A Crafty Little Project

Hello there! Boy, am I proud of my latest craft project! What do you think of it? I call it a dried-flower window. Wouldn't it look just wonderful in your garden cottage? Haven't you been looking for a way to use all those dried flowers left over from this season's blooms?

I originally got this idea from a booth at the farmers' market in Birmingham. When I saw it, I thought, "Wow, that is super cute!" Then my mind got to working and I thought, "I could totally make that." I already had the window. I just needed the supplies.


Here are the supplies I used:

• old window
• foam board with printed grid
• pencil
• nail or screw with a pointed tip
• faux stone spray paint
• dried flowers in a multiple of colors, or a single color if that's what you want to do. I used purple, orange, green, and yellow.
• florist wire
• raffia
• staple gun
• staples
• duck tape
• picture hanging kit

Here's how I did it... First, decide which side of the foam board will be the back and the front. Mark off both sides of the board with outlines of each pane. Trim the foam board so it will fit just inside the outline of the window. You'll want to leave enough room so that the foam board may be stapled to the window later, but not so much that the foam board is peeking around the edges.

Next, on the foam board place an X in the center of each outlined pane. The grid really comes in helpful here. Then, take your nail or screw and poke holes, not too big, on either side of the X. This is where the florist wire will be threaded through to hold the flower bundles. Now that you know where each flower bundle will go, spray paint the front side of the foam board with faux stone paint. Let the paint dry according to package directions.

While the paint is drying, make your flower bundles. You'll want one bundle for each pane. Take a few stems of each dried flower, just enough to look substancial. Trim each stem to fit inside the pane. Arrange them on the floor to see how the colors look best together.

Once the spray paint is dry, you are ready to assemble the final product. Take a length of florist wire and bend it into a U shape. I used two lengths twisted together for more stability. Thread each end of the wire through the front of one of the holes. Do this for each pair of holes made for each pane. Now, take a flower bundle and stick it in the loop created by the florist wire on the front of the board. On the back of the foam board, pull tight and twist the ends of the florist wire to secure the bundle to the foam board. Do this for each pane.

Now that all the bundles are attached to the board, you can cover up the florist wire with a few strands of raffia. I simply threaded the strands in between the flower bundles and the foam board then tied it in a double knot in the front.

So how does yours look? Are you ready to attach the foam board to the window? If so, simply place the window face-down on the floor and center the foam board (also face down) on top. Before you attach the foam board with the staple gun, you may want to pick everything up and take a look at it to make sure it is centered. When you are ready to attach the foam board to the window, take your staple gun and put a few staples around the edges of the foam board to attach it.

Lastly, I put on some finishing touches to make it hangable. Take each twisted wire and secure it flatly to the back of the foam board with duck tape. If you don't already have a way to hang your window, attach a picture hanging kit to the back. And... take a look at your cute dried-flower window!!