[.uk] Sensational Dried Flowers: Make Arrangements So ... (ISBN 0875968007)

Book Description:
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!

A SUPER GIFT!:
(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.

This book is for someone who enjoys flowers all year round!:
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!

Dried flowers for the non-craft person:
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.

Sensational Dried Flowers : Make Arrangements So Beautiful:
This is a new hobby for me and I found the Book beautifully illustrated and easy to understand. The author covers a variety of subjects related to drying flowers such as tips on how to display the attractively and creatively after drying. She also has some chapters on how containers, from old boxes to odd-shaped baskets can serve as a base for your dried floral arrangement. She also included many names of flowers that can be successfully dried as well as a suggested timetable since flowers have different moisture content. One problem I had was finding Silica Jel in large quantities locally. If would have been helpful to have this info included in book. I did find a source in California however.

If you want just one book on dried flowers this should be it.:
A really excellent book with extensive information about how to dry flowers in several different ways. Detailed instructions on how to store flowers and what problems to watch out for. There are also excellent sections on how to make a wreath from scratch, how to create a wide variety of stunning displays with detailed instructions for each. The book is packed with instructive diagrams and well composed photographs of floral displays. If you want just one book on drying flowers this would be the one to pick.