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

Product Information

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. Spring is just around the corner and already some of the early bloomers have been peeking their floral heads out, teasing us with the promise of warmer days. While there’s nothing better than filling a vase with stems you’ve snipped from the garden or foraged on a walk, this year we are loving the idea of preserving those delicate finds for even longer. Maker and blogger and long time flower presser Claire Holland shares her passion for the art along with knowledge and tips on how to prepare and then press your flowers for the best results… 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

You can buy special microwave presses, which may give better results, but we haven’t tested those. Iron the flowers to press them: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. This is a really good method for pressing flowers, but it requires either buying a press or some woodworking know-how to put one together. If you’re only pressing a few flowers at a time, the book method is much easier. Press flowers in the microwave: For large flowers with layered petals, consider separating the petals before pressing and then “reconstructing” the flower later, if desired. Newspaper works well as the immediate covering for your plant specimen because it is fairly absorbent and has anti-fungal properties. The Modern Flower Press is a storybook full of entertaining facts, myths and legends about flowers. Melissa and Amy explain all aspects of the history of pressing flowers, from its origins to the present day. They show you how to choose the right flowers for pressing, how to prepare and press them, and share ideas for projects and artworks to display them in all their perfectly preserved glory. From their own small and large-scale commissions to lovely ideas that you can make at home by following their clear, full-colour illustrated step-by-step instructions, there are designs here to make best use of your favourite garden or wild flowers.

For more inspiration, see the company's new book, The Modern Flower Press' Country Homes & Interiors However, there are several other ways you can press your flowers. Read on for a few different options. Use a wooden flower press: If you’re just getting into flower pressing and don’t yet know if you’re going to like it, it might be best for you to get something very affordable so you won’t feel bad about purchasing if you decide not to proceed with the hobby. The easiest way to press flowers is definitely using a book, as described above. It’s a simple method that’s accessible to almost everyone, with no special supplies or techniques required!Step 2 — Next, place the paper and flowers directly into the microwave and flatten them with your pressing object on top (such as a microwavable plate, dish, ceramic tile, etc.). If you have a microwave press, make sure your flowers are layered between paper and cardboard—as you would in a normal press. Try and minimise the amount the petals touch each other. At Precious Petals we take them apart and press each petal individually; then, when we create pictures we remake the flower again. This minimises the moisture that can be trapped in the flower as it’s being pressed. To do this, place your fresh blooms between 2 sheets of parchment paper in the microwave and place a heavy microwave safe dish on top. Microwave on medium power for 90 seconds. Nigella (love-in-a-mist), aquilegia, pansies and violas, astrantia, larkspur, lacecap hydrangeas, geraniums, geums, flowering herbs (thyme, borage and dill work particularly). well) Don’t forget the leaves!

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. Cut the cardboard to fit inside the plywood or MDF, working around the four holes where you will insert the bolts. Lay a piece of blotting paper on top of the cardboard, and arrange the flowers on top as desired.

Be the First to Share

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. 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

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! Forget-me-nots, dog violets, snow drops, snowflakes, tete-a-tete dwarf daffodils, crocuses, primula, snake’s head fritillaries, bluebells The florists behind JamJar Flowers share their modern take on the lost art of pressing flowers' Gardens Illustrated While this method is successful at pressing the flowers flat, it doesn’t truly dry them. You need to leave the flowers under a heavy object for at least several days after microwaving them for the flowers to dry out. The amount of time needed will totally depend on how humid the room is, so we find it better to err on the side of caution and wait longer.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.