How to Press Flowers
Pressing flowers is an ancient tradition dating back centuries in China and Japan. The craft gained popularity in Victorian England where everything from furniture to silks were adorned with meticulously pressed flowers and leaves. In the last few decades flower pressing has caught on in the United States and Australia where famed artists and home crafters are combining pressed flowers with any number of products for a natural and romantic look.
At Petals By Pedal we love flowers because of their natural beauty. As living art, however, their beauty can be fleeting. If you have especially meaningful flowers that you want to hold onto forever, pressed flowers can also serve as a simple and space efficient way to savor these treasures. Formal flowers from wedding bouquets, newborn arrangements, or photo shoots can be immortalized through pressing. Simple, pick-your-own wild flowers from your first home's garden or the picnic when he proposed or the "bouquet" your toddler foraged just for you, can also be pressed and saved for a lifetime of enjoyment.
(kitten optional)
A flower press will keep your flowers dry, secure, and out of sunlight during the drying process. We sell these beautiful wooden flower presses. They are made locally in Boulder, Colorado from fine woods such as mahogany or curly maple and are delicately engraved with natural elements. Not only do they make beautiful gifts and heirlooms, they will also keep your precious flowers secure during the drying process, ensuring the best possible outcome.
Supplies
1. A Flower Press:
Our presses work beautifully but you may also close the flowers inside a heavy book. This only works well with very thin flower and may stain the pages of the book.
2. Blotting Paper:
This can be printer paper or coffee filters but avoid anything with a texture such as paper towels as those will transfer onto the flower.
3. Flowers and Foliage:
You can press any flower but the thinner the flower the easier it will be to dry and apply to your final craft.
Steps:
1. Keep the flower or foliage well hydrated prior to pressing by keeping it in a bud vase or other water receptacle.
2. Cut individual flowers from branches or bulky stems.
3. Thick flowers such as roses or carnations can actually be sliced using a sharp paring knife to remove back bulk that will prevent the flower from drying flat.
4. Place the flower between two sheets of blotting paper.
5. Secure flowers in between layers of flower press or pages of a heavy book, press as tightly closed as possible.
6. Change blotting paper every 4 days to avoid browning.
7. Let flowers fully dry in press for 3 weeks (changing the blotting paper every 4 days).
8. Remove fully dried flowers from press for use in your final project.
9. Flowers may be quite fagile and tweezers can help in moving them from the press to their final project.
10. Decoupage or laminate the flowers onto any surface. Bookmarks, scrapbook pages, or water colored paper make great canvases for your dried flowers.
Enjoy this timeless craft and the added joy and life it can bring to your precious florals.
Sending flowers to a loved one?
Consider adding on a flower press so they can enjoy your gift for years to come.
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