All About Pressed Flower Art

There are many methods to store pressed flowers. The important things to remember is to keep the flowers away from moisture and sun.

The least expensive way to store pressed flowers is this:

Fold a piece of letter-sized white paper 1/4 up along the length of one side and then 1/4 down on the opposite side (see illustration).  Then fold the four corners in and use scotch tape to secure as shown below. This paper folding can pop up and become a box when needed to store or retrieve material, and fold down flat for storing. Mark the outside of the folded paper with the flower name or tape a small sample of the flower for easy identification. When you are done, fold flat and store in a plastic box with some silica gel inside.

After I have accumulated so much, I needed a more effective way to store and organize so I can be sure my flowers can last long and I can find them easily. Below is the way I keep my flowers today:

	Place already pressed flowers on a piece of watercolor paper (or heavy card stock).
	Cover the flowers with a tissue paper to protect them.
	Put the flowers along with a piece of activated desiccant paper into a zip storage bag.
	Squeeze out air and zip the bag. Flowers would not move inside.
	File the pressed flower bag. I can easily thumb through the materials to find what I need later. Periodically, I re-activate the desiccant paper inside of the package to make sure flowers are kept at optimal condition.

Copyright 1998 - 2009 Kate Chu