Learning how to press flowers in a book might just be the perfect summer craft project! Whether you want to save flowers from your garden, or a special event, this is my fool-proof method for pressing.
As I’m sure you know by now (especially if you follow me on Instagram), I absolutely love flowers. The only part that I don’t love about them is having to toss out wilted blooms after a week or so.
Instead of pitching my latest bouquet, I decided to press my favorites stems and petals so that I could have them to craft with in the future. The hardest part of this project is waiting to see the results!
Here’s how to press flowers in a book:
What You’ll Need
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- Flowers
- Scissors or flower snips
- Blotting Paper
- Heavy books
Material Notes
While you don’t need to use blotting paper, I’ve found that it works well! Just try your best to avoid anything with texture. Paper towels will often leave pattern imprints. They also can leak water into your books.
It’s best to press flowers when they’ve been freshly picked. I found these stems throughout the neighborhood, but if you happen to buy yours, I recommend pressing the same day you take them home.
Different flowers will need different press times. For example smaller flowers might only require 2-3 weeks of press time.
It really only takes a few minutes to press flowers, but can take up to 3-5 weeks to see the final results. Keep this in mind if you have a project planned with your dried flowers.
How to Press Flowers in a Book
- Collect your flowers! If collecting from your garden, it’s best to snip them in the morning before the heat of the day sets in. You want to avoid any moisture on the petals, so bring inside to dry.
- Prep your flowers. How the flowers lay on the paper is how they’ll dry.
Depending on how you plan to use your dried flowers, you may want to snip your stems. This step is completely optional and will vary depending on the type of flower you’re working with. - Place flowers between two sheets of blotter paper, making sure the petals do not touch one another.
- Position your paper at the back of a heavy book and close. You’ll want to leave your flowers alone for about 4 weeks (try not to peek!). The longer the press time, the longer they’ll be able to retain their coloring when exposed to the sun again.
Tip: For larger bloom, place face down and close book on top.
I’ll be back next month with a project using these exact pressed flowers, so stay tuned!
**Update! I made DIY Dried Flower Coasters with this exact batch of flowers!
Head to my YouTube channel if you want to learn how to press flowers using a flower press!
Oh darn I wish you had posted this a week earlier or a customer gave me wildflowers a week later. I just pressed some flowers for the first time on Tuesday and I did so many things wrong, ugh.
Oh well, now I know better for next time.
Thank you!
http://thenerdjournals.com
Oh no, talk about unfortunate timing! I’m sure they will still come out okay though :)
Maybe not, I keep peeking at them. :)
That’s such great news! May I ask, what did you do differently?
Really lovely Rachel…found u thru Creative Stumblers. Stumbled & pinned all around!
Oh yay, so happy you found me Kelly! Thank you so much for your support and kind words!
Oh so fun! I think I still have some pressed 4 leaf clovers in my parents’ massive old bible from 20+ years ago
hah yeah you do! Here’s hoping I see that baby in a craft project soon :)
so pretty!
Thank you so much :)
Wax paper! Again, something so simple I had no idea about. This is fantastic Rachel, especially with the suspense you’re creating with making us wait a month to see how they turn out!!
Thanks Amy! And I think I created too much suspense for myself too! I can’t wait to see what they look like in August :)
oh gosh, a post about flowers AND making them last forever? yes pls.
Yay! Glad you liked the post Lizzy!
People have been doing this for ages, and it looks great, but I can’t see myself doing this to flowers when they are so alive, like this beautiful, beautiful bouquet you put together, it’s so beautiful that I ‘pin’ it to my pinterest :)
I know– it is hard! I think the end results, especially with the craft I have in mind, might just be worth it. At least this once :)
I am totally going to try this!
Thanks
xo
http://www.laurajaneatelier.com