Attractive and pleasing to the eye, no one can convincingly argue against the fact that the presence of flowers usually improves appearances.
They have been used from as far back as anyone can remember to add a touch of beauty to a host of things, including hairstyles, and events such as weddings.
Unfortunately however, flowers are generally perishable and at times special ones are quite difficult to come by.
The price tags attached to these can be quite hefty.
The ingenuity of man has surfaced here to save the day though, thus the creation of silk flowers.
The silk flowers of which we speak here is not the flower that grows outside on the silk tree, it is in fact the ones made by hand.
In other words, they are artificial flowers.
By going this route man has circumvented having access to flowers only at certain times of the year and significantly impacted the cost of beautifying any thing flowers can beautify.
If you happen to grow or sell flowers for a living, chances are you may not be too thrilled with the idea of silk flowers.
The reason for this is that they may have an unwelcome, negative impact on your livelihood.
The making of did not begin in the last few years or even the last decades; it began hundreds of years ago.
Though being credited with originating the idea of the silk flowers, the Chinese is not deemed responsible for turning it into the big business it is today.
While the basics of making silk flowers have not changed much since early times, today they provide only a framework for what is now considered in some quarters to be an art.
Despite the name silk flowers, silk is not often used in the process these days.
The preferred material is now polyester, which is believed to better hold the glues, dyes, and shape of the flowers.
Other pluses are that it costs less than silk and is more durable.
For more upscale markets silk, cotton and rayon are used.
The silk and polyester in silk flowers only refer to the petals of the flower as the rest is made up of materials including wire, rubber, paper and plastic.
Technology has caught up with the making of silk flowers as we now see laser-cutting and die-cutting technologies being employed in the process.
The constructed petals, when applied to molds and combined with pressure and heat, attain realistic contours and shapes.
Unlike with the cutting process however, the painting of the petals is painstakingly done by hand with the use of cotton or brushes.
It is not unusual to find this part of the process taking place in locations where intensive hand labor is readily available such as China and Thailand.
The finished flower is attached, along with leaves in some cases, to stems made from wire.
The end product is indeed a work of art and at times if not examined from up close it is impossible to tell they are artificial.
Some of these silk flowers are even made to smell like the real thing.
So when next you happen to attend a wedding, or official function, check out the flowers up close, you could be looking at silk flowers.
They have been used from as far back as anyone can remember to add a touch of beauty to a host of things, including hairstyles, and events such as weddings.
Unfortunately however, flowers are generally perishable and at times special ones are quite difficult to come by.
The price tags attached to these can be quite hefty.
The ingenuity of man has surfaced here to save the day though, thus the creation of silk flowers.
The silk flowers of which we speak here is not the flower that grows outside on the silk tree, it is in fact the ones made by hand.
In other words, they are artificial flowers.
By going this route man has circumvented having access to flowers only at certain times of the year and significantly impacted the cost of beautifying any thing flowers can beautify.
If you happen to grow or sell flowers for a living, chances are you may not be too thrilled with the idea of silk flowers.
The reason for this is that they may have an unwelcome, negative impact on your livelihood.
The making of did not begin in the last few years or even the last decades; it began hundreds of years ago.
Though being credited with originating the idea of the silk flowers, the Chinese is not deemed responsible for turning it into the big business it is today.
While the basics of making silk flowers have not changed much since early times, today they provide only a framework for what is now considered in some quarters to be an art.
Despite the name silk flowers, silk is not often used in the process these days.
The preferred material is now polyester, which is believed to better hold the glues, dyes, and shape of the flowers.
Other pluses are that it costs less than silk and is more durable.
For more upscale markets silk, cotton and rayon are used.
The silk and polyester in silk flowers only refer to the petals of the flower as the rest is made up of materials including wire, rubber, paper and plastic.
Technology has caught up with the making of silk flowers as we now see laser-cutting and die-cutting technologies being employed in the process.
The constructed petals, when applied to molds and combined with pressure and heat, attain realistic contours and shapes.
Unlike with the cutting process however, the painting of the petals is painstakingly done by hand with the use of cotton or brushes.
It is not unusual to find this part of the process taking place in locations where intensive hand labor is readily available such as China and Thailand.
The finished flower is attached, along with leaves in some cases, to stems made from wire.
The end product is indeed a work of art and at times if not examined from up close it is impossible to tell they are artificial.
Some of these silk flowers are even made to smell like the real thing.
So when next you happen to attend a wedding, or official function, check out the flowers up close, you could be looking at silk flowers.
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