Daydream Flowers

09/07/2026

Another nasty invasive...
This is Dog-strangling vine. AKA European Swallowwort (Vincetoxicum rossicum). It does not actually strangle dogs! But it can strangle out native vegetation. I found out that it's in the milkw**d family, which I suspected because of the shape of the seed pods.
Eradicate this if you come across it!

09/05/2026

Still my all-time favourite project: my Paper Herbarium. Over the course of a few years I made 50+ wildflowers that grow on my property near Lanark, Ontario.
I will be speaking about this project, my process, and where this has led me in a webinar with Denver Botanic Gardens on September 11. The talk will be from noon to 1pm Mountain Time (2-3 EST). Registration is required with a fee for non-members. Register here: https://tickets.botanicgardens.org/events/019dc12d-467f-5caf-cd87-a64d8588ec44 and use coupon code SBAI10 to save 10%

09/03/2026

Can you recognize this plant? If not, maybe you should learn it! This is Wild Parsnip (Pastinaca sativa). The juices from this plant can cause severe burns if your skin is afterwards exposed to light. I learned not to touch it while working as a summer student on the Rideau Canal- I accidentally hit some with a w**d whacker while wearing shorts! The burns and blisters lasted all summer. This summer I was asked to make this plant to help others learn to identify it. The seed head was especially fun to make.

09/01/2026

It's September! Time to change gears.
Despite trying to take the summer off, I still managed to make a lot of flowers. It turns out I just can't really stop making things.
Here's a selection.
My studio will be busy with commissioned aquatic plants until the end of the month.

08/28/2026

Nasturtium vines finished!
I'm so pleased with how these turned out.
I try to make each plant have a personality that matches how I see the real plant growing. In this case it meant making lots of leaves and twisty stems.

08/26/2026

Making nasturtiums....again!
I love these vibrant flowers and I grow them every year near my back deck. It's been so wet that I've only had one bloom so far! I picked it, of course, to make it in paper.
I used Canson crepe paper for the petals, painted a little with acrylic paint. And a micron pen to get the tiny lines on the upper petals. I'm going to assemble these into vines.

08/23/2026

I always order my Italian crepe paper from Crepe Paper Crafts in Toronto. But recently I saw Chinese crepe paper at Dollarama in my own town! I decided to give it a try.
My final verdict is that this is good for a beginner flower maker who doesn't want to invest in big rolls. Once you get hooked on paper flowers, switch to Italian Crepe Paper Carte Fini for a much higher quality product.
PS for my international followers: Dollarama is a Montreal-based discount store that has almost everything! Worth checking out if you're in Canada.

08/19/2026

So proud to have made these educational tools! The fanwort was especially interesting to me as it is an invasive plant at our family cottage on Lake Kasshabog in Ontario, but native to Texas!

Aquatic plant identification can be tricky—especially when the plant is submerged and key features, such as flowers, are missing.

That’s why recently partnered with Linda Hamilton to acquire realistic plant models for outreach and educational programs. This fanwort model brings multiple identification features together in one place, making hands-on learning much easier.
Fanwort is native to Texas but can become problematic and is sometimes confused with watermilfoil. Its common name comes from its fan-shaped submerged leaves—but did you know it also produces smaller, diamond-shaped floating leaves at the water’s surface?

08/17/2026

My paper Pearly Everlasting visiting some friends in my garden. I love this native wildflower and how cheerfully it blooms! The flowers dry beautifully as well.

08/12/2026

Blooming now!
Morning glories in paper.
Come learn how to make these with me at The Ottawa School Of Art this fall. You'll also learn how to draw and paint from them too!
I'm teaching a course with Esra Ozgun Botanical Logbook
Check out my website for more details or to register.