Getting Started with Pressed Flowers

So you'd like to get into pressed flowers – maybe it's after receiving a beautiful pressed flower invitation for your friend's wedding or seeing some gorgeous framed pressed flowers at an art show. Whatever the reason, you're excited to hop on the pressed flower bandwagon but you're not sure where to start or how to begin. Here are a few basic techniques and things to keep in mind to help you get started on your journey.

1. You don't have to grow your own flowers! Don't get me wrong, while growing your own flowers and pressing them is a great hobby to have, the fact is most people simply don't have the time to do it all themselves. Pressed flowers can be purchased online nowadays and you can find a vast variety – some for less than a dime a piece. For the price of a morning latte, you can have a nice 25 piece variety pack to use for your project. So not having enough flowers should never be an excuse any more!
2. Use a tweezer. While it's acceptable to use your hands every now and then to hold your pressed flowers, in most cases it is A LOT easier to use a good pair of tweezers (a few dollars can get you a decent one). Not only does a tweezer provide more precision in handling the flowers, it also saves a lot of fragile flowers from being folded or torn. When placing flowers you also gain significantly more control as far as position and orientation. Don't settle with the poor precision of your bare hands - use a tweezer!
3. Don't forget the glue. So you have your flowers, your tweezers, and your materials, but don't forget to add one more item to your shopping list - glue. From our experience wood glue in particular works very well with pressed flowers, especially if you are putting them on any kind of paper based material. It works great and keeps your flowers secured onto crafts, invitations, etc. You can find wood glue easily at Home Depot, Lowes, or any other home and garden store. Apply the glue using the pointed end of a toothpick - a few small dots on the flower is all you need.
4. Start simple and small. The best way to get a good "feel" for how to use pressed flowers with your crafts is to start simple and small. For starters, simple thank you cards, get well cards, stationary, etc would work great. Then as you begin to get a better feel for the type of flowers that go well together and how the flowers should be arranged, that's when you can start getting into larger projects like framed art, wedding invitations, etc. As I like to say, sometimes the best way to learn is to just do it. You only get better from the mistakes you make and the lessons you learn along the way.