The Art of Pressed Flowers and Leaves: Contemporary techniques & designs

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Step 2 — Tighten the press. If you are using straps, try to tighten them as evenly as possible. If you have a press with bolts and wing nuts, screw them down tightly until the press lies flat. If you’re a beginner or buying it for a child, then make sure you get a flower press kit that is designed to be easy to use and very approachable for someone who has never done this before. Failure to get the right difficulty level can turn out to be a very boring experience or a very difficult one, depending on where you missed the mark. Value Using a microwave and cooking the flowers for short periods of time, you’ll be able to see a difference in a matter of seconds versus waiting weeks using the old-fashioned methods. Perfect for impatient folks!

My love of flower pressing was re-kindled after I had children and they liked to bring me fistfuls of cowslips and meadowsweet when we went out on walks though the fields near our home. Not wanting to discard them (they’d never last too long in vases once we get them home), I began putting them in books to preserve them to keep as mementos of our summer walks. Now, the books in my workroom are filled with countless specimens of flowers and leaves – partly because I can’t resist collecting them, but I’ve also recently started to use them in my artworks. Some other flowers that work well for pressing are violets, baby’s breath, lilies, hydrangeas, Queen Anne’s lace, buttercups, lavender, cosmos, pansies, daisies, and larkspur (aka delphinium). You can also dry small herb stems or fern leaves. The faster methods sort of work, but the flowers don’t get fully dried and they end up much more fragile. The next consideration on your mind should be how much you’re willing to spend on your flower pressing kit. They’re available in a wide range of prices, so spend accordingly.Drill a hole in each corner of the boards, about 1 inch from the edge. Make sure you match the size of your bolts and line up the holes on both boards. Step 2: Arrange flowers in between cardboard and paper If you want to press flowers properly, it takes time. We definitely recommend the book method or using a proper wooden flower press. Whether you’re a beginner looking to learn more about flower pressing or a seasoned vet who is looking for inspiration and advanced topics, this book has some value for you.

It’s important to wait this amount of time, because if the book is opened before the flowers are completely dry, the petals can rip when the book is opened. If you’re someone who has access to flowers in your garden or on your balcony or window sill, learning to press them not only brings nature indoors but doubles up as a mindful hobby. Over the years, I’ve learned some flowers were born to be pressed, and some weren’t. I might have scorched a flower or two in my ambitious attempts to press them. Whoops! You can buy special microwave presses, which may give better results, but we haven’t tested those. Iron the flowers to press them: Some people recommend pressing flowers for only 2 – 3 weeks, but we don’t find this to be long enough. We definitely recommend leaving your flowers in the book for 4 – 6 weeks to make sure that they’re completely dried out.Flower pressing is enjoying a particular moment of popularity. Here the pair behind fashionable London florist JamJar Flowers sketch out the history of the pastime, provide inspirational ideas from JamJar's own commissions and offer an array of creative projects to try at home.' The English Garden If using a bouquet, keep it in water until ready to press. (Tip: Always cut stems at an angle and place flowers in a vase with flower food to maintain freshness. Replace water daily and remove any leaves below the water line.) Step 4 — Repeat this process until the flower is dry. You can also use this method to jumpstart the more traditional pressing method and transfer your flower to a book or a press to finish drying. Then they should be dried after a couple of days instead of weeks.

Fred adds, 'Try drying your plant specimen next to a radiator or central heating boiler if you have one - these provide a nice flow of warm air. Even warming the newspaper before using it helps drive moisture off.'

For more inspiration, see the company's new book, The Modern Flower Press' Country Homes & Interiors Once you’ve placed your flowers on the kitchen roll, put a few more layers of kitchen roll on top and close the book,” she added. However, there are several other ways you can press your flowers. Read on for a few different options. Use a wooden flower press: