Handmade Home: Framed Flora

Recently I have undertaken freshening up some spaces around the house. The first undertaking was to utilize some amazing things that I already have, or intentions that I already have. I've been thinking about those flora pressings that I got when I was back in Tacoma last year for Christmas, and was more than ready to get them up on the wall...

I found some great deals on wood frames, with the mattes included, and they even fit the odd measurements of the card stock the pressing were mounted on. However, I did walk around the store for a long time in order to find them. The clerk actually admitted that he didn't even know anyone was in the store: I was ghosting. 

Naturally, I had to spray them with 24k gold paint. The wood was nice, but I really wanted to get a more gilded look. Ben will tell you that I've been doing this a lot lately. I think for fun I may find something of his and spray paint it gold--maybe a pair of shoes or some of his undergarments. I'll figure it out.

I also wanted some color on the mattes, and just kind of dove (This is also a kind of bird by the way, you know, in case you were wondering. Unless your mind went right to the bird, which wouldn't surprise me because I have a brain that goes wings before water sports, in which case this content of this sentence is really confusing you right now.) into it and painted each matte a different lightly-brushed water color.

As I mentioned above, I really started painting without planning. So, after I colored and framed the mattes and framed, I decided I would have preferred a more subtle look...which is where the other picture, with just a splash of color, comes in.  Ultimately, I went with the second look, as I felt it was more the sort of thing you'd see in the margins of a scientific sketch pad, which is what I would like everything to remind me of, quite frankly.

And here is the crowning jewel. You can barely see my splashings on this frame, but I assure you, they are there. I'm hoping that this easy project will inspire me to actually start pressing and framing some of the treasures that I pick up daily--I've been finding a lot of feathers. I'll have to do some research on the molting seasons of birds in southern California. Happy gilding, and happy framing!