I Can Print Myself Flowers

Most of our projects start or end with “making something for Mom.” The kids never seem to tire of finding ways to express their love and gratitude for their Mom - fabulous, right?!

Pansies are often an early purchase here in Minnesota - hearty in our fluctuating spring. And who doesn’t love their color and “faces?” So we only had to go as far as my front step for this trial run. Jack picked a few, tried the hammering, and they both ran back out, carefully choosing combinations of colors they wanted to try together. We hammered directly to card stock, which I handily also always have around. The surface will absorb some of the moisture, so you want it to be sturdier than a thin computer paper.

Instructions

Carefully trim as much of the back side of the bloom as you can without having the petals fall apart, to make it less bulky. You can also place any fallen petals back in position before hammering if it shatters. Arrange blooms face down on the front side of your card stock and cover with a paper towel. Hold gently in place and hammer all petals and the middle to flatten and transfer the color. I carefully peel the flattened petals off the card stock right away to reveal the “print.” Some pinks can print purple, and some purples can print blue! So fun. The purple geraniums pictures below were actually hot pink in the pot.

TOOLS: Firm paper or scored card stock from a craft store, small hammer, paper towels, and scissors and tweezers might help in handling the blooms

We spent the summer gathering flowers we thought might work - they didn’t always, and the surprise “reveal” was the best part for the kids. Hydrangeas and roses did nothing. Some blooms have great color but are too bulky in the middle. Some print a completely different color. Some were too delicate to peel off, so we let them dry that way. You’ll want to hammer quite quickly after picking, and some you might want to leave on the paper for a bit before trying to peel off. You can also try leaves.

I went on to try adding drawings with the floral prints (one is Grace’s hand), and scanned the original hammered prints to design more color combinations. The kids always used their creations as a card for Mom, always with “I love you” and “You are the best Mom” carefully printed inside. We are hoping for an early spring to see what else we can try. I have tried a few from a greenhouse this winter, but they seem to have more moisture than color.

The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum was our first substantial sale of Grandma’s Flower Garden cards, for their Annual Flower Show Feb.9-Mar.10. We’ll be making a field trip for fun and inspiration! Sign up for our Grandycamp newsletter for your free shipping code for shopping www.KarenRitzCards.com, but we hope you’ll try making them too.