Beginnings

My table of rocks with one of my cobalt blue bottles with some posies! 

PRETTY!!

Flowers in my garden.

I have been pressing flowers for over thirty years now. I have made many crafts out of my petals some of which include cards, magnets, and bookmarks. I have put them on photo frames, welcome signs and anything that I could. When I first started pressing flowers I lived in Indiana and there were fields and fields of wildflowers everywhere. One day as I was walking through a field of color I got an idea to pick them and keep them for myself!! I picked so many that I didn't know what to do with all of them when an idea popped into my head to press them and put them on paper. At first I just glued them to letters that I mailed to my loved ones across the States and then I graduated to putting them on notecards and envelopes. The years went by pressing for relaxation and giving away my precious petals to everyone I knew. I made a giant sized flower press out of wood which was held together with clamps. I also had flowers in every book in the house! I started doing some craft shows and it became my part time business...which eventually robbed me of my pleasure because of the pressures of another show coming up and quota's to be met. It just became too much work so I decided to put this hobby/job aside for a while. I took a long break from this craft I loved so much until after I had moved to the Pacific Northwest  I had been walking through a field of wildflowers my desire was rekindled within me once again. My Aunt had come for a visit and we had taken her out to see the acres and acres of amazing and colorful tulips at the Tulip Festival and on our way out we bought bunches of tulips to take home with us. After she had left and the petals were starting to fall onto the floor I got an idea to make a keepsake out of the petals for her. Before all of the petals were lost I stuck them in a book!
   Beach combing is something I love to do as well. For years and years I have been collecting shells, rocks and driftwood from every beach I have ever walked on. One day I was just looking at my collection of rocks and I got an IDEA! Why not incorporate the flowers with the rocks?  My thoughts ran wild with designing rocks with my pressed petals. So it began once again!  I am now retired which gives me lots of time to collect my rocks and gather my flowers. I can now collect my flowers and rocks, and design for pure relaxation and pure joy!!