I was inspired to make these when my husband's grandfather passed over a year ago, but I was unable to gather the flowers. I still regret this. The idea back then was to pour wax around the preserved flowers and have a candle for each of the family members.
When my best friend's mother-in-law passed in May, I knew that I had to do something to help them through this tough time. Christmas was her favorite holiday. In fact, she had news articles about her and her Christmas extravaganza. This Christmas was going to be a difficult one, not having Mom there.
Grand-dad passing was not a complete surprise, as he was 88, but it doesn't make the pain any less. The loss of a parent, brother, grandparent, well... it just hurts. Regardless if they're sick for years up until they pass or if it was out of the blue, it's still a hole that can't ever be filled.
This how-to is a tribute to both of these completely and utterly spectacular people. They will be missed for as long as we all have breath in our lungs.
To make the ornaments you will need:
Flowers: the flowers came from the sprays from the kids
Silica:
Clear balls:
Modge Podge:
Paint brushes, glitter, ribbon, Epson salt, ink pad, monogram stickers
Tribute Ornaments
Two weeks prior to assembly, gather the flowers and use the silica product according to manufacturer's directions. Once the flowers have dried, sift the petals from the silica.
I start off with wiping down the globes with alcohol to remove oils and dirt. Then I stuff the globes with all the items that I want to include for the tribute. For example, gold threads for the ties that bind, pink ribbon for breast cancer research, the ribbons from the casket piece or the flower spray, the Bible verse from the eulogy, etc. I also poured some of the silica into one batch of globes and Epsom salt into the other. This will help make sure that the contents stay dry.
For the Bible verse, I printed it onto parchment paper, tore the verses into strips, and stained the edges with an ink pad to age it.
This is the most personal craft I have ever worked on. I cannot say that I have ever found any craft that has blessed me in such a way.
