Pressing Ferns & Drying Bugs and Mushrooms

Hello friends, 

I've taken up a new hobby! Not that I need another, but here we are... 

There's no surprise here, I'm a big fan of nature, and I love to bring real nature into my home to decorate. Being the good witch I am, I always ask for permission for Mother Earth, but that's a discussion for another post. Recently, I've been pressing ferns and small leaves and putting them into frames like shown above. 

It's really simple, anyone can make these, or if you don't want to make your own, I'm sure you can find something similar at Urban Outfitters for at least $45. But seriously, anyone can make these! I use my sketchbook to press my leaves and ferns. It's large enough to fit a big fern and I usually always have it with me any way, so it's perfect. Usually, I will leave them in the book for a day or two just to make sure the paper sucks out all the moisture and they're definitely flat. 

The frames I used are ones we found at that weird Netflix prop sale (the large one) and the smaller gold one is from The Dollar Tree. The generic photos they use as place holders when you buy the frame are usually perfectly white or a nice tan and make beautifully simple backing for your plants. And, you're recycling. I didn't use any adhesive or tape to keep these stationary. They're just in there using the pressure of the backing and glass. 

Lay out your ferns or leaves and then gently place the glass over top, sandwiching everything together. Then, you can place the frame over top and fix those funky little clips on the back to secure the whole thing. The hardest part of the process is figuring out your composition and how you want to arrange your collection. 

Grab yourself a nail and hang that puppy up on the wall to admire your handy work!! 

These little projects are stupid easy and honestly have brought me a lot of joy. Even Bryan likes them, I've found him gazing off at the large one from time to time. I'm excited for fall and all the beautiful colors Western Pennsylvania are known for. There's a large empty space on the wall in our living room, above the TV that I want to fill with a poster size one of these. But, I'm waiting til the end of summer and fall to get those colors, son!! 

If you end up trying one of these yourself, I'd love to see it! Send me a photo!! 

Oh, and the mushrooms and the bugs.....

Ya know how I said I didn't need another hobby, well, I'm working towards trying my hand at aaaaaanother hobby. I really want to try resin art. I keep finding dead bugs that are perfectly intact. When dad and I went to pick up his El Camino at the Paint Shop, I found the horsefly and moth on the ground outside the shop. The bee is a whole story that I don't have the finger strength to type out right now. It's going to be a while til I'm able to afford the supplies for the resin art, so til then, I'll just keep on collecting bugs. 

xo. h.