How to Press Flowers Without a Flower Press

Pressing flowers can be a relaxing and fun thing. For those really serious about producing a large amount of pressed flowers in a short period of time a flower press is best. However if you just want to press a few things there are several methods which can be used to produce beautiful pressed flowers for use in card making, pictures, scrapbooks, or other items.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Book with thin pages (such as a Bible).
• OR Newspaper and heavy books.
• OR High quality paper and heavy books.

1. Gather up flowers and other materials to press. You can use whole flowers as long as they don't have a thick center or aren't easily flattened. For flowers with more shape such as roses and tulips you can take their petals. You can also press grasses, leaves, and foliage for some great materials. Gather these together to press.

2. Separate out your materials. Press flowers, leaves, and other items with your fingers so they can be laid flat easily.

3. Take a book with thin pages and place the flowers and other plant materials in between the pages to flatten and dry. A Bible works really well for this because of the thin pages. Your book should also be thick and heavy to flatten and dry the materials quickly. You should take note that this can add water wrinkles and colored stains to the pages. If you don't want to ruin your book try one of the other methods.

4. OR. If you aren't wanting to ruin your book you can take newspaper for a satisfactory job and fine paper (such as the kind made for making resumes) for a great job. You will want five sheets for each side. Set down a book and top it with the five sheets of paper. Lay out your flowers and other plant materials.

5. Top this set up with five more sheets of paper. Finish it off with a thick book. If you don't have a thick book then use two or three hard cover books. Place to the side where they won't get bumped for a week or more.

6. Let your flowers sit for one week. Then carefully remove the books and papers on top.

7. Remove the flowers and plants that are thoroughly dry. Place them in a plastic bag that zips shut.

8. If there are any that are still moist or not completely dry and papery then set the paper back on top of them and add the books. Let sit for another week and check again.

Tips & Warnings

• If your plant materials are waxy, thick, or multiple layers then they could have too much moisture to dry. You can try it, but be prepared for mold. Never use a book for these types of materials.

[jull14]

on 7/10/2009 This article is so interesting and helpful. I really love this article. Thank you for sharing this information with us, the steps are very easy to follow and please keep up the good work. Thanks and have a bless weekend.

[vdeneen]

on 9/9/2008 I did this with leaves, and it works great... thanks!