Pressed

A while back, at some table top jumble sale at Bungo in the Lanes, Cubling discovered a flower press. She was delighted with the pink box with flowers on it. It was pretty clear she didn't quite know what it was for, but liked it anyway. She was delighted when she could have it (for a pittance of a price - I still can't believe that the as good as new wooden press was sold for close to nothing), and as soon as we were home, we went flower hunting.

It's a slow process, with one to two blossoms that can be pressed at a time, and the pressing process taking a week, it's become a little bit of a weekly routine for us. It's slow but easy and Cubling still enjoys finding flowers and seeing the end result. The colours are amazingly preserved, the texture is almost transparent, yet perfectly maintained - the wonders of nature seen from a different perspective. So Saturday is flower pressing day: Last week's flower is released, admired and stored, this week's flower is found, selected and pressed.

Now with a selection of flowers, we were able to take things a little bit further.

So, introducing our range of Cubling's pressed flower cards; I give you these:

The photos don't really do the pressed flowers much justice, it's one of those things you need to see to be amazed. Interestingly, Cubling likes the "plain" flowers best, such as clover blossoms, fern leaves and our flowering sage. The cards are simple but oh so beautiful. Cubling's "plainer" flowers and leaves make for perfect opportunities to arrange a meadow scene, while my preferred bigger flowers go better on their own.

Something I made earlier

I've been slacking a little bit in the card making department. For the last few years, incredibly, I managed to make almost every card that left our house. Not so this year - somehow, knitting took over. It could also have something to do with my reluctance to sitting in the dining room in the evening rather than the living room (where there is no suitable surface for making cards). The decision was made to give Christmas cards a miss for this year, but to at least attempt to get back into personalised card making for other occasions.

Baby Roisin and Baby no-name-yet finally gave me the kick in the Popo that I'd been waiting for. So, the other night, while my beloved was busy writing Christmas cards, I made few new baby cards. They are simple to make and the techniques are self explanatory. I'm not a card artist, just someone who enjoys crafting here and there, and who enjoys to personalise cards that little bit. The cards I make are simple, and I expect that anyone can create something similar (or even better).

I use plain coloured card stock in various sizes which can be purchased at almost every arts and craft shop (Millers and The Art Shop in Glasgow, Hobbycraft in the Fort in Easterhouse/Glasgow, and in Cardwell Garden Centre in Gourock which has a great crafts shop). I tend to go for the cheapest option (usually it comes as 50 cards and envelopes, the quality is decent and much cheaper than the lower quantity options - I find that I use white and ivory most, with red and green card stock for Christmas cards). I also have a supply of toppers and a selection of different type of card, fabric, stamps and pens to colour in, beads and any other decoration you can get your hands on. Ikea currently does very cheap scrapbooking sets which can also be used for decorating. Children's craft scissors are great for unusual edgings. Or you can rip hand made paper to great effect. Finally, I use letter stickers to personalise the card once baby is born and the name is known.

So six cheers for last week's two babies.