How to make your own pressed flower art

This is a beginner’s guide to how you press flowers and turn them into a piece of art. We say ‘art’ because you can put the pressed dried flowers into a picture frame and hang it on the wall. By the way, did you know that pressing flowers is an ancient art form that was originally practiced by the Greeks and Romans thousands of years ago?

You don’t have to frame your pressed flowers, you can also use them for many other things:

· Invitations
· Place cards
· Bookmarks
· Name tags
· Thank you cards

The act of pressing the flowers is only part of the fun. Finding the flowers, carefully picking them up and carrying them home are half the joy.

Before we dive into the step-by step guide, here are some tips for picking the flowers:

Pick the flowers in the morning time after the dew has disappeared – they must be dry
Choose flowers that are close to, but not quite, in full bloom
Avoid flowers that have spots or flowers that insects have taken an interest in…

You might already have guessed it, but some flowers are more suitable for pressing than others. If you’re going for the prettiest result, opt for flowers that are naturally flat in structure, such as pansies, daisies and violets. Roses are difficult to press, but if they happen to be your favourite flower, then cut the flower head in half before you press it.

We’ll bet that you’ve also figured out which flower press method to use. After all, it is the oldest trick in the book (pun intended). The book pressing technique is the simplest, as it doesn’t require any extra equipment. You only need these three things:

What you’ll need:

- Flowers (obviously!)
- A notebook or sheets of paper to absorb the moisture (avoid paper towels, as the texture may damage the flowers)
- A heavy item (e.g. a novel the size of a brick will do the trick)

How to press the flowers:

Step 1:
When you’ve made sure that the flowers are completely dry, open the notebook and place them inside it. If you want to cut out the paper directly from the notebook once the flowers are dried, make sure you arrange them how you want them to look. If your plan is to rearrange the flowers on a different sheet of paper afterwards, make sure that there is at least 2 cm between each bloom.

Tip: Try to press the flowers together with the same thickness of paper so they have an equal amount of pressure.

Step 2:

Place the next sheet of paper from the notebook on top of the flowers and carefully make sure that the flower has not moved, as how it’s arranged here is how it will look pressed. Close the notebook.

Step 3:

Place a heavy item on top of the notebook and wait approx. 2-4 weeks for the flowers to dry. Drying times will vary depending on the temperature and the moisture content of the flowers. If you open the press to check on them, be careful not to disturb your design.

Step 4:

Open up the notebook and carefully cut out the page with the flowers. Place it in a frame and voila! You’ve created your own piece of art.

If you need to place the flowers on a different sheet of paper, use a pair of tweezers to remove the flowers from the notebook, as they break easily.