PRESSED FLOWER LAMP
Wood Lamp Base Lamp Shade
Craft Paint (colors to match décor)
Paintbrushes (large and small)
Pressed flowers (see directions)
Mod podge
Plain paper or tracing paper
Raffia
Transparent tape
1. Gather field flowers and garden flowers while in full bloom. Examples of good flower heads are Queen Anne’s lace,cosmos, violets, daisies, and johnny jump ups. Try different shaped flowers, gathering different colors and types of leaves also. Carefully place the flower heads and leaves between sheets of absorbent paper and press in a flower press or between the pages of heavy books. If using books, place the sheets of paper and flowers between sheets of waxed paper to protect the books. Tighten the press or weigh down the books and let dry without disturbing for 10 days to one week. After removing the flowers from the press or books, store in a flat box between layers of tissue paper.
2. Wrap tracing paper around the lampshade and lightly trace the general shape of the lampshade on the paper. Remove the paper and lay flat. Use this tracing to lay out your pressed flowers. The pressed flowers will be very thin and fragile. To help pick the flower pieces up, use a small stiff piece of paper. Slide under the flowers and lift like a spatula. On the paper tracing, lay out flowers and leaves in a pleasing flow. Overlap the flowers and leaves, clustering different types and colors of flowers together. Fill in some spaces with small clusters of flowers but leave some spaces to add interest and to allow the eye to rest.
3. Starting at the center front of the lampshade (the side opposite of the seam), using the large paint brush, paint on an area of Mod podge large enough to lay out your first cluster of flowers. Starting with the pieces you want under the others (for example, the leaves), begin transferring the flowers from the paper to the lampshade. Keep in mind the flowers are fragile and once laid on the glue, they cannot be moved without being damaged. Once you have a group of flowers laid on the lampshade, paint over the flowers gently with Mod podge to seal. As you work, also paint the areas you are leaving empty with Mod podge to give the shade a unified look, smoothing the glue as much as possible as you work. Once you have covered the entire shade, check to see if there are areas where you should add clusters of flowers.
4. When shade is dry, take 3 strands of raffia and tie into a knot on one end. Tape the knotted end to a table and braid the three strands until you have a piece long enough to circle the bottom edge of the shade and repeat to get another piece long enough to circle the top of the shade. Knot ends. Using a couple of raffia strands, tie two small bows.
5. Decide where you want to place your bows on the shade. Start at that point and paint a small line of Mod podge around the bottom edge of the shade, one small section at a time, laying the braided raffia on the glue and securing lightly with scotch tape. Once you have gone around the entire shade, trim off the knots and the excess raffia braid and paint on some extra glue at the seam to keep the raffia from unraveling and place the raffia bow over the seam and secure with tape. Repeat this step around the top of the top of the shade. When dry, remove the tape and add extra Mod podge to any place where the raffia comes away from the shade.
6. Sand the wood base lightly with fine grit sandpaper and wipe clean. Paint with acrylic craft paint in colors that compliment your lampshade and décor. If desired, brush a layer of Mod podge on your lamp base and decorate with a small cluster of pressed flowers then seal with Mod podge.