Memorial Flowers

I was commissioned by a family to preserve memorial flowers and create two pictures.  The daughter chose the wreath to reflect eternity.  The granddaughter chose to have her flowers preserved as a bouquet in a vase.

Pressed Flower Collage Greeting Card Class

I'm excited to be teaching a fall collage pressed flower class at the Pittsford Library.  This will be the third time I have been invited to do so. The class is full with five students on the wait list.  Here are samples of the cards I made in prepartion for the class.

Fairies, Fairies & More Fairies

My pressed flower fairies have been very popular this year.  Here are three new ones which I recently created for my upcoming shows.  I hope you like them.

 Look for B's Garden Treasures at Beaver Lake Nature Center Golden Harvest Festival at 8477 East Mud Lake Road, Baldwinsville, NY on September 12-13, 2015.  

Recent Cards

I recently created these black window cards with flowers fresh out of the press. They are 5" x 7" in size and can be inserted into a 5" x 7" frame.  I typically charge $5.00 each for my original pressed flower cards.   I hope you like them.

Pendants, Nightlights & Cards

In addition to framed art, I always try to have other options available at the shows I attend.  Here are some of the products I have been working on over the last couple of weeks.  Look for B's Garden Treasures at the Cortland Arts and Wine Festival on Courthouse Park in downtown Cortland, NY on Saturday, August 1st from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

PENDANTS:  Many of the pendants pictured below are made with small flowers and leaves adhered to a lunaria / money plant seedpod and finished with resin on both the front and back.

 NOTECARDS:  These cards are made from digital copies of my original pressed flower art in packages of 8 cards each.

NIGHT LIGHTS:  I started creating pressed flower night lights last year.  The ones shown below have colored backgrounds.

233 - Full Moon

Look for this original pressed flower art at the Keuka Art Festival June 13-14, 2015

This scene features swans swimming in a pond on a beautiful summer night. The full moon showcases the flowering shrubs along the path leading to the gazebo.  The pond was constructed primarily from beehive and filled with layers of blue delphinium petals topped with a few maidenhare fern. The larkspur swans have beaks made from tree bark and banana peel. The ripples on the water are onion skins. The fall leaf pathway is decorated with multi-colored and dyed bridal wreath as well as heather, blue salvia and larkspur.  The gazebo was constructed with brown lily leaves and banana peel wood. Additional botanicals include dusty miller, artemisia, evergreen, white poplar leaf, skeleton leaf and miscellaneous ferns and leaves.

This piece was framed in a simple black frame and vacuum sealed between glass and mylar.  A second layer of 99% UV conservation glass covers the ivory mat.

#238 - Bad Dog in the Garden

Look for this original pressed flower art at the Keuka Art Festival June 13-14, 2015

This loveable, but mischievous overgrown puppy, has dug a hole in the garden.  His eyes show remorse but not until after the damage was done. Botanicals include hydrangea, japanese maple,  cotton, banana peel, spanish moss, cinnamon, queen anne’s lace, ixora, alyssum, luminary plant seed pods, parsley, wild onion, fern and miscellaneous leaves.

It has been framed in a 16" x 20" simple mahogany wood frame with a hunter green mat and was vacuum sealed between a layer of mylar and acrylic. It was topped with 99% UV conservation glass for added protection.

#239 - Keuka Lake

This picture was created based on prior requests to have pressed flower art featuring Keuka Lake.  I hope it will find a new home during the Keuka Art Festival, June 13-14, 2015.

Nestled in the heart of the Finger Lakes, Keuka Lake has earned the nickname "Lady of the Lakes" because of its natural beauty.  Whether sailing its waters, or lounging along its shores, Keuka Lake makes everything appear more beautiful.  Botanicals used in this original pressed flower art, include Ixora, Queen Anne’s Lace, Hydrangea, Yarrow, Lobelia and wild onion. 

 It was sealed between a layer of mylar and 99% UV conservation glass for protection.

236 - Woodland Waterfall

Look for this original pressed flower art at the Keuka Art Festival June 13-14, 2015

This picture  reminds me of my youth when I loved to investigate area woodlands and pick wildflowers.  It was also inspired by the  beautiful waterfalls in the Finger Lakes region.  Botanicals include hydrangea japanese and sugar maple leaves, black cohash, ferns, solidigo, cotton, delphinium, bridal wreath, queen anne’s lace and ixora.

 This piece was framed with a simple mahogany wooden frame and and hunter green mat.  It was vacuum sealed between a layer of mylar and acrylic and topped with a layer of 99% UV conservation glass for added protection.

#235 - Peony Bouquet

Look for this original pressed flower art at the Keuka Art Festival June 13-14, 2015:

What’s not to like about peonies – except perhaps the ants which sometimes make them their home. Can you smell the beautiful fragrance of this bouquet in the decorative leaf-made vase?  In addition to peony, botanicals include queen anne’s lace, delphinium, fern, gingko, spanish moss and fall leaves. 

 The burgendy frame with gold features compliments the bouquet.  This piece was vacuum sealed between a layer of mylar and glass. It was topped with 99% UV conservation glass for added protection.

B's Garden Treasures Etsy Shop

B's Garden Treasures now offers pressed flowers and other botanicals as well as limited frame-ready digital prints of our original pressed flower art.  Go to bgtreasures.com and click on links.

#234 - The Kiss

I'm happy to share my most recent creation.  It features my pressed flower and gilded background rendition of “The Kiss” by Austrian Symbolist painter, Gustav Klimt (1862-1918). It depicts a couple embracing, their bodies entwined in elaborate robes decorated in a style influenced by both the Art Nouveau style and the earlier Arts and Crafts movement. Klimt combined oil paint with applied layers of golf leaf, referred to as gold leafing or gilding.  

In my rendition, the woman was created using pink and white larkspur for her skin and marigolds for her hair. Her robe features yellow cosmos petals adorned with verbena, bridal wreath and the cosmos flower centers. For the man, I used aged dogwood flowers for his skin and browned lily of the valley leaves for his hair.  His vibrant robe features orange cosmos petals adorned with bridal wreath, birch bark and banana skin. 

Other botanicals include larkspur, queen anne’s lace, cosmos, hydrangea, bridal wreath, solidigo, thyme, parsley and fern.

#232 -- Cold Winter Evening

I recently finished this winter scene.  It is 11" x 14" and will be matted and framed to 16" x 20".

It features a cozy woodland cabin on a cold winter evening.  Perhaps the inhabitants are enjoying their evening meal warmed by a fire in the fireplace.  While they are settling in, one of nature’s creatures has come out of hiding. 

The winter sky was created with melaleuca and paper birch bark. The mountains were outlined with skeleton leaves. The cabin was constructed with brown day lily leaves, bark and straw.  Other botanicals include white poplar, maple and miscellaneous leaves; artemesia, cotton, birch bark, assorted skeleton leaves, fern, evergreen, garlic skin, onion skin, hydrangea, cosmos and seaweed.  This piece will be vacuum sealed and framed with 99% UV acrylic.  A second layer of glass will cover the matting.