Fading flowers



On Sunday I was given a beautiful bunch of deep pink peonies, gorgeous!  Over the course of these past five days I have seen them open up and change from a deep dark pink to salmon and now a fading pink to soft yellow.  I don't think they will last much longer, but what a wonderful show they have given me!





A few years ago I copied one of the flowering peonies in my garden in miniature.  This peony is a single flowering variety in a bright pink colour with a soft yellow center, really striking!




The miniature peony is part of a little miniature display I keep in my utility room.  But with its east and south facing windows, the little peony has faded badly over the years.   I'm not at all happy about it, but I didn't exactly want to throw it out either.


This morning at breakfast I was looking at my fading full sized peonies and I realized the colour of my miniature peonies was now similar to the colour of the real ones.   What has taken only five days in real life has taken a few years in miniature.  Maybe I'll hang on to them a little while longer after all ;-)


Comments

  1. Deze kleur vind ik nog mooier dan de roze Josje. Verschieten van kleur heeft soms voordelen....

    Heleni

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    Replies
    1. Op de foto lijken de miniatuur pioenen van een paar jaar geleden een beetje erg fel van kleur, maar het was dezelfde kleur als de echte. Nu dat ze zo verschoten zijn lijken ze wel erg vaal moet ik zeggen, maar zo bij die echte vind ik het toch wel weer leuk.

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  2. Удивительно! Маленькая настоящие цветы!
    Я очень люблю пионы

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    1. Спасибо, Татьяна, я люблю тебя слишком много пионов, как в миниатюре, как и в реальной жизни!

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  3. Both versions of peonies are gorgeous. I love your mini faded ones too.
    Hugs, Drora

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    1. Thank you Drora, I don't mind the faded ones as much now that I have seen the real ones do the same thing...;)

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  4. True to nature they are!!! Love them, they don't have to be bright pink to be beautiful.

    See you in 16 days, really looking forward :-)

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    1. No they don't, but I really liked them when I just made them, so the fading was rather disappointing. The reddish hue I painted on the stems has also disappeared.

      Time is flying Elga! I look forward to your visit also!

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  5. Hello Josje!
    The peonies are beautiful even fading.......and your miniature version exquistite like everything you you.
    I have peonies along the entire driveway side of my real house, filled with buds! Should be opening in a few days.
    Love seeing what you do and receiving your wonderful and helpful comments!
    Kind regards from Ray

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    1. Thank you Ray! That must be a gorgeous display when your peonies are in flower! In a way it is a shame they don't last long, but on the other hand it makes it even more special when they do flower.

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    2. PS: Did you try to get the 'reply' function to work yet? I do believe you have to be on the new interface though.

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  6. Don't ever ever throw your flowers out, Josje :)

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    1. I'll assume you're talking about the miniature ones, it would be a big smelly mess in my house otherwise ;-)
      OK, I won't.

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  7. They are even more beautiful now, more real than ever! I join Sans , don't even think about throwing them away.

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    1. Thank you Rosanna. I promise I won't now.

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  8. Absolutely perfect!
    Congrats for this wonderful work!

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  9. Peonies are one of my favourite flowers and your miniature ones are delightful - and how wonderful that they are copying nature by fading! Judith x

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    1. Yes, mine too Judith! Not too long now before the ones in my garden will start to flower...
      I must say that now I have seen the real fading ones I don't feel so bad about the wishy-washy colour on my miniature ones anymore!

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  10. fantástico! me quito el sombrero...

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  11. Your miniature peonies are just as beautiful as the real ones.... Even as they are fading.

    I remember a post by George The Mini Guy about a dollhouse he had built many years ago. It was bout all the sun damage that had been done to the wallpaper in a dollhouse he had built. He posted photos with the furniture in the room and one of the same room empty. You could see where every picture and big piece of furniture had been against the wall. It was shocking! He now uses a matte UV protectant spray on the wallpaper he buys before he uses it in a room. I think I am going to take his advice.

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    1. Thank you Catherine. Yes I think I remember it as well. Years ago I thought of doing some tests on light intensity and the effect on different materials, but I had to do so much research before doing that I never got round to it. For some of my work I use an archival quality UV protect varnish (Lascuax), and the matt spray would be perfect for wallpaper and flowers.

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  12. Hello Josje,
    The flowers are absolutely spectacular. Yuo did a fantastic job. i am always so impressed and inspired by your artwork.
    Have a wonderful weekend,
    Hugs,
    Giac

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    1. Ah thank you for such kind words Giac! You have a wonderful weekend too!

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  13. These flowers are perfect.
    Bye Faby

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  14. Replies
    1. Thank you Lucy! Your name sounded familiar so I had a look at your blog, what fabulous knitting you do!

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  15. Proof positive that your art is itself a perfect reproduction of real life! You are a magician of the highest order! Brava! These are spectacular miniature flowers! m..m

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    1. Well a lucky accident I'd say...But thank you Shelley!

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  16. Love this posting. Peonie are my favorite flower.

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    1. Thank you Minka. These flowers are in the top three for me I think. But even more special because they last for such a short time only, the anticipation of them floweriong is part of their appeal I suppose!

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  17. Madre mia!!!! Son fantásticas!!! y tan reales,enhorabuena!!
    Besos.

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    1. Hi Pilar! Thank you for your lovely comment. I am so sorry to be so very late publishing and answering it, but I only just discovered it in my Spam inbox! ~Josje~

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  18. Dear Josje,
    Your peonies are wonderful. I wonder ... how do you make them?
    Hugs Dorien

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    1. Hi Dorien, I don't make flowers very often, but when I do, I like to have a real live example to look at while I am making the miniature one. So, I looked at the real thing and cut the petals freehand out of tissue paper. I think I used embroidery floss (probably DMC) for the stamens, and painted them as well. The stems are florist wire, painted to match the real plant. The leaves were cut freehand again from florist tape which is kind of waxy. I don't know if I would use the waxy tape again because if you look very close in the photo you can see it has also faded and has gotten a rather odd spotty effect. I used watercolour paint to paint stems and little accents on the plant, but this has also faded. Artists acrylics would be much better to use as it doesn't fade (as far as I know).

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  19. Wat een prachtige pioenrozen heb je gemaakt. Hoop dat ook nog eens te kunnen maken..

    Fijn weekend en groetjes Xandra

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    1. Het is nu de tijd Xandra, en met dit prachtige weer kan je lekker buiten zitten met de echte voorbeelden om je heen ;-)

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  20. The little peonies are just lovely - I'd leave them as they are! In fact, I'd be tempted to make more.

    I love peonies and this post is well timed as it has just reminded me that I need to stake mine although they're nowhere near flowering yet.

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    1. The weather is so nice now Irene, I think even in your region the peonies should grow very fast. Mine are still in tight bud as well, but no doubt it won't take long when temperatures are reaching 27 degrees this afternoon!

      I wish I had time to make some more, hopefully in a few weeks...

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  21. Hi Josje,

    I love peonies and grew some here in my garden, not that they have come out in all this cold weather, but will soon be in full flourish!

    Your miniature peonies are beautiful, and the fact that they have faded a little doesn't make them any less attractive to me. Please don't throw them out!!

    regards
    Andy xx

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    1. Thank you Andy!
      Yes the weather has been rather cold, but with the weather we're having now the flowers should come out soon. I am guessing mine still need another one to two weeks or so.

      I won't throw my miniature ones out now!

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  22. those are gorgeous!

    congrats and a big hello from Madrid,
    Elena

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  23. Estão perfeitas,estou encantada, parabéns.
    Fernanda

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  24. Josje, your miniature Peonies are DIVINE! Please don't throw them out!!! (Many of us would Love your cast-off flowers.....:):).... But to see that they now match to PERFECTION the REAL ones..... that is Magic! Your work is so incredibly precise....!

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    1. Thank you Daydreamer! Well it is annoying to see something loose its colour after such a short time, but now that I have seen the real ones do this in only five days, I see my miniature faded flowers in a whole new light! ;-)

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  25. du hast lust der blog des monats auf meinem blog zu werden? dann schau vorbei, ich würde mich freuen! ♥
    http://iamyourfuckinrolemodel.blogspot.de/2012/05/blog-des-monats.html

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    1. Well that's very kind of you eskay ell, but your blog and mine have a very different audience I think. So please don't be offended but I'll decline your offer. Good luck with the election! Best regards, Josje

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  26. How fascinating that the miniature ones match the living ones so perfectly. Your mini flowers are just wonderful, please don't throw them away - just consider them as ones that are fading beauties. Sandie

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    1. Ah thank you Sandie! No I won't throw them away, not after discovering what the real ones looked like after only a few days!

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  27. From these pics one can really feel your love, both for the real flowers and the miniature ones! :)

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    1. Thank you mijbil! It is true, I do love them both very much!

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  28. Wauw wat bijzonder, dat ze op dezelfde manier verkleuren.Je miniatuur pioenen zijn prachtig gemaakt en ik vind de verkleurde versie zelfs mooier vooral omdat je ook kleurverloop ziet bij de knoppen.
    Liefs
    Maria

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    1. Dank je Maria! Die knoppen had ik met een héél klein beetje acrylverf aan de randen wat aangezet. Toen de kleuren nog vrij fel waren was dat een vrij subtiel. Nu is het papier verkleurd maar de acrylverf niet, nu zie je het kleurverloop in de knoppen dus heel goed. Het leuke vind ik ook hierbij dat in het echt die lichte bloemen ook vrij donkere knoppen hebben.

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    2. Dat moest zijn: ....Toen de kleuren nog vrij fel waren was dat een vrij subtiel kleurverschil.....

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  29. Oh my! Your real life paeonies are beautiful, but if I had to choose I would take your minis which I could enjoy over and over and over again. Best wishes, Carol x

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    1. Yes that is true, the real ones only last for about a week...
      Thank you!

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  30. Flowers are wonderful! Very true to life! I could not tell which is true, if it were not next to the big flower! What did you create them? Seems very thin paper.
    hugs ANDA

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    1. Thank you Anda! Yes I did use very thin paper for the flowers, I don't know the English name for it though. But do you know the paper used for drawing and cutting patterns for clothing? Very thin and kind of crispy? It is that sort of paper I have used. ~Josje~

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  31. I truly LOVE peonies! Thank you for gorgeous photographs. I wish they never would fade, ever.....

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  32. I adore peonies, even more than Roses! Thanks for the photos, they make me feel good just to look at and photos do not fade.

    CLMT

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    1. You're welcome! As long as the photos are digital they shouldn't fade, so they should be safe on my blog ;-)

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  33. Потрясающая работа!!!! скажите а у вас есть мастер класс?? как сделать такие цветы?? меня очень интересует эта тема. Ksandra

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    1. Terrific work!! tell me and you have a master class? how to make these flowers? I am very interested in this.

      Здравствуйте Ксаня!

      Спасибо за комплимент!

      Я боюсь, что я не мастер-класс, чтобы предложить вам, но я могу сказать вам, как я сделал цветов: Я хотел бы иметь живой пример, чтобы посмотреть на то время я делаю миниатюрные цветы. Итак, я посмотрел на реальные вещи и вырезать лепестки руки из папиросной бумаги. Я думаю, что я использовал мулине (вероятно, DMC) для тычинок, и нарисовал их.Стебли флорист провода, окрашены в соответствии с реальным завода.Листья были отрезаны руки снова с цветами ленты, которая является своеобразной восковой. Я не знаю, буду ли я использовать восковую ленту снова, потому что если вы посмотрите очень близко по фото вы можете увидеть она также исчезла и получил довольно странный пятнистый эффект. Я использовал акварель краски, чтобы нарисовать стебли и маленькие акценты на заводе, но это также исчезли. Художники акриловые было бы гораздо лучше использовать, как это не выцветает (насколько я знаю).

      Я надеюсь, что это помогает! (И я надеюсь, что переводы не слишком ужасно!)
      Наилучшие пожелания для красивой 2013!
      Josje


      Hello Ksandra!

      Thank you for your compliment!

      I'm afraid I don't have a master class to offer you, but I can tell you how I've made the flowers: I like to have a real live example to look at while I am making the miniature flowers. So, I looked at the real thing and cut the petals freehand out of tissue paper. I think I used embroidery floss (probably DMC) for the stamens, and painted them as well. The stems are florist wire, painted to match the real plant. The leaves were cut freehand again from florist tape which is kind of waxy. I don't know if I would use the waxy tape again because if you look very close in the photo you can see it has also faded and has gotten a rather odd spotty effect. I used watercolour paint to paint stems and little accents on the plant, but this has also faded. Artists acrylics would be much better to use as it doesn't fade (as far as I know).

      I hope this helps! (And I hope the translations isn't too horrible!)
      Best wishes for a beautiful 2013!
      Josje

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    2. Спасибо вам за ответ!!!! мне очень понравился ваш блог!!!! Буду чаще смотреть ваши работы!!! я начинающий миниатюрист. Если хотите можете заглядывать ко мне в блог!!! люблю знакомится с новыми людьми !!!!

      Thanks for your response! I really liked your blog! I often look at your work! I'm starting a miniaturist.
      If you want, you can see my blog! I love to meet new people.

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