As a child I remember my nan showing me how to press flowers. We would carefully place them between sheets of newspaper then stack a huge pile of books on top before I had to practice that quality which children find so difficult: patience.
After two weeks I would be able to go and unveil the final result; papery, delicate works of art, nature preserved for ever more.
I've been doing a lot of walking in overgrown woodland this summer on my adventures with Beatrix, and it occurred to me that perhaps it was time to have another go at flower pressing. I really love the idea of being able to pick a piece of summer 2012, preserve it, and then keep it forever, and it will never wilt and die.
I used the same heavy stack of encyclopedias as all those years ago, made my makeshift flower press, and attempted to get on with other creative projects for the next fortnight while I waited.
One of the flowers emerged looking like a miniature bent blossom tree, so I popped it inside my sketch book ready to make it into just that. The rest I used to make my first ever smash book page. (More on this new pursuit soon!)
Sticking such precise and perfect specimens of nature in a haphazard way somehow seemed really satisfying, and helps to give the overall impression of a chaotic bouquet on the page. I haven't finished the page yet, but I'm already enjoying being able to look at and touch a piece of the summer, created in the summer, and caught in a single moment in time for ever more.
(My new washi tape was great fun too!)
Do you have any childhood crafts or hobbies you'd like to revisit now? I'm considering starting a ladybird farm next!
