The best way to preserve the beauty of the garden is with a flower press. With just a few materials and tools, you can make a handmade flower press that looks as beautiful as it is functional.
You can certainly preserve flowers and leaves in a book, a method that works well and is explained in this article. For those of you who want to take your crafting to a whole new level, a flower press will give you the most pristine and perfect dried flowers to create your artwork.
Last summer, I grew violas for the first time. They are such pretty flowers, I decided on a whim to press some between a few heavy books. Those pressings turned into a favourite summer activity, and I soon had quite the collection of pressed flowers and leaves from my garden.
This year, as I plan my garden planting, I’ve also decided to prep for more pressings by making my own handmade flower press. Let me take you along and show you how you can make one too!
Handmade Flower Press
Luckily, my grandfather has a woodworking shop, so I stopped by one afternoon and we made this flower press together.
Materials
- 2 pieces of wood of equal size
- 4 bolts
- 4 washers
- 4 wing nuts
- Cardboard (or thin wood)
- Watercolour paper (or white paper)
Additional Tools
- Saw (or have your wood cut to size at your local hardware store)
- Drill
- Sandpaper
Make It!
First, cut your wood to size (you can make your flower press any size you want!). I made mine approximately 8″x 10″. Then, with the two pieces of wood stacked together, drill a hole through each corner (all the way through both pieces of wood). Use sandpaper to smooth off any rough edges.
Note: Make sure to choose a drill bit that is the same size as your bolt. I recommend drilling a test hole (using a scrap piece of wood) and making sure the bolt slides through the hole easily.
Next, cut your cardboard to size. My grandfather happened to have a piece of very thin wood on hand, so we decided to use that instead. Cut your cardboard/wood slightly smaller than your 2 boards. Then cut off each corner so that it will fit inside the bolts.
Use a piece of the cut cardboard/wood as a guide for cutting the watercolour paper (or white paper) to size.
How to Use a Wooden Flower Press
To assemble the press, insert a bolt into each corner of the bottom piece of the press. Layer alternate pieces of cardboard, paper, and flowers or leaves inside the press. The number of layers you use will depend on how many flowers you are pressing.
Note: I don’t recommend using paper towels (instead of white paper or watercolour paper) as the texture of the paper towel will be imprinted into your flowers while pressing.
Place the top piece of wood onto the press by threading the bolts through the holes. Add a washer to each bolt, then top with a wing nut, screwing each one down tight, creating even pressure. Your flowers still need some air flow to properly, so make sure the press isn’t too, too tight.
Let Your Flowers Dry In The Press For One Month
This part requires some patience. Allow your flowers to press for a full 30 days. I highly recommend checking on the flowers every week to ensure there is no mould. The thicker and juicier the flower, the more likely it is to mould.
Just be extremely careful because checking them, as pulling the layers can result in tearing or wrinkling your flowers!
Expert Tips for Flower Pressing
- Harvest flowers for pressing on dry days. The best time to collect flowers is mid-morning after the morning dew has dried.
- Get your picked flowers into the press as soon as possible, before they start to wilt, and keep them out of direct sunlight.
- Sort your flowers by type and then place them face down into the press. Grouping like flowers together is best because they will dry at the same rate.
- Make sure the flowers do not touch each other in the press. Otherwise, as they dry, they will become stuck together forever.
Decorate Your Plant Press
After my flower press was assembled, I decided to decorate the top with a botanical illustration I found in an old book. I used an X-Acto knife to carefully cut out the flowers. Once cut out, I sprayed the back with adhesive and placed it onto the press. Next, I coated it with a few layers of Mod Podge and gave it a final spray of clear acrylic sealer to give it some extra protection.
Flower Press FAQ
Each layer of your flower press should consist of a piece of cardboard, the white or watercolour paper, your pressed flowers and leaves, the white paper again, and another piece of cardboard. Keep stacking layers until your flower press is full, and add the wooden piece on top to seal it all in.
One hack to help press small flowers is to put them between two cotton pads (like the cosmetic ones) instead of paper. This helps them to hold their shape better and prevent the small petals from shrivelling up. Just make sure to use smooth cotton pads so there is no imprint on the flower petals.
Anything thick and juicy will be difficult to press as it retains too much moisture during the drying process. Unfortunately, this means that plants like dahlias, roses, tulips, mums, lilies, and more are difficult to press without the flower moulding. Many people suggest disassembling the flower petals and reconstructing the “flower” after all the petals have been pressed.
White flowers will also tend to turn yellow or brown in the press, but you can have success with them. Just make sure to press a few extras and see what turns out!
Use Your Pressed Flowers in These Crafts
Rachel Beyer is an artist, designer and creative maker living in Portland, Oregon. She spends her days working at Molly Muriel Apothecary and blogging at Adventures In Making. Her favorite hobbies include cooking, gardening, and crafting.
