Yvonne Glasgow
Pressed flowers are a pretty easy project for kids of all ages, and it’s a fun craft for adults too. There are lots of things you can do once your flowers are pressed and dried too. Here’s how to get started!
I was taught by my grandmother how to press flowers but you don’t need a knowledgeable matriarch to pass the lore down to you. It’s a fun and easy process you can use, like we did, to decorate the house and create gifts for holidays.
Start Collecting Flowers
Spring is in the air, and summer is just around the corner. There are plenty of flowers in bloom right now. Gather flowers, ferns, and leaves for presses is an easy task.
Pick flowers and leaves that are in good shape and don’t have any spots or tears. The better the condition the flower is from the start, the better it will look after it’s pressed and dried.
You don’t want to collect wet or damp flowers (they’re more likely to mold). The best days to go collect your flowers is on a sunny day, in the early afternoon when the sunshine has dried up the morning dew.
Take something with you to safely gather your flowers and leaves in. A small shoebox works great—your collection is less likely to get crushed or suffer any other damage before you get them home to press.
You can also use flowers that you’re gifted on special holidays to press and make into lasting memories.
How to Press Your Flowers
To press your flowers, you will need:
- A thick, heavy book
- Parchment paper
- Something heavy (for weighing the book down)
Place a piece of parchment paper in your book, then simply lay each flower face down on the parchment. Put another piece of parchment paper on top before gently closing the page. The parchment paper keeps any pollen or pigment from the flowers of the pages. You can do this on several pages.
Once all of your flowers are place in the book, set it to the side and place your weight on it. You can use literally anything heavy—a jug of water, an exercise weight, a paint can, even a decent size rock—it just needs to be heavy enough to really press the pages of the book together. It will take a week to a week and a half for your flowers to completely dry—they’ll look and feel papery when they’re ready.
What to Do With Your Pressed Flowers
There are countless projects you can do with dried flowers. You can attach them to cut-out bookmarks and laminate them. You can frame them. Or, you can use them for these three fun projects.
Make Greeting Cards With Pressed Flowers
DIY greeting cards add a personal touch that you can’t get with store-bought cards. Making these cards is pretty easy, with the right tools, and there are plenty of video tutorials, like the one above, available online. One other nice thing about these cards is that they can easily be framed and turned into wall art!
Put Them on Candles
You don’t have to make candles to give a candle a personal touch. For beautiful spring and summer decorations, pick up some cheap candles at the dollar store and follow the simple technique in the video above to add your dried flowers. All you need are candles, dried flowers, and a spoon!
Use Them in Jewelry Making
If you have the time and patience to work with resin, you can make gorgeous jewelry pieces with your dried flowers. Resin offers tons of possibilities, not just in jewelry making. You can make coasters and paperweights too.
This video is an excellent tutorial, even for those just getting started with resin. You can make bracelets, rings, pendants, and so much more.
Your dried flowers will offer all sorts of creative inspiration in your craft room. Or, consider putting them in a journal with information about each flower and leaf you’ve collected.
