Bouquet Preservation
& Floral Art
Roots
I grew up in the Atlanta suburbs with flowers in my hair and green leaves in my books. It’s always been a dream of mine to own and operate my own creative business, but caring for people struck my interest as well. I graduated from Georgia College with my BSN, and I was a pediatric nurse for almost 10 years before I started working with flowers full-time. I went to art school at KSU for a year and absolutely loved every second of it, and I was inspired to pursue a creative business. I taught myself to solder by watching Youtube videos and burning my fingers a few times. I began pressing small wildflowers to frame in glass with a soldered edge, and with practice and patience, I learned about the art of floral preservation and got a little better at it. A sweet lady found me on Etsy and took a huge chance on me with her mother’s funeral flower bouquet, and my flower preservation business took off from there. Brides are my main clientele now, and it’s such an honor to play a small role in preserving their flowers and memories for years to come. I absolutely love what I do, and I’m so thankful for the opportunity to work with so many wonderful people in preserving their special bouquets.
Pressing and Framing
The Process:
1. Message me on Etsy prior to purchasing to reserve your date and inquire about availability.
2. Ship me your flowers! Detailed instructions on how and where to ship them will be sent to you once your reservation is made. I will also send a link to an information sheet that should be printed and included in the box with the flowers.
3. I will message you to let you know when your flowers arrive safely. They will dry over 8-10 weeks on my flower press, and I will watch over them carefully to make sure you get a wonderful preservation result.
4. Once your flowers are completely dry, I will arrange them in the frame! Each bouquet is unique, so you will have a completely original piece of art to hang in your home!
5. I will ship your frame to you once it is finished. I use USPS, and I will send you the tracking info once your preserved flowers are in the mail.
The Frame:
I make each metal frame by hand! They consist of two panels of glass, solder, and jute string to hang it with. I cut the glass panels to size myself and hand-solder the edges together, sealing in your bouquet to protect the flowers for years to come.
The solid wood frames are a classic option that have a timeless style. They are also double floating glass panes and are about 1.5 inches deep so that the natural textures of your bouquet will stand out.
The Flowers:
-Each bouquet is unique, so the frame arrangement will be unique as well. Every frame will look different. I will arrange your bouquet in a way that artistically flatters your flowers, and by sending me your bouquet, you are saying you trust me with the artistic layout decisions.
-I can only use fresh flowers, so you must send them to me within 1 week of the wedding day. Once the flowers age, the risk of mold and browning increases, so the fresher they are, the better the result typically.
-The amount of flowers I can include in the frame depends on the size/number of the frames you choose as well as the quality of flowers. I only frame the best results of the flowers once they are pressed to preserve the quality of the overall aesthetic of the finished product.
- I cannot preserve succulents. They hold too much water to dry out without molding/browning.
-Certain flowers are too thick to frame whole (example: pinecones, proteas, sunflowers etc). I can deconstruct some things and rebuild them more flat for the frame, and other flowers I will have to exclude from the frame. Just send a message and ask if you are concerned!
-The colors of flowers change as they dry. White flowers turn creamy, brown, or yellow, purples darken and may brown, pink flowers lighten and may turn yellow, reds turn darker/maroon, oranges hold their colors well, blues may darken some but keep their color, yellows hold their color really well but may darken slightly, and greenery keeps it’s color and may darken. All flowers will fade slightly as time passes due to the nature of working with real flowers, but I use a UV spray for ultimate color hold.
“Love is the flower you’ve got to let grow.”
- John Lennon