Kangaroo Paws have fascinated me ever since we started gardening. They are really unique and indigenous to Australia. Our plants are the tiny ones, but we have seen some really large specimens in various garden shows. They come in a lot of colours from the red side of the spectrum - red, light pink, dark pink, maroon, orange and yellow. We have the pink ones.
I wanted to keep this plant with me even after we leave Australia. The only way to do that was to dry it out and frame it.
I cut the flowers in October-November last year and hung them upside down in a cupboard to dry. I did not want to press the Kangaroo Paw flowers as the flowers have a lot of 3D elements to them. The leaves grow pretty flat anyway, so did not need any pressing.
The frame took me a long time to find. I had to find one which had space between the glass and the back. We finally got one from IKEA in January.
This may sound funny, but then it took me 6 months to find the perfect glue! None of the glues that I had (or could purchase) was holding these leaves to the paper. How I missed Fevicol! Finally though, I was able to get a tube from India. Life was good again :)
The project took 8 months to complete, but is finally done. I may change the colour of the white strip around the flower to something more contrasting with the background.
I wanted to keep this plant with me even after we leave Australia. The only way to do that was to dry it out and frame it.
I cut the flowers in October-November last year and hung them upside down in a cupboard to dry. I did not want to press the Kangaroo Paw flowers as the flowers have a lot of 3D elements to them. The leaves grow pretty flat anyway, so did not need any pressing.
The frame took me a long time to find. I had to find one which had space between the glass and the back. We finally got one from IKEA in January.
This may sound funny, but then it took me 6 months to find the perfect glue! None of the glues that I had (or could purchase) was holding these leaves to the paper. How I missed Fevicol! Finally though, I was able to get a tube from India. Life was good again :)
The project took 8 months to complete, but is finally done. I may change the colour of the white strip around the flower to something more contrasting with the background.
