Help please!! Framing pressed flowers!

[Kwik Picture Framing]

I've just posted this on another forum that I know people here are a member of, but I figured there might be some others who don't use that website, so here I am!

I am doing a favour for a friend and have agreed to frame her wedding flowers which are being pressed as we speak. They are to be in the same frame as one of her invitations, and she wants a floating effect that allows it to be seen from both sides (i.e. the flowers sitting in clear glass).

How would I make sure that they were secured without the risk of slipping? Ideally, we want the flowers to be secured subtly.

Thank you!!

 

[Bill Henry-]

A major problem with framing almost any biologic specimen is that the colors will eventually fade and and the petals will rot. Fixative sprays may retard this process, but not completely eliminate it.

I have never had this done, but I have heard from a florist that the best way to preserve flowers is to have them freeze dried.

(There is a company in New Hampshire that claims to be able to freeze dry small dogs and cats – suitable for framing? Now you can keep your ex-cat, Fluffy, around as a door stop forever. )

You might want to contact some florists or Google some local company and ask them. I have no idea what they charge for this.

 

[Shayla]

You might also explore the idea of having a good quality photo (or scan?) taken
of the flowers. That way, even after they've faded, she'll still have the image.
It can also be used as a screensaver that way.

 

[Susan May]

Knowing that the flowers WILL fade, and that this is not going to be around a long time, you don't need to worry too much about preservation. That being said, Aleene's Tacky Glue is both acid free, and dries clear. A little dab will go a long way. (It is also water reversible.)

But before you glue anything, make sure the customer knows that you will be using glue, and that the colors are going to fade, no matter what you do. UV glass will slow down the fading, but nothing will prevent the colors from fading.

Good luck.

(Oh, I did something similar for a customer of mine... but we recreated her bouquet in silks, and framed that.)

 

[Twin2]

I have pressed flowers in the past and used them to decorate mats, but like others have said, the colours will fade. I just used tiny spots of Aleene's Tacky Glue to hold the flowers in place - you don't need to use a lot as the glass rested on top of the flowers and helped hold them in place too. Frank's ph neutral fabric glue would probably work as well.

I attached a photo of a shop sample that I did around 12 years ago. Mind you, I didn't have UV protected glass back then, but the colours would probably have faded quite a bit even if the glass did have UV protection. I still like it, but it doesn't look as nice as when I first did it.