Imagine That baby gift baskets – Blog

Pressed Flower Baby Cards

May 10, 2010 on 12:42 pm | In Gift Packaging | No Comments

I rediscovered some pressed flowersthat I’d put aside (some years ago).  To my credit, I did actually use some of the flowers on thank-you  cards way back when. Now, I was faced with the decision to keep them and use them or throw them away. I have a new mantra, “Use it or lose it.” So, I decided to photograph them and then toss the flowers. It was great fun placing the flowers into artful arrangements! If you do this, handle the flowers very carefully. They are quite fragile.  The leaves will be especially brittle.

What to do with the preserved images? Can I create a baby item from dried floral images? You bet!! 

I used Paint Shop Pro 7 to create these cards but you could use any graphics program to achieve similar results. To create your own pressed flower baby announcements, follow these steps.

• Pick flowers from your yard. Include weeds and wildflowers, too!
• Press the flowers. You can use old newspapers and a heavy book to weight the pages down or you can purchase a flower pressing kit.
• Be patient. It will take several days for the flowers to dry. The denser the flower, the longer it will take. Some flowers press better than others.
• After the flowers have dried, carefully lift them onto a sheet of white paper and arrange them to your satisfaction.
• Photograph each arrangement and download the photos onto your computer.
• Open your graphics program (CorelDraw, Paint Shop Pro, PhotoShop, The Gimp) and begin the fun!
• Select a pressed flower image. Add text, clipart, borders and perhaps some special effects. The results are limited only to your image resources, your graphics program capabilities and your imagination.

 

I’d love to see your pressed flower creations! Post them here with a link.

If you’re wondering if you could use photos of living flowers or floral clipart, yes, you can, but the effect will be different.

 

Fingertip Inspiration

• Personalized Seed Packet Baby Shower Favors
• A Gallery of Handmade Gifts by Martha Stewart
• Pinwheel Hair Bow Tutorial
• Baby Blocks to Sew
• Boo Boo Buddy

Note: Reference Happy Accident 3.01.10

Here is the completed 3 paneled baby afghan. It was indeed a happy accident!