The best results for preserving the most authentic colors, shapes and textures of your flowers is to dry the freshest blooms. For this reason, It is very important that the bouquet is kept cool, hydrated in water and delivered as soon as possible after the wedding or special occasion. Also helpful is recutting the stems to aid the flowers to take up more water. It is important to note that any damage to the flowers such as bruised or crushed petals cannot be reversed in the preservation process.
Once the bouquet is received, the best blooms are selected and very carefully and individually dried in silica gel. Depending on the size and thickness of the florals, this can take anywhere from a few days to 2 weeks. Some colors will change, darken or lighten and become muted or translucent in the drying and resin process. This is completely normal. As well, this depends on the condition and hydration of the flowers, if they were starting to wilt or were damaged. This is especially apparent in pink, red and white botanicals. Also, darker purple flowers will dry black. Once dry, a creative design is made in a mold and an image will be emailed to you for your consideration and approval.
The next step is pouring the resin. Over a number of days, many fine layers are very gently poured so as to avoid bending or damaging the delicate floral ingredients. Each layer of resin must set before the next layer is poured. As this is handcrafted art, some micro bubbles and small imperfections are an expected outcome when creating in resin. The resin is generally poured to aproximately 1.25 to 1.50 inches in depth. Any blooms that are deeper than 1.50 inches will be covered in resin to protect the blooms, but will not be submerged under the resin. This produces a stunning three dimensional effect.
Last of all is the time it takes for your art piece to dry. Approximately 10 days are needed to ensure that it is completely hardened and cured. The entire process takes aproximately 3 - 4 weeks in total, at which time you can expect to receive your preserved bouquet treasure.
All resin art is non-toxic, and produces no VOCs or fumes. Please keep your resin art away from direct sunlight as you would with any piece of art. Some yellowing may occur over time.
