Pressed beauty ~

Why do I love these wonderful pressed flowers and ferns so?
They make me smile, their colors, their amazing intricate details ~
I wanted to share their beauty with you....

Don't you love my fancy flower press? It works great too!!

Nature is the art of God.

Thomas Browne
Religio Medici, 1635

A sensitive plant in a garden grew,
And the young winds fed it with silver dew,
And it opened its fan-like leaves to the light,
and closed them beneath the kisses of night.

Percy Bysshe Shelley
"The Sensitive Plant," 1820

I don't know how I'll use these beauties yet....
but I just love looking at them!!

I found this amazing book cover and back at Hobby Lobby, can you believe how antique it looks?? Such a great look for the price ~ they sell online too! I found it for you HERE...

I've been studying my little boot pattern for Clara. I'm such a goob sometimes, I have to think about something for awhile and really sort it out in my head before I get started. It's like I'm scared I'll mess up so I keep going through the steps in my head...crazy, huh?!

OH, and I''m having a giveaway...in just a few days!! I want celebrate...now, don't scream.....but 1200 posts!!!!! Also, I'm approaching 400 followers so that's even MORE reason to celebrate!!!!

Have a wonderful Friday sweet friends ~
hugs and love,
Dawn

Neat stuff, the beginning of new art and of course...an angel ~

I just have to share something so neat that I found Sunday!! My husband and I were out "junkin" and I came across this wonderful little treasure ~ A small cabinet with a glass door and sides! It seems old and is definitely quite distressed but I want to give it a new back and a little shelf to go inside!!! Just the right size display cabinet for small things ~

A gift from my sweet friend Dawn ~ I LOVE speckled eggs!

Do you play with your supplies? Arrange them and switch items out to see what pleases your eye? I've been wanting to work with this pressed baby's breath but know that it's fragile and could crumble if it's touched....

So I thought I'd try a little gel medium to "glue" it to the fabric and stabilize it some. Tomorrow I'll show you the result!!

Just three friends hanging out in an old teacup ~

And here's the angel......sweet Clara! (Just for you Grandmama Dawn!)
Emily's mother's name is Dawn too!!
ps. I'm Mimi and Dennis is Papa :) but we'll see what she ends up calling us....
Today she's two weeks old!

Wishing you a wonderful Monday sweet friends!

xxoo, Dawn

Pressed botanicals ~ preserving their beauty

I keep finding myself drawn to beautiful pressed ferns, leaves and flowers. Isn't it amazing how long people have been preserving these amazing works of art?

What about incorporating them into your collage work? Some of you may have already done this but I think it's something I'd like to try ~ below are a few prints for you but I would like to collage the actual plant itself into a piece of artwork ~ Using the matte gel medium, do you think it would stay preserved? I guess I need to see :)

Wishing you a wonderful Wednesday dear friends,

xxoo, Dawn

ps. 2 1/2 weeks 'til Emily's due date!