How to make a flower press in 5 Easy Steps!

We believe that making pressed flowers is one way of appreciating the beauties of nature. Other than letting those precious blossoms of roses and chrysanthemums to just wither on the elements, why not press and preserve them so that you can enjoy their delicate beauty and colors as keepsakes that can last for years to come!

Making pressed flowers is unbelievably easy and enjoyable and for some, is quite literally “Addicting”.  In order for you to make pressed flowers, you would definitely need your own flower press!

A flower press is a device that presses or squeezes your flowers or foliage so that they can get to dry easily while still maintaining their natural form, shape and color. Though this might sound a little bit technical, you can actually make a flower press yourself out of materials that can be readily found at home!

An old, heavy book in itself can actually already be considered as a simple flower press.  Problem with books is that they can be quite cumbersome to handle and organize, especially when you’re already pressing a lot of flowers. And also, if you’re not careful, you can actually damage your book’s pages, by leaving blots, crumples, and possibly molds if you did not prepare your flowers well and if you did not arrange them properly inside your book before you close it.

However, you can actually make a flower press yourself that’s light enough and versatile enough for you to organize easily and conveniently on a shelf or a rack. And you can do it in 10 easy steps!

Materials

• 2 identically-cut pieces of Illustration boards (Cardboard works fine too!)
• A piece of String (Ribbons and Rubber bands are also useful alternatives)
• A pair of Scissors
• A piece of regular copy paper
• Marker (for labeling)
• The flowers/leaves you want to press
• A book shelf filled with books (this would be where you’ll store your flower press)

Steps

1. Fold your piece of copy paper crosswise. Arrange your flowers neatly on one side leaving ample spaces in between them;
2. Before closing your paper, make sure your flowers lies nicely flat on its surface. Press on them with your finger or cut its stalks (only if you have to), then gently close your paper;
3. Place your folded paper (with the flowers inside) in between your 2 pieces of illustration boards;
4. Tightly bind your board pieces together with a piece of string. Make sure your string is tightly bound around your boards to make it press tight.
5. Ideally, place your new flower press in between big, heavy books that it will press even tighter. 

Note:

You can actually make your flower press higher so that you can press more flowers! The procedure’s basically the same; just stack some more flowers and illustration boards on top of your flower press and tie them together with a piece of string or cord.

It would also help a lot if you label your flower press appropriately to easily account your pressed flowers. Store it in a cool and dry place for 3-4 weeks until your flowers inside are nicely pressed and dried and stiff.