Forever Flowers

A top designer in dried floral welcomes you into her studio to learn the craft's potential. Today in floral design, dried flowers and botanicals give their fresh cousins a strong run for their long-held position as the classic material. Today, unrecognizable from the 1970s (when they were first trendy), dried flowers are a popular material for the most modern, contemporary creations in flower art. Antonia De Vere, a top designer in dried floral creations, here welcomes you into her studio to understand the potential you'll be able to enjoy when working with dried flowers. She shares how and why dried floral has become her career and her source of creative energy. In photos and text, De Vere shows you dozens of exciting ideas through her creations, which range from 10-foot-high restaurant installations to delicately shaped ikebana-inspired pieces to small sparks of pop art in bud vases. Learn how to select, dry, and assemble flowers and foliage. Then enjoy 18 step-by-step projects that bring De Vere's popular design style into your own home. This art's sustainability and zero-waste focus--damaged flowers that can't be sold for fresh bouquets can be used productively--is another reason "forever flowers" are perfect for today.

Learn how to grow and dry flowers, plants and herbs to create dried floral arrangements that will breathe fresh life and style into your home without breaking the bank! In this contemporary reimagining of a timeless craft, Ann Lindsay Mitchell guides you through the method of drying flowers in three achievable steps: growing, drying and arranging. This excellent source of practical advice is explored through an encyclopaedic list of flowers and foliage with specific information on how to grow, cut and dry them to best effect. From coffee table posies and large arrangements to hand tied-gift bunches and wedding bouquets, beautiful photography accompanies guidance to creating arrangements with your newly dried flowers. Filled with delicate watercolour illustrations alongside stunning photography of both simple and elaborate floral arrangements, Forever Flowers is an exceptional guide to growing, drying and arranging. Suitable for both experienced professionals and hopeful newcomers to the art of drying flowers, the information in the book is an invaluable resource for all to reference and return to. Anyone can create everlasting arrangements for friends, home or occasions that can be cherished for years to come.

Everlastings is a celebration of the life of flowers, showcasing the ethereal beauty of dried flowers. Bex Partridge takes you on a journey, starting with practical advice on how to pick flowers both at your home and outdoors, with in-depth descriptions of the many methods of drying blooms, seed heads and foliage, before sharing her favourite ways to style with dried flowers in the home as well as wearable items such as floral crowns and hair clips. The main section of the book features over 20 projects to try at home, all accompanied with beautiful photography. Suitable for both those that have never worked with dried flowers before and the seasoned professionals, the projects span many levels of experience. Bex shares ideas on how to capture the memories and moments of special days, through the gathering and preserving of flowers, to be treasured for years to come. She also shares her knowledge of the ecological benefits of dried flowers, as well as chapters on foraging and thoughts on the meditative benefits of working with dried flowers. Filled with stunning imagery that Bex has become known for online, Everlastings presents a modern take on an age-old craft.

QUILTS -- PIECES OF FABRIC SEWN TOGETHER LIKE MOMENTS IN TIME, AS HANDMADE AS LIFE ITSELF Every quilt has a story to tell, an endearing story that lasts forever. Whether it is a craft-fair find, a generations-old family heirloom, or an art collector's most prized piece, quilts warm our bodies and our hearts. Ever since pioneer women organized sewing circles to combat the harshness and isolation of the American West, women have turned to quilting to celebrate, share, and heal. In this heartwarming collection of inspirational stories, we see the celebrations, joys, and heartaches behind the stitches. One family lovingly pieces together a birthday present for their aging father, while a garage-sale quilt comes to symbolize the ties between a young man and his mother. Thirteen pre-Civil War ladies sew squares for their schoolmate's wedding quilt, while a young boy adds his own square to the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt in honor of his father. No matter the circumstances, these stories deliver the spirit of quilting, friendship, and love with every word.

In this tender story about the virtues of finding, keeping, and letting go, a young grouse is waylaid on her seasonal migration and carries her precious cargo to a new land. As the bird's favorite Forever Flowers grow from planted seeds to blooming flowers, she discovers how unexpectedly one can stumble upon happiness and breathe into the contentment of life's quiet moments, even amidst the winter's dark. When spring arrives again, though, the grouse must make a decision: should she stay or fly away?

Full-color, illustrated instructions for creating over forty dried and pressed floral designs and projects.