DIY Vintage Nature-Inspired Wall Plaques With A Few Affordable Supplies

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It can be a fun pastime to search for unique vintage finds to add old-fashioned charm to your home. But contrary to what you might think, you don't always need to spend a lot to decorate your space in a nostalgic style. Curating a vintage aesthetic can actually be pretty affordable. For example, this simple wall art DIY, which takes wooden plaques and turns them into botanical art, prioritizes thrifted items and things you can find in your garden. Using dried or pressed plants and flowers helps capture the ephemerality of nature to create this floral wall art, which is layered on top of old book pages for vintage flair.

Using thrifted items, basic crafting supplies, and foraged plants, you'll have everything you need for this cute plaque that helps decorate your home on a budget. You'll need regular glue or Mod Podge, old books that you don't mind taking pages out of, small wooden plaques about the size of a book page, and dried or pressed plants. It might be possible to source old award plaques from a thrift store. But if you are unable to find used wooden plaques, you can get four Wood Rectangle Plaques for $12.99 on Amazon or opt for the 7" Unfinished Pinewood Oval Plaque for $3.99 from Michaels. Secondhand shops are also ideal for sourcing old books. Keep your eye out for ones that look a little aged and yellowed to lend the project more vintage charm. If you have a musical inclination, look out for old sheet music to use instead of book pages.

After gathering the items you need, play around with your plaques to find a look that suits your style. Try out different combinations of plaques and plants until you achieve the perfect look. Once you have your designs laid out, you can start with one of the old plaques and one page from a book. @cottageonbunkerhill uses Mod Podge to attach the page to the plaque. This decoupage technique provides a clean finish to add your plant life onto. Using the same method, seal your pressed flowers or dried leaves onto the plaque, layering them into a lovely still life bouquet. 

This DIY allows you to bring your garden indoors. While you can choose blooms and leaves at random, pairing them based on aesthetics, consider the potential for more. When you draw on the Victorian tradition of the language of flowers to guide your selections, you can create unique messages that do not require any words at all. For example, create a plaque honoring you and your spouse using daffodil (unequalled love) and ivy (wedded love and fidelity) to represent your feelings. You can then take your finished plaques, complete with hidden messages, and create the perfect gallery wall in your home.

Many of the flowers and plants you have growing outside can be used in this type of project. While you can use a flower press, you do not need one to successfully prepare your dried plants. You can actually preserve flower petals with the convenience of a microwave. This crafter showcases the gentle beauty of ferns, tiny flowers, and intricate leaves. But while you might think this DIY will look great with roses or other bold blooms, think again. Fleshy or succulent flowers and leaves may have too much water to make pressing successful. 

The best flowers to press are flat or single flowers, which easily dry between pieces of parchment paper. Roses, with their many-layered petals, may actually mold instead of drying. Smaller varieties might work better. But if you want an alternative to the bright colors of spring, try pretty autumn leaves like oak or maple. Choosing less bulky flowers will make pressing and pasting them onto wall plaques easier for this project.

Other good options for pressing include scarlet sage, larkspur, and Queen Anne's lace. Prioritize flowers with no damage and beautiful, graceful shapes that will look nice when layered together on a plaque. Also try to collect plant materials for your affordable wall art during dry conditions to avoid excess moisture. By keeping these tips for the ideal flowers in mind, your vintage wall plaques will look beautiful for a long time.