Botanical Bowls

Rebecca's Garden : Episode REB-632 -- More Projects »
PHOTO

Decoupage is a great way to preserve and display flowers from your garden, and the rice paper adds a lovely translucent texture.
Host Rebecca Kolls is always looking for ways to stretch the garden, and she found a way to do that with beautiful botanical bowls and plates. They are great gifts and very easy to make.

Materials:
glass bowl or plates
dried pressed botanicals
brush
rice paper
white glue
acrylic spray or polyurethane
scissors

PHOTO

Very gently pat down the flowers with a paintbrush.
Step 1: Decorate the bowl
To begin, brush glue onto the outside of the entire bowl or plate. Then carefully apply each botanical with the face of the flower down. It's easy to pick up delicate botanicals with just a tiny bit of glue on the tip of your finger, to avoid damaging them. Continue adding flowers, making sure they are securely in place. You can mix in dried greens, leaves or whatever you like.

Step 2: Apply rice paper
Next, lay a piece of rice paper over the bottom of the bowl and gently it press into place. Don't worry about folds, which simply add texture. Now cut off the excess rice paper and brush on another layer of glue. Then, it's very important to let the glue dry completely.

Step 3: Seal the bowl
The final step is to coat the backside with either acrylic or polyurethane. Spray on 10 coats, allowing the bowl to dry completely between coats. You can treat your finished bowl like fine decorative china, and make sure to hand-wash it only. It's a beautiful gift that keeps on blooming.

Guests
Martha Gabler Lunde
Gardener
Martha’s Gardens
2008 Princeton Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55105
Phone: 651-696-2993
Also in this Episode
Rebecca's Garden : Episode REB-632
•America's Most Beautiful Garden
•Cut Tulip Arrangement
•Botanical Bowls
•Lucky Bamboo
•Sneeze-Free Garden