Pressed Flower Plate

This is a simple project to start with your children that ultimately needs to be finished by an adult. I realize that I'm not posting this at a very advantageous time for those who live in a part of the world that is deep into autumn, like myself, but I just happened to finish the plate over the weekend.

 

I found my plate at a thrift store. It's a standard dinner size. I collected the flowers and leaves from my garden, avoiding anything that was too thick. I thought in terms of shapes that would flatten nicely. I placed my bits of nature between paper towels and then between some sheets of printer paper. I sandwiched the items into a thick art history book and sat a couple of other heavy books on top. After a week they ware nicely pressed. I used white glue to adhere the petals to the plate. After they dried, I used an epoxy resin to cover the portion of the plate with the flowers. This is the part that I would advise you NOT to include children. The material is toxic and I used gloves when I was dealing with it. The epoxy resin adds a glossy shine and will protect the pressed flowers. I almost backed out of using the product, but I'm glad I went ahead since it gives the plate a finished look. I used the 8 oz. Easy Cast that I picked up at a large craft store. There are 2 different solutions that you will need to mix together and then pour onto your plate. I used an old credit card to spread the resin. Bubbles did develop on the surface, but I found that after the plate had set for about 20 minutes I was able to gently pop most of the bubbles with the credit card. Just be gentle so that you don't disturb the surface. It takes about 2 days to dry.