Making a bud vase is very simple, and even very young children can do this with only a little help. 

You will need:

clay

a plastic knife or popsicle stick

a toothpick

a newspaper

 

 

 

Spring is finally here and that means one very important thing to me.  Flowers! 

They're everywhere right now and I can't get enough of them. Pink ones, purple ones, yellow ones, and white ones... there's just something about the fresh colors of spring flowers.

While you're out enjoying the weather, collect some of those beautiful spring flowers to use in your arts and crafts projects. 

For pressing flowers, look for more flat flowers like violets, pansies, and daisies.  Thicker flowers will work, but they take longer to dry.  Don't forget that green is good, too. So, collect interesting leaves from flowers, trees, ferns - wherever you find them.  These will make your crafts even more interesting and natural looking!

According to The Flower Doctor, here are the appropriate types and colors of flowers that you should give on Valentine's Day:

If you've been madly in love for years, traditionally the best floral gift is a dozen red roses

If you've just met someone, some colorful daisies might be the perfect floral expression.

If you have a secret admirer, maybe you want to give them a pink rose that might help symbolize a love that you want to grow.

Remember this: red roses for sweethearts, pink roses from an admirer, and carnations for a first date.

More tips like this from The Flower Doctor below...

Two of the best holiday cards we received this Christmas were:

#1 A "Seeds-n-Greetings" card.
#2 A computer monitor display card & screensaver.

With summer on its way out, and the cold weather (yes, even snow) just around the corner... I'm going to try & find some colorful flowers out & about this weekend.

I guess it's my last-ditch effort at holding onto summer.

My goal is to press a few of the flowers that I pick, then add them around a small photo collage -- just a handful of photographs we took this summer.

It will be a fun way to preserve our summertime memories.

Here's how I press flowers...