So what are Wood Flowers?
Hello! Welcome back to the blog!
In this blog post I am going to teach you all about wood flowers! From what they are made out of all the way to how I make them into finished products! Sit back and grab a drink because this may be a long one!
So I know when you hear wood flowers you may often think “what the heck are they even made of” or when you think of wood flowers you may think of stiff, hard wood.
Wood flowers are actually made from the root of the Aeschynomene aspera plant which is one of the lightest woods in the world! This plant is native to southeastern Asian countries like Cambodia, India, Thailand, and Vietnam. This plant is also known as sola!
Oftentimes with sola wood the bark is taken off the root to expose the center! The center is a creamy color with a cork like feel! Once they take off the bark and expose the “meat and potatoes” hahaha they slice it into thin sheets! Then the sheets are softened and trimmed and shaped by hand into these amazing flowers. Each flower is made by hand which is AMAZING. I handmake some of the flowers I use but mostly purchase the flowers already handmade in raw form to save time and to help other makers / suppliers!
There are also bark sola wood flowers which as you guessed is literally the bark portion that they shave off. These have a sturdier feel and have gorgeous texture. They really can make an arrangement feel rustic! There are also 2 toned flowers that have some of the bark left on so it gives it more of a 2 toned look! It is seriously amazing the different varieties you can get with these wood flowers.
Once the flowers are assembled they are essentially ready to be dyed or left raw for that gorgeous creamy white color. Now here is where we get into my methods. Dying flowers is one of my favorite things! There are soooo many options for colors and designs! That's the best part. You want a lime green rose with purple tips? Well I’ve got you! The possibilities are endless.
There’s several methods that I use to color these flowers and it all just depends on what look I or the customer wants to achieve.
Oftentimes for a single color I will mix paint with water and a special additive that keeps them soft and pliable and I dip them! Once I have gotten all the petals covered I let them air dry for a few days to a week. Drying time just depends on the weather. It's so funny all the things that depend on the weather huh? hahaha.
Another method that I do is airbrushing! Airbrushing is great for soft blended looks and to get really good two toned looks on the flowers. Then I just let them dry for 24-72 hours once again just depending on the weather and they are ready to go.
The last method that I use is hand painting. Now this is the method I use when I really really want to get every single little detail on a flower. Hand Painting is veryyyy time consuming but I love it. I just zone out and paint away!
Don’t worry though I also treat the flowers with that same additive that keeps them soft and pliable whatever method I do! When I first started playing with flowers they were CRUNCHY I mean sooooo fragile after they were painted. So I am sooo thankful that someone in the wood flowers community played around and figured out the secret to keeping them soft after being dyed. Because if you see wood flowers in your local stores because yessss big box stores are starting to carry them they are super fragile! We don’t want none of that mess around here hahaha.
Once the flowers are dried they are ready for me to assemble into arrangements or wedding bouquets! A lot of love goes into what I do! I hope you can see that when you get your order! I truly love what I do and I couldn’t be happier that you are here and supporting my dream!
So thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Signing off! Till next time! Hugs!
-Victoria Owner of Miles of Designs
All photos in this blog post are provided by the amazing Moments in Time Photography by Melody LLC.
