Sensational Dried Flowers: Arrangements So Beautiful They Look Fresh [Hardcover]

Esther Davis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1999

From an expert floral artist comes the first comprehensive book on drying flowers with silica gel. This lavish volume offers detailed techniques for cutting flowers, setting up a workspace, accumulating tools, and dealing with problem insects. Complete materials lists and step-by-step instructions guide readers through sensational design projects, including:
-Essence of Spring Wall Hanging
-Garden-Variety Ginger Jar
-Magnolia Leaf Wreath
-Christmas Centerpiece
-Traditional Twig Wreath
-Primary Colors Topiary Display

Bountiful photographs, informative illustrations, and a friendly narrative provide readers with the tools needed to achieve beautiful flower drying success!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Esther Davis has spent a decade perfecting the art of drying flowers with silica gel. She owns a business specializing in preserved and dried floral arrangements and teaches these techniques in her workshop in Virginia's Roanoke Valley. She lives in Salem, Virginia.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 166 pages
• Publisher: Rodale Press (April 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0875968007
• ISBN-13: 978-0875968001
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #683,636 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A SUPER GIFT!, July 30, 2000

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Sensational Dried Flowers: Arrangements So Beautiful They Look Fresh (Hardcover)

(This is an adult review! Couldn't find where to write it except here!)

It's always a challenge to find the perfect birthday present for my artist/gardening wife. This year I found a winner in "Sensational Dried Flowers" by Esther Davis.

My wife was always disappointed when she tried to dry flowers in the traditional manner. They ended up with faded colors and shriveled blossoms.

It was hard to believe that the beautiful flowers pictured in the book were actually dried and not fresh from a florist or the garden. But with the help of the simple but thorough directions in Ms. Davis's book, we were thrilled when our first attempt with a Zinnia looked like it had indeed come fresh from the garden!

The arrangements by Ms. Davis are beautifully done, and have given us many great ideas. We highly recommend "Sensational Dried Flowers" whether you are an artist, a gardener, or just want to create some beauty you can be proud of in your own home or as gifts for friends.

(I am 71 years old (going on 52) if it really matters.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is for someone who enjoys flowers all year round!, September 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Sensational Dried Flowers: Arrangements So Beautiful They Look Fresh (Hardcover)

What a masterpiece! This book is not only beautiful (the photography is excellent) but full of secrets for drying beautiful flowers. I can hardly wait to have them in every room of my home. This is not a craft book......it is an artists rendition of God's beautiful creations. Floral designers and gardeners alike will love this book!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dried flowers for the non-craft person, May 16, 2000

By 

George Newman - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sensational Dried Flowers: Arrangements So Beautiful They Look Fresh (Hardcover)

I am not your typical crafty husband. I can easily pass by the craft section of the store without feelings of remorse. However, while waiting for my wife, I picked up this book and started looking through it. It only took a few moments of looking at the tools of the trade page to get me interested. Pliers, clother pins, and glue guns...I could really get interested in something that started off with these items. I purchased the book and asked my wife where we could buy Silica gel at 9:30 in the evening. I found the examples and pictorial instructions most helpful and my results actually looked like the pictures. I can not claim to have produced the arrangements as glorious as those pictured in Ms. Davis' book, but I was very proud of them and found them to last much longer than expected. I would recommend this book to the expert and the novice. It has something for each category. I even went to meet Ms. Davis at a book signing. Her techniques in flower drying are most remarkable.