Capturing a Single, Dried Rose in a Dome Paperweight

This is my second blog post in a series that's all about working with preserved flowers.

Last week I showed you how to dry flowers in six easy steps.  Now I'm going to show you how to capture a single, dried rose using our Heirloom Dome Paperweight Kit.  (Available at PhotoWeights.com)

For most dried flower arrangements, with the exception of pressed flowers, you'll need to select a hollow dome because they have the extra ceiling height you'll need.  Something I really love about these domes is the fact that they magnify whatever they display.  This will add a lot of interest and dimension to your designs.

For this project you'll need the following supplies:

Heirloom Dome Paperweight Kit
Dried rose (or other flower)*
Swatch of background paper (any color you like)
Tacky glue
Small paint brush

* You'll need to select a flower that will fit within the display area of the paperweight. The thickness of the flower must fit the bottom recess.  The bottom recess is the ceiling height of the hollow area within the dome.

Step 1:  Place the adhesive side of your mounting board (the round disc shown above) onto a scrap of colored paper.  This will act as the background to apply the flower to.  I used some textured, black paper left over from another project.  I thought a black background would really bring out the color of the orange petals.

Here's a tip!  If you don't have any colored paper available, search the pages of a magazine or catalog for small sections of color you can clip out.  You can also print some color on a sheet of white paper using an inkjet printer.

Step 2:  If the flower has any loose petals that need to be secured, gently apply glue to the underside of the petal and lay it on the petal below.   (I used Aleene's Original Tacky Glue.)

Step 3:  Apply glue to the bottom of the flower, making sure to cover the lower petals (not quite to the edge).

 Step 4:  Glue to the flower to the center of the mounting board that was covered with paper in Step 1.

Step 5:  Once the flower is secured to the mounting board, center the board onto the adhesive side of the bottom pad and press into place.  This will frame the mounting board with an adhesive area that will bond it to the bottom of the glass paperweight.

Allow the glue to dry for 24 hours, or refer to your glue's instructions.

Step 6:  Place the flower (face down) into the recessed space on the bottom of the paperweight by centering the bottom pad over the base.



That's it!  In just a few steps you can create a flower paperweight that looks like it was purchased from a high-end boutique or museum store.

I hope you'll return to my blog as I add more paperweight design projects made with preserved flowers.