I live on a farm so I have access to an abundance of wild sunflowers (our state flower). I get very interesting prints from them. But two issues have challenged me.
1. The petals are fragile and print very pale. But with a bit of watercolor I can bring that back to life.
2. The centers are so thick it can make a hole in the paper. I've tried cutting them down but they fall apart. So I came up with this idea. I create a hole in cardboard to cradle the center of the flower and keep the part to be printed fairly flat. You will see in the photos how it works.
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/5bfe9b_3ec3f45871724a55bf514f51518ab743~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_1307,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/5bfe9b_3ec3f45871724a55bf514f51518ab743~mv2.jpg)
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/5bfe9b_3032a3250db7414e85f4d59cfc30c83d~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_1307,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/5bfe9b_3032a3250db7414e85f4d59cfc30c83d~mv2.jpg)
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/5bfe9b_3fbfddc7659c47a0b58aecb3636a95ea~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_1342,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/5bfe9b_3fbfddc7659c47a0b58aecb3636a95ea~mv2.jpg)
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/5bfe9b_b1609346d28448789baf22950a7b1775~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_1382,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/5bfe9b_b1609346d28448789baf22950a7b1775~mv2.jpg)
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/5bfe9b_25783b06610545d1b34f16878b0e3054~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_1193,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/5bfe9b_25783b06610545d1b34f16878b0e3054~mv2.jpg)
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/5bfe9b_117bcffbf61b40d2b8b520a8ad33d35d~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_1307,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/5bfe9b_117bcffbf61b40d2b8b520a8ad33d35d~mv2.jpg)
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/5bfe9b_d394b0cddd89401d902f9b8371a2a2cd~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_1386,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/5bfe9b_d394b0cddd89401d902f9b8371a2a2cd~mv2.jpg)
I use a brayer while the paper is wet to help flatten the centers. It doesn't take much and doesn't tear
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/5bfe9b_2e4d1ea37a224484b2014872e997fd3b~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_1486,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/5bfe9b_2e4d1ea37a224484b2014872e997fd3b~mv2.jpg)
After Therese are dry I will post the final look.
Another thing I noticed this print round. The card board produced an unusual color and sometimes grid. I like it! I did steam for 3 hrs not sure if that made a difference.
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