Flowerox News

pressed flowers, sky horses and beetles!:-)

2011-11-03T10:35:00.000-07:00

pressed flowers, sky horses and beetles!:-)

oh, what a lucky girl i am!:-)...the world wide pressed flower guild www.wwpfg.org had it's conference in october this year and i am not long home!...one of the highlights of the event is the flower swap...oh me, oh my!...what shenanigans!:-)

everyone brought packets of flowers from home...a table in the middle of the room was piled high with hundreds and hundreds of packages of flowers!...what a colorful sight!:-)...our names were called at random and we had to jump up, run to the table of flowers and quickly, quickly in just 30 seconds, get just one pack of flowers!...then we must sit down and wait for our name to be called again...oh, the agony, the nail biting, the crossed fingers and the prayers that no one will get that package that you're after until you get another turn!...

the result of this is that everyone goes home with scads of wonderful flowers from other places:-)...our dear lynn brought some of the most beauty-full leaves i have ever seen!:-)...skeletonized by the japanese beetles in her iowa garden she brought some to the flower swap and i nabbed 'em!:-)

flying through the sky this fella is made mostly of red kale...mane and tail of dill...hooves of money plant seedpod and clouds of milkweed thistle...and best of all, lynn's flower swap oak leaves!:-)

thanks lynn, for giving me wings!:-)

enjoy,

rebekah:-)

pressed flowers, mother teresa and ukeleles!:-)

2011-08-26T04:29:00.000-07:00

pressed flowers, mother teresa and ukeleles!:-)

i've always loved this quote often attributed to mother teresa...

" I was once asked why I don't participate in anti-war demonstrations. I said that I will never do that, but as soon as you have a pro-peace rally, I'll be there."

in the spirit of, let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me, i have created a new line of jewelry...flowers for peace!:-)...

these are the first few...the peace signs were created from a rose leaf, a cabbage leaf, an autumn leaf and a faded lily...placed on a background of various leaves or petals...the one on the far right is a bit difficult to see but, it has tiny gold threads behind the peace sign:-)...

i will be placing these in my etsy shop soon!:-)...

http://www.etsy.com/shop/flowerart

they will also be available at the international folk festival in fayetteville, september 24th and 25th...stop by and say hello:-)...

http://www.theartscouncil.com/international-folk-festival.php

twenty percent of all sales generated by flowers for peace will be donated to a non-profit that is teaching children about peace through music...ukelele music!:-)...thanks paul for all you do!:-)

you can find out more about what ukeleles for peace is doing here...

http://www.ukulelesforpeace.com/

enjoy,

rebekah:-)

pressed flowers, braising greens and horses?:-)

2011-08-07T10:09:00.000-07:00

pressed flowers, braising greens and horses?:-)

yep!:-)...and this is how it happened!:-)

we are so lucky to live in our little town!:-)...surrounded by farmers, we have access to fresh, local, wonderful food...we belong to a group called carolina grown... https://carolinagrown.org/ ...it's incredible!:-)

every week we go online and order our groceries for the week...all from north carolina farms...we're supporting local farmers, getting fresh, wonderful food and have cut our grocery bill almost in half!:-)...and to top it off, we're reducing our carbon footprint by not driving to the store!...they deliver!:-)

we get lots and lots of veggies and not all of them make it to the dinner table!...some go right in the press...and that's what happened this time!:-)

the braising greens turned a beauty-full golden color with just a hint of green...i love how the veins became more prominent and give the horse texture...:-)

suzanne's generous gift of pampas grass was just right for his mane and tail!:-)...

what fun!:-)

carolina grown, thank you!:-)...bet you had no idea where some of your produce ended up!:-)

enjoy,

rebekah:-)

pressed flowers, grapevine and peace!:-)

2011-08-03T12:50:00.000-07:00

pressed flowers, grapevine and peace!:-)

the latest in the peace series...

i started doing peace flowerart a number of years ago...incorporating a peace sign into what i was making...i was sitting here thinking about my friend, terica, (a strong peace advocate)...she is also an avid blogger and connects with people all over the planet...hmmmmmm...:-)

and so,... connect with peace was born:-)...from terica connecting with people in peace all over the planet:-)...you can learn more about what she is doing to promote peace here... http://flowersbyterica.blogspot.com/2011/07/96-of-my-reasons-i-blog4peace-gratitude.html

connect with peace is made of little pieces of flowers and leaves all blended together to form three intertwined peace signs...surrounded with wild grapevine harvested from our property...

grapevine is rich in symbolism...it represents peace and abundance...it seemed like just the right thing to surround the peace signs!:-)

and that's my wish for the world:-)...that just like the blooms and the leaves, we will all blend together and intertwine into a peaceful planet!:-)

thank you, terica, for always inspiring me!:-)

enjoy,

rebekah:-)

pressed flowers, leeks and leaf fairies!:-)

2011-07-22T12:51:00.000-07:00

pressed flowers, leeks and leaf fairies!:-)

here's what happened!:-)

i had a beauty-full big leaf, that i had been holding on to for just the right project...this was it:-)

the leaf is a cousin to something in the elephant ear family...it pressed beautifully, almost transluscent!:-)

the fairy's skin is made from rose petals...she is dressed in tiny autumn leaves...corn silk for hair and tiny snippets of cornflower for her eyes...

her wings are made from pressed leeks!...yep, the kind you use in your soup!...i frequently raid the kitchen for material for flowerart!:-)

delicate strands of japanese maple leaf overlay the leek...

surrounded by grapevine from our property...

and that's how the leaf fairy was born!:-)

enjoy,

rebekah:-)

pressed flowers, marlis and faded lilies!:-)

2011-07-15T16:07:00.000-07:00

pressed flowers, marlis and faded lilies?:-)

i love marlis!:-)...the horse whisperer of north carolina!...i have learned so much from her...and not just about horses, but about life!:-)...you can find out all about her here...

http://www.mea-way.com/index.html

i was sorting through my flower stash and found some lily petals from long ago...they were silky soft and almost translucent...so, there i sat, on a sunny afternoon, thinking about the lessons i had learned from marlis and the lily petals whispered...i'm a horse!:-)

well, i listened:-)

the horse is made from the faded lily petals...mane and tail of japanese maple leaf...

this one's for you marlis!:-)...thanks for the inspiration and the lessons that came with it!:-)

and that's how we got to pressed flowers, marlis and faded lilies!:-)

enjoy,

rebekah:-)

pressed flowers, suzanne and birds?:-)

2011-06-23T12:00:00.001-07:00

pressed flowers, suzanne and birds?:-)

there's a wonderful lass named suzanne!:-)...she's courageous and innovative and fun!:-)...she's a gardener!:-)...need i say more?:-)

you can find her here...

www.SuzannesGardenTreasures.com

and there's me!:-)...the luckiest girl in the world with the best friends on the planet!:-)

suzanne gave me a gift that is precious in the pressed flower art world...pampas grass!:-)...beautiful, fluffy, silvery, soft pampas grass!:-)...

here's what happened...

meet the new specie of bird, the pampas breasted leaf-bird!:-)

a small green dogwood leaf for his head...another dogwood leaf for his body....overlaid with japanese maple leaves for wing feathers...

tail feathers are strips of an autumn dogwood leaf...feet are more tiny strips of the same leaf...

his beautiful, fluffy breast feathers are a foundation of pressed leek overlaid with the marvelous pampas grass!:-)...thank you, suzanne!:-)...i can already think of 1,000's of other ways to use it!:-)

he is perched on a strip of the most beautiful bark i have ever seen!:-)...shed from a pear tree outside a mountain cabin...thank you, dorothy!:-)...like i said, i'm the luckiest girl in the world with the best friends on the planet!:-)

enjoy,

rebekah:-)

pressed flowers, cotton and fairy/angels!:-)

2011-06-18T08:34:00.000-07:00

this little fairy/angel pauses on a fluffy cloud to stargaze!:-)

cloud is cotton gathered by the side of the road in georgia!:-)

her dress is made of an upside down daffodil bloom...wings from bright zinnia petals...her hair is from a yellow rose petal and her ponytail is held by a butterfly weed bloom...stars are made from white onion skin!:-)

available for sale here...

http://www.etsy.com/listing/76218754/fairyangel

arrangement is on heavy, black cardstock...covered with matte vinyl to protect the flowers...card measures 6 1/4" x 4 5/8...envelope included...

enjoy,

rebekah:-)

pressed flowers, stress and butterflies!

2011-06-08T17:29:00.000-07:00

pressed flowers, stress and butterflies?:-)

life has been a bit stressful around here lately!...there has not been much time for flowers!...so, today i decided to change that!:-)

i planned out a half hour that was all mine!:-)...here's what happened...

first i needed a background...so, i took a piece of heavy cardstock into the kitchen...i found an old mason jar and put about 1/3 cup of water, a big squeeze of food coloring and a drop of dish soap in it...

then i did what we always tell the kids not to do!:-)...got a straw and blew bubbles into the colored water!:-)...i held the cardstock against the rising bubbles and let them pop against the surface of the paper...the results were a soft, watercolor look...i really like it!:-)

i have an abundance of butterflies in the yard this year!:-)...i love watching them and decided that a butterfly would be lovely on my soft, swirly paper:-)

her body is a peapod!:-)...wings of purple petunia blooms, with additions of some pretty petals and tiny flowers...her back wings are green hydrangea...and her tail is a lovely unknown flower from a wedding bouquet...thank you, fearrington!:-)... http://www.fearrington.com/house/weddings.asp ...

antennae are stamens from the same flower as the tail...

all the stress of the mundane world around me faded as i got to play with flowers and create a pretty butterfly!:-)...and that's how we got to pressed flowers, stress and butterflies!:-)

enjoy,

rebekah:-)

pressed flowers, woodland series and way too much fun!:-)

2011-05-21T08:39:00.000-07:00

pressed flowers, woodland series and way too much fun!:-)

this piece is one of the woodland series, inspired by penny black's work...

you can find her book here...

http://www.amazon.com/Book-Pressed-Flowers-Penny-Black/dp/0671660713

i picked it off my bookshelf the other day, just because!:-)...i wasn't particularly looking for anything, just hadn't thought about penny's work in awhile...as soon as i opened the book, i remembered that i was really lucky to have it!:-)...a gift from my mom, eons ago, i was inspired all over again!:-)...

these are so much fun to make!:-)

a background of orchid petals that turned translucent and skelotonized when pressed...

packed with colorful flowers in oranges and yellows...ferns and other greenery...even though it's not exactly botanically correct, i thought it made a beauty-full woodland scene!:-)

thanks, penny!:-)...and thanks, mom!:-)

enjoy,

rebekah:-)

pressed flowers, kansas and cabbage!:-)

2011-05-16T17:24:00.000-07:00

pressed flowers, kansas and cabbage?:-)

well, yes!:-)

i was lucky enough to be booked at shows across the country with musician hubby last summer...we spent six weeks driving from show to show and spending as much time as possible exploring our surroundings...what fun!:-)

each state had it's special surprises...local food and farmer's markets...different plants, rocks and critters...the mountains, the plains, the badlands, they all held special appeal:-)

my memory of kansas was miles and miles and miles of fields...what wasn't fields was sky!...stunningly beautiful, i would stare out the car window convinced that i could actually see the curve of the earth at the horizon!:-)

once in a while, a lone tree would stand in a field with the sky as backdrop...nothing else in sight...here's my version of a kansas memory:-)

i used really bright colors in this piece, giving it an abstract feel, but hopefully portraying some of the beauty i felt traveling through this part of the country!:-)

the sunset is rose petals with wisps of real cotton, gathered along a roadside in georgia!:-)...the tree trunk is a piece of bark...the leaves of the tree are a tiny green flower that came from a wedding bouquet...and the field is a cabbage leaf!:-)...it had just the right contours and colors to be a field!:-)

and that's how we got to pressed flowers, kansas and cabbage!:-)

enjoy!:-)

rebekah:-)

pressed flowers, petal girls and fun!:-)

2011-05-08T17:35:00.000-07:00

pressed flowers, petal girls and fun!:-)

i am taking the most wonderful class!:-)...our teacher is a talented pressed flower artist named anagha, what a beauty-full name!:-)

i have been making flower folks and flower critters for a long time, but i have never had the opportunity to take a formal class with twenty other people at the same time...

the class is called petal girls and my, oh my, are we ever having fun!:-)...the creativity is flowing and each little petal girl is unique and special!:-)

this little lass is my first contribution to the class...

her skirt is a velvety rose petal...cascades of red curly hair spill from under her hat...hair made with japanese maple leaves...purple daisy bloom for a hat...

dangling her morning glory leaf bag, she has picked a bouquet of tiny alyssum flowers on her way to market!:-)

if you would like to have this much fun, you can find out how to join us here... www.wwpfg.org ...only $14 for a whole month of inspiration, artwork and camaraderie!:-)...and it's online, so i can wear my fuzzy, bunny slippers!:-)

enjoy,

rebekah:-)

pressed flowers, may day and little, fuzzy, green things!:-)

2011-05-08T14:56:00.000-07:00

pressed flowers, may day and little fuzzy green things!:-)

my mailbox is magical!:-)...every now and then i open it and there are envelopes full of rainbows and promise!:-)

this time my magical envelope came from thea...it held a beautiful, handmade card and a stack of the most beautiful, little, fuzzy, green things!:-)...they looked like miniature trees and i could already see landscapes dancing in my head!:-)

but, that was for another day...today i had a may day project to complete!:-)...i have fond memories of may day...tying ribbons to a tree ...may apples decorating the forest floor...poisonous!...but, beautiful:-)

but, i think my favorite memory is leaving flowers on the doorstep!:-)...we would gather old coffee cans and chipped mason jars, cotton hankerchiefs and doilies...then decorate them, adding ribbons, filling them with wildflowers and greenery...then we would run to the neighbor's house...with giggles and whispers we would knock on the door, leave the flowers and run!

so, here's my version of may day flowers!:-)

the doily is made of queen anne's lace and is filled to the brim with beautiful, blue, springtime flowers, interspersed with tiny bits of elderberry and white alyssum...

but, wait!...something was missing!...i searched and searched looking for tiny leaves or something green that would fill in the bouquet...and then i remembered thea's present in my mailbox!:-)...the beautiful, little, fuzzy, green things!:-)...thank you, thea!:-)...they were just right!:-)

i added a ribbon of thyme and a butterfly made of heuchera leaf to symbolize the transistion of spring and that's how we got to pressed flowers, may day and little, fuzzy, green things!:-)

enjoy,

rebekah:-)

something very strange happened!

2011-04-27T11:36:00.000-07:00

something very strange happened!

today i decided to press my flower in a different way...with a hammer!...

i wanted to do some quick cards and i hadn't done any flower pounding in awhile, so today was the day!:-)

but, something very strange happened!...i happily tapped away with my hammer...peeled the paper towels back...started to scrape away the leftover botanical material...and realized that the pounding was turning green!...bright green!...i sprinkled some of the freshly picked blooms on the background of the pounded flowers, so you can compare...

how odd!...but, kinda kool:-)

any ideas about why this happened?:-)

rebekah:-)

pressed flowers, insomnia and birds!:-)

2011-04-26T09:58:00.000-07:00

pressed flowers, insomnia and birds!:-)

i couldn't sleep last night!...my head was full!...of thoughts, ideas, things to do, things that hadn't been done, this and that and round and round...so, i got up!...

three in the morning, the house is quiet, i make a pot of coffee and think about what to do while i'm up...seems like it might be a good time to play flowers!:-)

lately i have been challenging myself by choosing a random envelope of flowers and making something with whatever happens to be inside...this has turned into a grand adventure and many new flower folks and flower critters have been born:-)

barbara has been a big inspiration to me this past week...she has been playing with colors and telling us about her initial bookmarks...initials...hmmmmmm...that reminds me of a wonderful class i took from kate years ago about initials...we made a collage of pressed flowers into an initial and it was lots of fun!:-)

hmmmmmmmm...i'll bet i could use these same techniques to do a shape!...the birds are singing, it's just beginning to get light outside...birds!:-)...i could do a bird!:-)

so, i cut out the shape of a bird's head from some beautiful autumn leaves...and then used the flowers from my random envelope to decorate her...placed on deep green fabric and surrounded with butterfly weed (thank you, pat!:-))

my bird of many colors really started my day beautifully!:-)...and that's how we got to pressed flowers, insomnia and birds!:-)

enjoy,

rebekah:-)

pressed flowers and pigs?:-)

2011-03-18T15:05:00.000-07:00

pressed flowers and pigs?:-)

yes, indeedy!:-)...that's what happened this time!:-)

meet miss pansy pig!:-)...

grandma ruth's pansies made the perfect choice to dress miss pig!:-)

she is about 6 1/2 inches long and is sitting on my computer desk!:-)

i can't help but smile every time i look at her!:-)

thank you grandma ruth!:-)

enjoy,

rebekah:-)

pressed flowers and water dragons?:-)

2011-01-18T07:40:00.000-08:00

pressed flowers and water dragons?:-)

yep, that's what happened this time!:-)

a custum order for the holidays...a dragon with a santa hat?...whatever was i going to do?...

well, my dear friend jacki, vice-president of the world wide pressed flower guild... www.wwpfg.org ...recently taught a class through the guild about marbling paper...i was lucky enough to be the recipient of some of jacki's beautiful papers:-)

i think i found just the right use for this one!:-)...thank you, jacki!:-)

this little water dragon is made from rose petals generously donated by fearrington village weddings... http://www.fearrington.com/house/weddings.asp ...his spots are tiny leaves:-)

i snagged a few pointsettia leaves from my holiday plant for his wings...i thought they were quite festive!:-)

japanese maple leaf tips for his fiery tongue and miscellaneous bits and pieces of this and that to finish the piece...

and that's how we got to pressed flowers and water dragons!:-)

enjoy,

rebekah:-)

pansy fairy!:-)

2010-08-13T15:33:00.000-07:00

pansy fairy!:-)

she's all finished!:-)...and the journey was wonderful!:-)

my grandma ruth was a flower presser too!:-)...when she passed away, my mom sent me grandma's flower stash...i've always felt honored that i inherited her flowers and wanted to put them to good use:-)

while browsing through one of the boxes, i came across some pansies with a wonderful antique feel to them...aha!:-)...a fairy dress!:-)...her skin is made from some lighter pansies found in the same box!:-)

translucent hibiscus blooms form her wings:-)...cornsilk overlaid with a beautiful weed for her hair:-)...batchelor button snippets for eyes and a clip of a red rose petal for her mouth:-)...

queen anne's lace florets fill her arms with a bouquet and she has tucked one of the blooms into her hair!:-)...pansy shoes adorn her feet!:-)

thank you, grandma ruth, for allowing me to continue the tradition of pressed flowerart with your flowers!:-)...i am honored:-)

enjoy,

rebekah:-)

flowers+rocks=flowerox

2010-07-29T07:11:00.000-07:00

flowers + rocks = flowerox!:-)

the story of how it all began...

many moons ago, when my daughter was just a tot, we played flower fairy!:-)

we would mod podge rocks with pressed flowers, covering them carefully to protect the flowers, then hide them wherever we went for someone to find!:-)...a tiny note from the flower fairy would wish them a happy day and hope that they would enjoy their flowerock!:-)

we'd tuck them into phone booth change slots or leave them on a bench along the local nature trail...behind a book in the library or in a tip jar at the bakery...all over town!:-)

we were lucky enough to witness some of the results!:-)...an eight year old girl found one peeking out from under a bush on her birthday...a teenager found one on a ledge at the mall and ran to show all her friends her lucky find...a lady found one in a parking lot and excitedly told her friend that she was going to display it on the bookshelf in her office!:-)

my interest in pressed flowers continued to grow and i began to put flowers on other things!:-)...soap, tiles, bookmarks and cards...and then i began to do framed pieces!...what fun!:-)

many years later with technology at my fingertips, i found a small group of other folks interested in pressed flowers!:-)...yippee!:-)...that small group of about 15 people has grown to be the world wide pressed flower guild!:-)...a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit dedicated to teaching the art and science of pressed flowers, with members all over the planet!:-)...you can find out more here... www.wwpfg.org ...

and that's how it all began!:-)...from the gifts of the humble rock and flower!:-)...i am still making and hiding flowerox!:-)...maybe you'll find one!:-)

enjoy,

rebekah:-)

pressed flowers and a renaissance faire!:-)

2010-06-28T11:47:00.000-07:00

pressed flowers and a renaissance faire!:-)

we have had a wonderful opportunity to travel across the country this summer...working shows and festivals along the way!:-)

our most recent adventure was in washington state at a renaissance faire!:-)...

nestled in a lovely wooded spot with peacocks roaming the property, horses preparing for a jousting tournament and an amazing array of artists, we were welcomed like family by the owner of the property:-)

an invitation to pick wildflowers was gratefully accepted!:-)...and the kissing wench brought me a beautiful red rose which was quickly beheaded and popped into a press!...i will make a pressed flower picture full of memories of a wonderful time!:-)

if any of you are lucky enough to be in the area or visiting in washington state, be sure to check out this magical place!:-)... http://www.nwrf.net/ ...it's a must see!:-)

thank you lady tienne!:-)...it was a terrific experience!:-)

enjoy,

rebekah:-)

pressed flowers and find the fairy?!:-)

2010-02-28T07:52:00.000-08:00

pressed flowers and find the fairy?!:-)

what a wonderful journey!:-)

this picture is chock full of bits and pieces of memories:-)

the background is corn husk sold in a local shop as tamale wraps...little did they know where these would end up!:-)

the dark mountain in the distance is a leaf snagged from a bush in tennessee...wish i could remember the name of it!...when you iron it, it turns black!...very useful!:-)

the lilypad is actually a lilypad!:-)...plucked straight out of the mississippi river by a dear friend that also loves pressed flowers...thanks, diane!:-)

the waves are tiny pieces of money plant seedpods sent to me from georgia...the ferns from virginia...thank you sarah and barbara!:-)

and the tiny fairy flying across the water...can you see her?:-)...she is made from a silky, tulip petal cut in the shape of a fairy!:-)...thanks, gilda!:-)

the fairy is almost luminescent against the background...you have to look closely to see her...and that's how we got to pressed flowers and find the fairy!:-)

enjoy,

rebekah:-)

pressed flowers and hearts!:-)

2010-02-08T14:02:00.000-08:00

pressed flowers and hearts!:-)

my friends in the world wide pressed flower guild have been playing with ribbon bookmarks and making beautiful pressed flower valentine's day cards!:-)

as always they have inspired me:-)...

i nabbed a heart shaped cookie cutter from the kitchen cupboard and traced around it on cardstock for a template...

then i rummaged in my overflowing flower box to find some likely candidates for my project!:-)...ahhhhhhh!:-)...some beautiful, antique-like pansies, some dusky orange autumn leaves, some camellia petals and queen anne's lace from my grandma ruth and finally some birch bark for a more manly look!:-)

laminated, hole punched and beribboned, they'll make great little valentine bookmarks!:-)

and there's my pressed flowers and hearts project!:-)

enjoy,

rebekah:-)

oh, and as for the world wide pressed flower guild?...yes, there really is one!:-)...you can find them here...

www.wwpfg.org

pressed flowers and color mists!:-)

2010-01-31T14:12:00.000-08:00

inspired by a friend of mine that has been playing with a new product...i dug something similar out of my art room...

it's called color mists...it comes in a variety of colors, including metallics...my favorites!:-)...

here's what happened with a combination of purple haze and 22 karat gold!:-)

you can find all the colors here...

http://www.outsidethemargins.com/shop.php?category=11

has anybody else tried a spray color?...did you like it?...

enjoy,

rebekah:-)

pressed flowers, spring and bling!:-)

2010-01-24T12:59:00.000-08:00

pressed flowers, spring and bling!:-)

we have had quite a cold spell lately and i have been sitting and poring over my seed catalogs dreaming of spring!...action is required!:-)

i found some spring colors and rummaged through my flower stash looking for treasures...always fun and frequently surprising!:-)

sparkle!:-)...i needed sparkle!:-)...a long unopened box in my flower room unearthed some snippets of gold thread and some bling!:-)

here's what happened!:-)...a pile of spring!:-)

enjoy,

rebekah:-)

susan's garden!:-)

2009-06-22T12:38:00.000-07:00

yesterday was a wonderful day!:-)...

a couple of months ago i noticed a note on our community chatlist about a lady that offered floral design classes and had a business selling flowers to local restaurants...she brings fresh bouquets weekly for a small sum...she also supplies them with edible flowers from her gardens!...how kool!:-)

as a pressed flower artist, i hoped that someday we would be able to meet and talk flowers, so i sent her a little note...she graciously replied and invited me to her home to see her flowers...yippee!:-)

we arrived early in the morning and had a lovely time exploring her beautiful gardens!:-)...well maintained pathways meandered through glorious rows of roses and butterfly bushes...cone flowers and coreopsis...sunflowers and delicate cleomes...bee balm and larkspur...dinnerplate sized dahlias in every color and long, stalks of gladiolas!:-)

a tiny bunny and baby chicks followed us on our journey through the gardens...and best of all she invited us back!:-)...thank you, susan!:-)...i look forward to our next visit!:-)

you can find out more about susan and her gardens here...

http://www.hearthouseflowers.com/

enjoy,

rebekah:-)

my laundry basket garden!:-)

2009-06-17T11:22:00.000-07:00

i love where we live:-)...it's true that we need more room at this point and are looking for a larger piece of land...but, i really love this place:-)

i love to garden and grow things...doesn't matter too much what i grow...beans are just as much fun as wrapping honeysuckle vine around a chair!:-)...i would still like to have a grass couch outside, but that's another story!:-)

the biggest challenge we've had living here is the dirt!...it is very, very, hard, red clay!...it's good for making pottery, but not very good for growing things!...

for about five years we have had truckloads of dirt brought in...bought bags and bags of top soil and tried to fix it!...nothing worked and nothing grew...

but, inspiration struck!:-)...and this year we have a laundry basket garden!:-)...we went to the dollar store and bought out every laundry basket they had!...the results have been spectacular!:-)...beets, potatoes, tomatos, beans, morning glories and cosmos, daisies and hydrangeas!:-)...

and the best part?...i can just walk outside my door and all these wonderful flowers are right at my feet ready to be pressed and turned into flowerart!:-)

enjoy my laundry basket garden!:-)

rebekah:-)

my golden leafed plant!:-)

2009-05-11T09:56:00.000-07:00

in the pressed flower world this plant is like gold!...literally!...

many leaves turn golden yellow...poplar and maple to name just a few... but they are still noticeably yellow and not gold...

it's name is machilus thunbergii...and i had heard rave reviews about how beautiful it is by some pressed flower artists that attended the philadelphia flower show...
http://www.theflowershow.com/attractions/index.html ... and were lucky enough to see it in person...

i had to have it!:-)...when it arrived it looked like a rather scrawny rhododendron...no gold in sight!...now, it is growing and has new leaves on top!:-)...they are a beautiful reddish color...still no gold, but i am hopeful!:-)

enjoy and think gold!:-)

rebekah:-)

treasures from terica's garden!:-)

2009-05-06T14:35:00.000-07:00

i have a wonderful friend, named terica...we've known each other about a bazillion years...live about 20 minutes apart and have had many an adventure together!...she is a pressed flower artist just like me!:-)

we've traveled halfway across the country together... gathering flowers along the way!:-)...we've stopped on the sides of country roads after spotting wild daisies to press...searched the fields of old and abandoned farmhouses looking for wild roses...we've bartered pressed flowerart for the privilege of picking in neighbor's yards...we've even had folks welcome us like family and provide scissors for all we wanted to pick!:-)...what flower fun we've had together:-)

last week i got a chance to visit terica in her new little house and pick from her garden:-)...these are the treasures that came home with me!:-)...pansies and spiderwort...old timey roses and poplar blooms and the list goes on!:-)...thank you terica, for a wonderful afternoon:-)

rebekah:-)

spring!

2009-04-12T08:39:00.000-07:00

this is my version of spring!:-)

in march, my friend elaine taught a wonderful, spring, pressed flower class incorporating a corn husk basket!:-)...the corn husk was pressed whole, torn into strips and woven into a basket...what fun!:-)

classes using pressed flowers, leaves and other botanical materials are offered on a monthly basis in the world wide pressed flower guild...you can find out more about them here... www.wwpfg.org ...

i had lots of fun with this one!:-)...eggs are made from rose petals, autumn leaves, pansies, and even a pointsettia leaf!:-)

the bunny is made from the back side of poplar leaves that a friend in tennessee sent to me...thanks, pat:-)...his tail is rabbit grass...seemed appropriate:-)

bits of moss and miscellaneous greenery from my yard finish the picture...the background is handmade paper with various petals and greens imbedded in the surface...

enjoy and happy spring!:-)

rebekah:-)

spirit guide

2009-04-09T06:26:00.000-07:00

this picture was inspired by the work of some russian pressed flower artists!:-)...many use leaves, straw, hay and neutral or dark tones...more raw and powerful than most of my work, this piece has opened lots of new ideas for me!:-)...

i feel so fortunate to be able to take pressed flower classes through the world wide pressed flower guild!:-)... www.wwpfg.org ... it amazes me that with the help of the internet, i am able to learn from pressed flower artists all over the world!:-)...a big thank you to all of you!:-)

made of autumn crabapple leaves, dogwood blossoms and pampas grass!:-)

enjoy,

rebekah:-)

thank you, irina!:-)

2009-03-27T13:19:00.000-07:00

recently i was lucky enough to be able to take a master class with an amazing pressed flower artist!:-)...her name is irina orlova...you can see her work here...

http://foto.mail.ru/mail/beresta7/ ...absolutely amazing!:-)

the class was offered through the world wide pressed flower guild... www.wwpfg.org
yes, there really is one!:-)

irina lives in russia, a wonderful woman in canada translated and we had such fun!:-)...the class lasted for an entire month as irina answered questions, provided pictures and instruction and guided us step by step through an autumn landscape made entirely of botanicals!...

the sky is made from tamale wraps (corn husks) that i picked up in a local shop...the distant mountains are bits and pieces of autumn leaves...the rolling hills are from leaves i gathered at a rest stop in new england...and the fence is made from darkened banana skins!:-)

i learned so much during this class and had a ton of fun with about 30 other people that wanted to learn too!:-)...classes are held monthly...why don't you join us next time?:-)

thank you, irina!:-)...i did it!:-)...finally!:-)

enjoy,

rebekah:-)

i think i found it!

2009-01-27T16:45:00.000-08:00

today was a wonderful day!:-)...after a series of challenges that needed creative solutions the past few weeks, it was reassuring to have a beautiful gift fall into my lap...almost literally!:-)

i am lucky enough to be able to take a pressed flower master class from an amazing artist!:-)...her name is irina orlova...she lives and works in russia!...isn't the internet an amazing thing!:-)...her classes are available through the world wide pressed flower guild...yes, there really is one!:-)...you can find out more about them here... www.wwpfg.org ...

the class is a landscape with distant mountains all made with pressed botanicals...i searched and searched for just the right thing...used everything i could think of in the kitchen to press...pressed sweet potato skins...beautiful, but too dark!...pressed banana leaf?...same problem...beautiful, but too dark!...i needed a lighter, brownish, earth colored material...

this morning was windy and cold and i had some dreaded errands to run...best to just get it over with!...as i was sitting in a parking lot waiting for hubby's return from the bank machine, what did i see!?:-)...the most beautiful tree!:-)...and it's bark was shedding down around it's knees in big, soft pieces!:-)...i think i found it!:-)...the perfect pressed plant material for my landscape!:-)...thank you, tree:-)

rebekah:-)

windy day

2008-12-31T10:19:00.000-08:00

today it is very windy in north carolina!...in memory of windy autumn days, i made a card for a friend of mine, using leaves from the cascade mountains in washington state!:-)...the bookmark was made by placing the leaves on a leftover piece of sheer ribbon...laminated and hole punched with more leftover ribbon to make it pretty and quick as that, a fun flowerart project!:-)

enjoy,

rebekah:-)

dancing leaves

2008-12-29T08:52:00.000-08:00

this was a quick, fun project:-)...the leaves were pressed and sent to me from a friend in massachusetts!:-)...lucky me!:-)

i call it dancing leaves!:-)

enjoy,

rebekah:-)

winter forest

2008-12-15T16:20:00.000-08:00

with a scant hour left until the deadline in the world wide pressed flower guild holiday card challenge, i managed to finish!:-)...these pressed ferns were really pretty and made fun evergreen trees!:-)...i decorated them with the tiny blooms of elderberry:-)...the star was punched out of a calla lily!:-)...easy and quick, i enjoyed my little project:-)

hope you do too:-)

rebekah:-)

hooray for brown!:-)

2008-12-03T04:42:00.000-08:00

it's a crispy, crunchy morning in north carolina:-)...the back deck is covered with fallen leaves...as i looked out the window this morning, i noticed how many shades of brown there are...each one beautiful!:-)...sun and shadow...dark and light...hints of red, gold and an almost creamy white, sprinkled occasionally with the deep green of pine needles before they turn golden...
as a pressed flower artist, i feel especially lucky to be able to have nature's bounty presented right outside my back door!:-)...brown is a particularly useful color to have for pressed flowerart landscapes or critters!:-)...a young girl's hair or a lion!:-)...the possibilities are endless:-)
for now, i will go and gratefully gather my shades of brown:-)...when our world has totally turned to winter, i will sit quietly with my leaves and let them tell me what they want to be!:-)
hooray for brown!:-)
rebekah:-)

christmas mouse

2008-11-27T18:07:00.000-08:00

i had fun with today's pressed flower project:-)...a tiny mouse, made from clover, decorates his fern tree with queen anne's lace and a tiny red flower that a friend sent to me:-)

enjoy,

rebekah:-)

2008-09-08T11:23:00.000-07:00

well, here it is, my mystery flower of the day!:-)...earlier this year i planted some seeds that i thought were a vining clematis with a yellow bloom...this is what grew!...it's beautiful, but i don't know what it is!...

this spot had hummingbird vine and morning glory growing together for several years...it would reseed itself from year to year...this plant rather looks like a cross between the two!...is that possible?:-)

anybody have any ideas?:-)...i will be interested to see how the flowers look after they are pressed!:-)

oh, happy day!

2008-08-02T12:51:00.000-07:00

this little fellow has remembered to stop and smell the flowers!:-)...framed 5x7 mouse made from clover, stands on a dandylion leaf to sniff a garden flower...this was really fun to do and i am planning on doing a series of little mice:-)

the old mill

2007-07-07T15:16:00.000-07:00

it all happened in a small town in georgia...clarkesville, georgia...that's where pressed flower artists gathered in the summer of 2007 and were made richer in spirit for having done so...

they came from all over!...and although some of them had met before, many of them had not...but, you wouldn't have known it!:-)...they chattered like school girls...giggles and whispers and lots and lots of shared laughter:-)...they ranged in age from 12-94 but it was hard to tell who was younger or older with all the excitement bubbling through the room...

they learned things like how to make a flamingo out of pink larkspur...beeswax and flowers were turned into pins...nightlights and cards...new products and gadgets...pool parties and hikes to waterfalls...they shared memories and laughter...meals and tweezers...commiserated about traffic and asked about children and parents...three incredible, learning packed, fun days all brought together because of a shared passion for the flower!:-)

and then the famous whistle blew!!!:-)...the highlight of the conference is to begin!:-)...on your mark...get set...go!:-)...kate, simona, beth, sarah...names being called one after another...faster and faster!!!...imagine a huge table, piled high with packages of flowers from all over the world...and a huge group of women running back and forth nabbing a pack when their name is called...then sitting back down, backs stiff, on the edge of their seats waiting...waiting...for their name to be called for the next round...squeals and mad dashes to the table searching for just the right flower for the idea blossoming in their heads......what a sight we must have been to the people peeking in the window:-)

Tribute to the Bee

2006-09-12T11:56:00.000-07:00

let me tell you a story:-)

i was standing on my porch, i really love my porch:-)...and i heard a sound!...a big sound!...i looked up...and sawdust fell in my eye!...it was a bee!...a great big carpenter bee!...and it was eating my porch!...not good!...

well, i wanted him and his buddies to go away, but i didn't feel right about using poison...so, i thought and thought and finally it came to me!:-)...duct tape!:-)...i stuck a piece on the end of my broomstick and carefully balancing and stretching, stretching...plop!...i dabbed a two inch square of that tape right over his hole!..ha!...i did it!...no more bee:-)...or so i thought!...

the next morning a perfect hole was drilled through the duct tape...directly over the original hole!...now it was war!...next came another layer of duct tape...then (tricky me)...aluminum tape!...they'll never get through that!:-)...wrong!...the next morning...well, you know the rest:-)

so, i decided to take a step back...literally!...the sawdust pile was growing!...and think about this a little...hmmmm the bee has never tried to hurt me...sometimes it follows me around the garden in the morning...clumsily bumbling about in it's ponderous way...looking at me curiously...honeybees are decreasing because of pesticides, but this guy is taking the time to pollinate my flowers for me:-)...maybe he has something to teach me:-)...

so, i quit with the tape and decided to make a tribute to the bee:-)...i thought maybe if i honored him, he would gracefully move his home into the woods:-)...didn't work, but we have learned to live in harmony:-)...

and that's how the bee picture was born:-)

rebekah:-)

New Stuff

2006-08-11T07:24:00.000-07:00

Rebekah has a whole new way to make great pictures. Check it out!

Meet the Artist!

2005-02-17T11:15:00.000-08:00

You can meet pressed flower artist Rebekah Smith in person.

She'll be attending and teaching at the World Wide Pressed Flower Guild's Eastern Conference in Jonesborough, TN, June 9-12, 2005.

Come to the conference! Meet Rebekah and other artists and have a great time!

Click here for more on the WWPFG Eastern Conference.