Framing the Orchids

I'm slowly thinking through my 'wish to do' list - e.g. those packets of lovely paper flower kits that have been languishing for a few years...the bookcase I was going to fill with beautiful books....the little shop that has no stock... I've started with the orchids.

It's no secret that I love flowers and plants,  also collected many beautiful miniature creations by some stunning artisans and made a fair few of my own from scratch for a variety of projects over the years - which in no way compare.  For years I've been a fan of Georgie Steeds's brilliant paper flower kits  https://www.etsy.com/uk/people/TheMiniatureGarden 
Her eye for detail is superb and she has a really good range in both 1/12th and 1/24th scales,  supplied with excellent instructions. I love working with paper and card so I dug out those lovely little packets and made up my orchids.

As I grow orchids I have some real life ones to study which helps with colouring petals and adding a few extra details like aerial roots where appropriate. I was SO happy with the way they turned out.

I had already decided which aged terracotta pots I needed for them and was properly stumped when I couldn't get hold of any.  After a lot of hunting and research I gave up, dug out the paper and decided to give it a go and make my own - this would be an all paper project after all!  Actually I think they turned out pretty well and decided to use them so the orchids were planted and the pots topped up with tea leaves and moss which looks quite authentic.

All I needed now was a deep box frame to display them in. Out came the cardboard to work out dimensions as usual, a cheap, cheap gold-coloured photo frame which I pulled apart and a  willing husband who braved freezing conditions in the shed (sorry - workshop...) to actually make my box. I painted it with emulsion paint, sponged with different tones and replaced the original flimsy glazing with thicker acrylic 'glass'.

And this is the result. Difficult to get a good picture now the plants are in the box, and I've left out the glazing as the glare made it impossible to photograph, but I'm happy with the finished project.

Thank you for looking
Robin