Preserving Summer Color

It is supposed to freeze tonight, and that means I had only today to gather all the remaining crops from the garden.

But as I was doing that, I saw that all my lovely summer flowers were going to be lost. The golds and pinks, the violets and reds would all fall and fade -- then be buried in white in just a short time.

I hate seeing color vanish.

So, I decided I'd save summer.

First, I picked the remaining flowers and some leaves as well. I piled the ones I wanted onto the table.

Then, I placed a linen dishtowel on the table and brought out the iron and waxed paper.

I sprinkled petals, leaves, buds and crayon shavings onto the waxed paper, covered it with another sheet of waxed paper and another linen dish towel.

I set the iron on a medium low setting and pressed.


It took about five minutes of carefully moving up and down, then around and around, until the sheet was flat.


After this, I cut off a few strips and cut again to make card-sized sheets.


I made three large sheets which will become probably 40 or so card-size panels.

They can be very versatile.

The first thing I wanted to do was make a window card, but they can also be embossed or cut with dies.

Here is a finished project.

I am new to clear stamps and did not do a very good job with the sentiment, but you get the idea.