All About Pressed Flower Art

There are many different types of flower presses. The simplest one is an old book. Pressing flowers between the pages of the book, or between sheets of paper inserted into the book, and then placing heavy weights on top of the book, works for many types of thin flowers and foliage. This is a good way to begin flower pressing and find out if you like doing it.

I use my homemade press a lot. Here is how to construct it:

Go to your nearby home improvement center. Get a piece of peg-board (good for ventilation); make sure you have chosen the thicker kind. Ask them to cut two 12" X 8" pieces for you. The important thing to know is that you do not care about the precise measurement of the boards, but you don't want them to cut through the holes. Make sure you tell the person cutting the board to cut between holes, leaving the outer rows of holes fully intact. Also purchase two packages of foam air conditioning filter (each package of foam can be cut into 4 pieces making a total of eight pieces of foam) and 4 sets of bolts (1/4" X 2") and wing nuts.  You will thread a bolt through a hole in each of the four corners of your peg-board.  Cut off the corners of the foam air conditioning filter to make room for the bolts. As for lining paper to place your flower on, you can use scratch computer printing paper (or any copier paper). If you would like to smooth the flower press's edges, you can file or sand them. You can also paint the press any color you want. However, these steps are for decoration and will not affect the pressing results. 

I also use a Microfleur (a microwave press) for some flowers. Microwave the flowers in short bursts of time. When the flowers are just slightly damp, put them in a regular press overnight to finish.

Other microwavable flower presses are also available. An inexpensive way to try the microwave method of flower pressing is by using two heavy-duty pieces of cardboard, sandwiching soft papers with the flowers inside, and securing the stack with heavy duty rubber bands.

Copyright 2004 - 2008 Kate Chu