Pressed Flowers
A Victorian Tradition
By Jane Marie |
 click on the photo
to enlarge it
You'll need:
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Fresh picked flowers, press more than you think
you'll need in the event they tear
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Telephone book or large book/books
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Extra heavy books or a brick or two
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Tissue paper or clean sheets of computer paper
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White craft glue, but not a glue gun whose glue
will be too lumpy
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Toothpicks
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Tweezers
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Sharp knife for cutting and lifting
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Scissors
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Paper for backing
Plain construction paper for backing in a contrasting
color to your flowers (light or dark, it's best with no pattern that
could distract from pretty petals) OR
Paper that is a bit thicker and more absorbent
than computer paper that may buckle where it's glued OR
Desiccant paper is good if available because it
takes away any moisture that may occur once the project is complete
Choose glass / frame that presses backing toward
the glass OR
Shadow box if your dried flowers are thicker
Do not use glass and frame combination that slides
as that might disturb flowers.
Pick flowers.
Try not to touch your flowers, herbs and leaves as you
may bruise them.
Hold the flowers by the stems and tweezers.
It is always best to
pick flowers in the morning before the sun has had a chance to "blow" open
the blossoms completely. You want them to be as fresh as possible in their
best condition.
Look for flowers and leaves with rich colors that
will stay rich after they've dried. Begonias and impatiens will
often fade. Also look for flowers that will press flat and that
have thinner petals such as daisies, African violets, Queen Anne's
lace, pansies, violas, paper
whites, hydrangea petals separated, forget-me-nots, ivy leaves,
rose leaves, etc. Roses will press, but may look as if they
are just squished. Experiment by pulling the petals off
the rose and using them singly or make up your own "new"
flower with them in the final arrangement.
Cut the stems off as close to the back base of the
flower as possible.
Save a few that are soft and pressable such as paper
white stems, if desired, as opposed to hard stick stems like roses that
won't press at all. If you do save stems, cut the stems at a 45 degree
angle, a bit longer than you might think is necessary so if you decide to
use them in your picture, they will look pretty. You can always shorten any
stems after they've dried and you've begun arranging.
Open the phone book or other large book/books to 3/4 of
the way, meaning the majority of the pages are on your left so you will have
more weight to press your flowers once the book is closed.
Place a sheet of
clean tissue or plain white paper on the phone book. DO NOT USE PAPER
TOWELS OR NEWSPAPER because the towels may leave imprints if they are not
completely smooth (this happened to me) and the ink from the newspaper may
come off and stain your petals.
Very carefully lay your flowers in a single
layer on the plain paper.
Cover the flowers with a second sheet of paper. You may add another two or three sets of fresh flowers
like this to the book, leaving at least 1/2 inch thickness of phone book pages
between the sets.
Close the book carefully. Take the phone book to a
place it will not be disturbed and pile more heavy books on it. Forget about
it for several weeks.
Remove the heavy books and very carefully peek to see
if the flowers are dry. If not, press some more and check in a week.
Once your flowers are dry, handle with care. Turn off the fans.
Remove the sets of dried flowers from the phone book and slowly remove each top
sheet. If the flowers stick to the paper, take a
sharp knife and gently nudge the flowers free. If any break, don't worry
because you've dried extras. You did, didn't you?
Place your background paper on a large flat cookie sheet or piece of sturdy
cardboard.
Artfully arrange your flowers with tweezers in a pleasing pattern. You can layer the petals for a 3-D effect
or leave them singly spread out or put them in a circle to form a colorful
wreath. It's often best to put the dark colors in the back as darks recede
and put the light colors up front, but anything goes.
Once you are satisfied, begin gluing. Spread a few very small
spots of glue on the back of the flowers with a toothpick. It won't take
much, so don't over do or the glue might leak out.
Remember, no glue guns here.
Once your glued flowers look the way you want them to,
gently carry the cookie sheet or cardboard to an undisturbed spot to dry
over night.
The next day, you can add loose ribbon, lace, buttons,
a charm, a sticker of a butterfly, bows, draw lines or tendrils with colored
pencils, anything you want. Or just leave the flowers if you choose.
Allow any glued decorations you added to dry over night to be safe.
Frame your flowers with UV glass, making certain
the glass is completely cleaned and dry.
You can glue pressed flowers on to cards,
gift tags, candles, bookmarks and the corners of picture or photo mats.
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