Hi guys,

I am new, I was wondering if any of you could help me out? I am looking for a good way to preserve natural leaf litter, grasses, small flowers etc. Are there any techniques out there that will let you preserve them? - stop them disintegrating and or aging? Would spray varnish do the job? Or does it require another approach?

Many thanks. I think this site is great

I use to techniques:

Glycerine. Sometimes called glycerol. Available from most pharmacies. Thin 1:10 with water and spray it through a spray bottle directly onto the plant. Make sure your plants are on a piece of tissue paper so that excess fluid is absorbed. Leave for a few days before painting.

or

Pressing. Put the plant in a notepad for about 2 weeks. After that, paint it and it should retain its shape indefinitely. It will be brittle if handled rough. The disadvantage is that it will be completely flat when extracted.

Hope this helps.

Chas

I have just recently started using dried plants for my figure bases and dioramas and the method i use is to collect the plant material and tie into bunches using an elastic band and then hang upside down in the garage for a few months.You will find that the vegetation will shrink nicely but retain its shape.
once dry they can be painted if need be.

Steve

This is really helpful thanks for the quick replies guys

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