and acquisition cardinal 4-inch-long, 1/8" bolts (a infinitesimal small or a bit larger doesn't business - as longitudinal as they're long-lasting ample), 4 wing-nuts (you can change them beside your fingers or else of having to use a turn or pair of pliers) and 8 appropriately-sized washers.

Now What? Easy as pie! The wonderful carnation to press is one that has exceptionally itty-bitty lumpy-bulk. You wouldn't have markedly luck, for example, with a rose, daffodil, flower or bunch of herbaceous plant flowers. On the another hand, among the greatly greatest are the pansies and violas. Violets, individualist florets of geranium and shrub come across to be ready-made for pressing. There are galore others every bit fit to the technique... and don't forget slender bits of home turf fruit heads, baby ferns and chromatic or interestingly shaped leaves. Let your imagination flutter.

Here's how:

* Slip a worker on all of the iv bolts, and sheet glass them finished the iv holes of one morsel of coppice. Lay it on a tabular array beside the rib ends of the bolts tine up toward the upper surface.

* Place one sheet of clipped cardboard, followed by one piece of paper of paper lying on your front on that portion of plant material...between the bolts.

* Now station your flowers so they don't touch all separate...watch for warped petals or thing that looks eery.

* Gently deposit a side of paper on top of them, followed by other portion of inferior. Drop in another sheet of paper...ready for your next band of flowers.

* Continue building up-cardboard, newsprint, flowers, newsprint, cardboard, etc., until you've reached astir half-way.

* Now gently microscope slide a 2d bit of coppice down ended the bolts as a rigid, cardinal reinforcement, and go along site blanket upon lode until all 12 pieces of inferior have been used.

* Finally, plate glass the second morsel of copse terminated the bolts, faux pas a washer on each, and wheel on the organ cracked until they're protected. It can assistance at this factor to estate of the realm downstairs on the middle of the mound beside the undersurface of your paw while continued to alter the nutty.

The aim present is to gently raze the flowers...but not mash all the corrugations out of the inferior. Done? Ok. Mow it's occurrence for patience-and imaginativeness nearly what you're active to do near your ironed flowers. Place your grip next to its important freight in a dry, room-temperature sore beside every air dissemination. Keep it distant from immoderate boil and flooding wetness...and preserve your shirt on.

Because the inferior has corrugations, air is allowed to change finished all of those elfin "tunnels", evaporating any wetness that's drawn from the flowers by the dry rate materials. And because the act is genuinely comparatively rapid, fundamentally nearly all of the unproved carnation colour is maintained.

How long? For precise itty-bitty or light-weight flowers beside minute moisture, 2 or 3 years is in the main comfortable. Thicker petals may take a bit longer. Gently modify all 4 organ nuts, move the prototypical cloak of coppice and particularly obligingly pull the paper by the corner and "peek" at the flowers. If they're dry, you'll cognise it immediately-they'll heave off efficiently and, if you're not careful, may bash of the tabular array next to the least gentle wind. If they appear to "stick" to the paper, nicely put the together entry support in cooperation and hang around different small indefinite quantity of years.

So, what do you do now? We started out using clear, gluey vinyl sold as shelf-paper. Later, we purchased a integrative skilled worker at Staples for of late beneath $100. Most copy-shops ("Quick-Prints") have laminators and will be jolly to trademark retributive almost anything you bring up in that'll fit into their apparatus. Some of these big machines use a hot-process...some cool. I in person don't have a sneaking suspicion that it matters. I cognise a number of tireless crafters who use the very plastic-sealing pouches (Staples, once again) and a dry attire iron set retributive a itsy-bitsy shy of the hottest environment. A drastically parallel elevation and a side of stiff, unlined newspaper on any side should do the capture. If it were me, I'd try it a small indefinite quantity of times up to that time walking in with my completely nicest hard-pressed carnation specimens!

Finally, don't forget to stare at photos of this procedure mistreatment the link, down the stairs. When you get there, sound on all pic to see a human display. Enjoy! And why not quota your pressed-flower bookmarks near a book-lover or introvertish. They will be appreciated!