Customer Reviews:
Microwaved pressed flowers what a great book.......2007-05-19
I don't often search backwards to do reviews on my purchases from amazon.com, but when I come across a book I think others should truly enjoy, then I leave my opinion. I am currently 56 in the grandma generation and I am the local Flower Lady in my small town where I sell flowers on a card table out front for .10 each. I've been doing it for 13 years as of this season, and it has blessed me in so many ways. And I was thinking how much I would like to preserve this experience of joy in raising flowers for my grandchildren and future generations to look back and learn who I was long after I am gone. So I decided to make pressed flower artwork behind glass. I had seen some at a local craft store and they are just to beautiful to behold. It is gray and wet here in our winters and to have these flowers pressed and in a picture on the wall kind of blesses us in the same way a fresh flower bouquet almost always brings a smile to one's soul. So this book is the huge answer to how to preserve my favorite thing to do and let my family to yet be born, look back and see who I was ... The Flower Lady, kids will see me in town and as if they saw Santa Claus, they will whisper to their moms, "there's The Flower Lady" mom. Can you even begin to imagine the joy that brings to my soul. This book is excellent, clear to understand and really updates the art of preserving flowers. It is an excellent book if you want to try this way to preserve flowers for whatever reason.
Easy, Mistake proof way of pressing flowers, great projects.......2002-04-29
This is a great book for anyone wanting to learn the easy, quick, more mistake proof way of pressing flowers. It's useful tips and wide variety of gorgeous projects make it suitable for crafters of all levels and tastes.
The book starts by helping you choose the right flowers for pressing, including a large chart that lists flower name, color and special notes such as whether it is difficult to press or has a variety of interesting shapes. It also gives some basic information on traditional pressing including instructions on making a press.
Details on microwave pressing are next including making a simple microwave press and step-by-step instructions accompanied by small photos of the drying process. Advice on storage, record keeping improving your results and avoiding common problems is also here. There are even extra preparation tips for dealing with difficult pollen, rosebuds and stems.
Over 20 projects follow including simple cards and stationery and covered items such as boxes and furniture, as well as designs under glass. All projects include a supply list and written step-by-step instructions. The instructions are good with a large full-color picture of the project is shown, but the specific flowers used are not listed. This gives you the flexibility to use your favorites that are available to you. My favorite project, called secret garden, features a vast array of flowers in a frame. I also loved another with flowers pressed in front of a window scene. I enjoyed a rocker decorated with morning glories, pretty scented drawer liners and a collaged musical hat box as well.
A helpful section in the back includes a chart for record keeping and beautiful flower images as well as a good index. I have tried a few pressed flower projects in the past but this book has inspired me to make that the focus of my crafting efforts this summer.
Another Truly Wonderful Book.......2002-04-05
A good overview of traditional presses as well as instructions for using a homemade microwave press. A list of flowers and herbs commonly pressed, including notes for each with pressing tips. Instructions for greeting cards, drawer liners, floral lampshades, boxes, picture frames, flower pots and furniture decorated with pressed flowers, and framed pressed flower pictures with lists of materials, instructions, and over 100 photos & diagrams. 112 pages hardcover
She Does It Again.......2000-06-29
They said it best when they wrote, "Joanna Sheen is a leading authority on pressed flowers and all things floral." It's so wonderful to have a book written by someone who has been doing this craft for 21 years....now THAT'S when experience talks! I've been pressing flowers and other botanicals in books and wooden presses for ages, and I'm so glad to have discoverd the revolutionary method of microwave pressing.
Like all of her books, Joanna takes you step-by-step through the process: when and how to collect the best specimens, materials and construction of your microwave press (as WELL as tips on traditional book pressing and wooden presses), using your press, preserving and storing your pressed flowers when finished, keeping microwave records, tips on improving your end results, common problems and troubleshooting, and then she has a number of GORGEOUS and crafty projects you can use them for. She even gives you some great tips on pressing VEGETABLES, and has a table of suitable flowers to press, including their names, colors, and pressing notes/coments/tips. See her website www.joannasheen.com for some great examples of her pressed flowers, vegetables, fruits, and herbs.
Some of the projects in the book include, but not nearly limited to: decorated scented drawer liner, floral lampshade, pressing and displaying wedding and special occasion flowers, decorated a dressing table, picture frames, a recipe box (with chillie peppers!)and cards, hat boxes, flower pots, bottles, pencil boxes, and various floral framed art.
The back of the book has several blank pages with lines for you to take notes when experimenting on your own, which she recomends in the book. And facing each lined page are gorgeous scans of specimens she has pressed.
If you enjoy plants and flowers in art, and you enjoy crafts, you can't live without this book for your personal library. TRUST ME!
Flowers Never Looked So Good.......2000-05-08
I have two copies of this book--one to use and one to loan to friends who share my love of flowers. It is beautiful. I'm making favors for my niece's wedding with inspiration from this book.
Book Description
For anyone who appreciates the beauty of nature, pounding flowers is the perfect craft. Using materials that are readily available and following a satisfyingly simple technique, readers can produce beautiful botanical impressions that make great gifts, appealing wearable art, or attractive home accessories. In this lavishly illustrated book, author Laura C. Martin describes projects that anyone of any skill level can do. All one needs are a few flowers and leaves, a hammer, a solid surface to pound on, and paper or fabric to receive the image. Examples of the 48 projects include tablecloths and napkins, sleep pillows, lampshades, place mats, gift wrap, scarves, and greeting cards A complete plant guide covers all the best plant materials to use and details how to grow, harvest, and hammer each one for surefire success every time. Few crafts offer the gorgeous results available from flower pounding along with the complete ease of execution. Gardeners, nature-lovers, and crafters of all ages and skill levels will be delighted with this fun and fascinating way of preserving, enjoying, and sharing nature's beauty season after season.
Customer Reviews:
The Art and Craft of Pounding Flowers.......2006-03-27
Excellant, the book looks as if it is brand new. I would gladly do business with this seller. Thank you.
A wonderfully stress-relieving craft using flowers & leaves!.......2004-03-18
I found Laura Martin's book over a year ago, and following the very easy to understand steps, have learned to pound flowers, leaves, and stems onto treated material (she gives the receipe)and also on paper. I have been able to spend many stress-relieving moments with my board and hammer in my little flower garden on cool mornings capturing and preserving the lovely blossoms which I have used to make very special cards, gifts, and treasures that will last a lifetime. I am now teaching this art to a few good friends and some young girls in our homeschool group, encouraging them to buy this book! My 9 year old daughter and I love to make "Flower Fairies" and "Flower Ballarinas" to put on cards, in frames, and on material for pillows and handmade journal covers, etc. The ideas shared have endless possibilities! If you have had a stressful day, go outside in a shaded area, sit on a blanket with your supplies, pick a few wildflowers, or blooms from your garden, or even some from the flowers you find in the floral market of your grocery store, and pound to your hearts content! I especially appreciate Laura Martin's knowledge of flowers shared in her "Plant Guide" in the back of the book. It has inspired me to plant more flowers, spend more time at the floral market and public gardens. I have even purchased seeds from a Wildflower Company online to grow this spring on our 1/2 acre of land that is usually overgrown with weeds! When I visit our kids in Oregon next month, we plan to find some ferns on our hikes that we will pound while taking a rest from our hiking. We will have these beautiful plants preservered as a wonderful reminder of our visit! As a homeschool family, we are using this art to teach our daughter about botany, keeping a visual record of the plants & wildflowers in a notebook, and then looking up the names in books at the library. And we are learning how to cultivate the flowers and are keeping a diary of that process! Highly recommend this book and craft for Garden Clubs, Girl Scouts, and the boys like it, too!
Flower Pounding is Awesome.......2001-06-22
The Art and Craft of Flower Pounding is awesome. This arts and crafts book is well written with easy to understand directions. The photographs of the projects presented in this book is a motivator in itself. The ideas are endless. Flower pounding is easy enough to do for a child's summer project as well as for an adult. My family is really enjoying this new craft so much that we had to go out and purchase a few more hammers! I highly recommend this book - especially if you are looking for a new, easy and unusual craft - this is it!!!!
Book Description
It all begins with dried blooms and foliage, a container or base form, a few tools, and a beautiful idea—the result is an elegant, long-lasting creation worthy of decorating any room. These projects reveal the possibilities for creating gorgeous pressed designs from a garden of silica- and air-dried flowers and plants. Discover just how simple it can be to amass a supply of dried plant materials using easy techniques for drying and pressing, and how to frame the flowers or embellish them with everything from candles to seashells. The exquisite items include wreaths, ornaments, displays, greeting cards, coasters, photo albums— even a scrapbook page.
Book Description
These days, trend-conscious tastemakers from Martha Stewart to the Pottery Barn are celebrating the art of the botanical specimen. Yet this art form has enjoyed popularity for centuries. This beautiful and lavishly illustrated book is the first to present botanical specimens, herbaria, and nature prints as artworks to be collected-and even created anew.
This engaging interpretation of the colorful history of plant collection traces its progress from a hazardous natural science on eighteenth-century explorations, to a fad among Victorian-era ladies and clergyman, to a keen pursuit for today's art collectors, garden enthusiasts, and crafters.
The Pressed Plant offers a thorough representation of four different art forms consisting of or created with actual plants: botanical specimens, in which parts of or entire plants are attached to archival paper; herbaria, or bound books holding a variety of plant specimens; nature prints, images made directly from plants; and sun prints, which are produced when a plant is placed on light-sensitive paper and exposed to the sun. A detailed appendix includes instructional material, sources for materials, and a collector's buying guide.
Customer Reviews:
The Pressed Plant.......2005-07-25
I was disappointed with this book - I was expecting something completely different. Very staid and did not give the information on pressed plants that I was looking for.
Beautiful, inspiring, unusual book.......2004-11-23
I love The Art of the Pressed Plant. The authors mine the history, the science and the art of preserved plants in this
rich book. It was fascinating to learn about the people who have collected plants throughout history, what that meant, and what that was like for them. It was inspiring and surprising to see the beautiful specimens. You will not be disappointed if you get this book.
The Pressed Plant.......2002-02-21
The author provides a well written history of plant preservation and pressing with summaries, comments, illustrations, and a comprehensive "how to" section. Anyone interested in pressed plant collecting should own this book.
Very impressive, clearly written, beautifully illustrated!.......2001-02-23
As an avid fan of leaves and wildflowers, with not a few pressed examples stuck in books and files, I was glad to find a book that celebrates all kinds of pressed plants, from ferns to seaweeds (!), as art. There's an amazing fossilized impression of a prehistoric plant, photos of Victorian botanists' carefully pressed samples, and sun prints done with photographic paper over a century ago. Plus a few modern artists' examples. This book proves that Mother Nature has been one of the best artists all along, and that we humans can have a sort of artistic partnership by preserving botanical specimens in one way or another. The wide array of images is mouth-watering; and the book can be used as a sort of tasting party to get you started on a new collection, or, using the how-to at the back of the book, a new hobby or art.
Gorgeous detail for pressing plants! Buy two!.......2000-07-12
For years I searched for a book that would direct me through the process of pressing ferns and other plants. This is it! This exquisite book is a treasure! The author shows the nature lover how to complete the process of preserving plants, just as the Victorians did. However, this wonderful hobby did not originate with the Victorians, they just renewed it with avid inspiration and volumes of renditons and renderings. This book takes the reader through the history of plant preservation, and shows the eager "artist" three different techniques for display: using the real thing, printing with paints and inks, and sun printing. This book is so wonderful, you may want to have two. The numerous copies of original and rare prints are so gorgeous, you may need an extra volume to "cheat" with: you know remove from the volume and, voila, inexpensive yet exquisite art!
Average customer rating:
- The Afterlife of Flowers
- Simply Superb!
- Flower Nirvana
- Revealing Hidden Beauty in Flowers
- Much More Than a Coffee Table Art Book
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The Afterlife of Flowers
Janie Feldman Gross
Manufacturer: Running Press Book Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Microwaved Pressed Flowers, Vol. 8: New Techniques for Brilliant Pressed Flowers (Microwaved Pressed Flowers)
ASIN: 0762405708 |
Customer Reviews:
The Afterlife of Flowers.......2002-04-05
Good reference material and some philosophy about nature. Beautiful photographs show what some commonly found flowers look like when pressed. This book is includes enlarged photos, comments, and a chart with smaller photos showing each flower's common name, width and it's location in the book. 96 pages, hardcover.
Simply Superb!.......2002-01-06
This isn't a how-to book, but the gorgeous photos do serve as a valuable guide to what some commonly found flowers will look like when pressed. The book is comprised of enlarged photos and comments, ending with an id chart of smaller photos along with each flower's common name, actual width, and the page it was featured on.
If you like the look of pressed flowers, you might want to check out Laura Martin's Art and Craft of Pounding Flowers. Pounding an object's pigment onto fabric and paper creates beautiful and uniquely pressed flower like images. Very nice.
Flower Nirvana.......2001-03-09
Janie Feldman Gross takes the art of flower pressing to new dimensions. Each specimen is a work of art unto itself - the colors, textures, delicately graceful lines - coupled with Janie's poetic observations, all add up to a book that is both breathtakingly beautiful and inspiring.
Revealing Hidden Beauty in Flowers.......2000-01-14
For most, the term "pressed flowers" conjures the shriveled and crumbling remains of faded prom corsages. Nothing could be more strikingly different from the pressed flora you'll encounter in THE AFTERLIFE OF FLOWERS. Creator Janie Feldman Gross invites us to a world where flowers reveal their remarkable and astonishing beauty...long after bloom. She guides us through a breathtaking collection of specimens -- most grown in her own garden -- each transformed by weight and time. Bringing her artist's eye to the task, Gross combines spectacular photographic images with her own spare and carefully placed commentary. The result is a visual ballet -- flowers partnered by prose. This is a book to be enjoyed for it uniqueness, its visual aesthetic and its underlying message; if we are patient and take the time to observe the world around us, there is unexpected beauty therein.
Much More Than a Coffee Table Art Book.......1999-12-13
This book is a wonderful work of art, and a bit of philosophy about nature as well. From the colors, to the prose, to even the position of the flowers on each page, the author has brilliantly created a piece of inspiration. It is hard to imagine a better art book on the subject. Buy it for someone you love, or just buy it for yourself!
Customer Reviews:
More Style than Substance - Two Thumbs Down.......2004-05-10
The adage "you can't judge a book by its cover" applies here: the book jacket promises "A practical and comprehensive guide to equipment, techniques and design... guidance at every stage, from gathering flowers to the finished design... clear comprehensive instructions for beginning and experienced hobbyists...". This book fails to live up to its cover and my vote is TWO THUMBS DOWN.
Ms. Lawrence's book, as shown above, comes as part of a portfolio that includes a flower press. The book provides many lovely designs and ideas for using flowers you have already pressed and that's where the good news ends. The bad news is that the "press" that is included in the portfolio kit (as shown above) consists of two small pieces of wood with holes drilled into each corner but is without hardware or assembly and use instructions that would enable you to acquire the appropriate hardware on your own.
The book has two sections ostensibly devoted to detailing the mechanics of pressing flowers, "Making a Press" and "How to Press Flowers". Neither section contains even rudimentary basics of the craft. The "Making a Press" section is devoted to a discussion of the textiles that are used for a design base for pressed flower projects. Other than to say in one sentence that you can make a press or buy one, she never mentions the concept again anywhere else in the book.
In "How to Press Flowers," some helpful hints are given, interspersed with references to using tissue, blotting paper and a press. Unfortunately, she skipped over those topics completely (how to press flowers using tissue, blotting paper and a press). As an experienced hobbyist but a novice in this craft and eager to try my hand at it, I was left frustrated and disappointed.
Elsewhere, some of the photographs are wonderfully done but others are decidedly lackluster. The instructions for assembling and completing the projects seem better developed but lack the step by step approach I've seen in other craft books. Reading through her instructions gives one the impression that this is not an easy craft to master.
If you are considering purchasing this book as your introduction to the craft of flower pressing, my advice would be to explore the other related books offered on Amazon and visit the reviewers' comments.
Average customer rating:
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Art of Dried and Pressed Flowers
Pamela Westland , and
Paula Critchley
Manufacturer: Random House Value Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0517516594
Release Date: 1988-12-12 |
Average customer rating:
- A Good Book For The Beginner
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The Art of Pressed Flowers
Sylvia Pepper
Manufacturer: Running Press Book Publishers
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Binding: Hardcover
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Pressed Flowers
ASIN: 0894718584 |
Customer Reviews:
A Good Book For The Beginner.......2002-04-05
Information about pressing and storing flowers, pressing techniques and enhancing color, by a natural technique of "piggybacking" one or two flowers onto another, for added dimension. The emphasis is on methods of design; a good book for a beginner. Illustrated, 48 pages, hardcover.
Average customer rating:
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The Book of Pressed Flowers
Jill Thomas
Manufacturer: Kingfisher Books Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0862728835 |
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The Art and Craft of Pounding Flowers
Nature Printing: 30 Projects for Creating Beautiful Prints, Wearables, and Home Furnishings
Making and Using a Flower Press: Storey Country Wisdom Bulletin A-196 (Storey Country Wisdom Bulletin, a-196)
Collecting and Preserving Plants
