However, there are several other ways you can press your flowers. Read on for a few different options. Use a wooden flower press: 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:

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 For large flowers with layered petals, consider separating the petals before pressing and then “reconstructing” the flower later, if desired. 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. Transform fresh blooms into beautifully pressed flowers by following our simple step by step tutorial. It’s SO EASY to learn how to press flowers, though it does take a bit of time and patience. It’s best to press a variety of flowers just in case. Out of all of the flowers we pressed, we only had one white lily type of wildflower turn brown. The rest of our flowers kept their beautiful colours, but it would have been disappointing if that was the only flower we tried! How long to press flowers?The faster methods sort of work, but the flowers don’t get fully dried and they end up much more fragile. 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. 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.

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. Some other flowers that work well for pressing are violets, baby’s breath, lilies, hydrangeas, Queen Anne’s lace, buttercups, lavender, cosmos, pansies, daisies, and larkspur (aka delphinium). You can also dry small herb stems or fern leaves. 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.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.

If you want to press flowers properly, it takes time. We definitely recommend the book method or using a proper wooden flower press.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 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!

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. Much like the book-press method, a homemade or store-bought wooden flower press can give you fabulous results. (Plus, you can decorate a wooden press or customize it to match your style-BONUS!) Supplies: Step 3 — Leave the flowers for three to four weeks, changing the paper a few times during that period to prevent browning. Once dried completely, you can remove the flowers from the press.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. Catherine’s top tip:"Some people make a really massive mistake of thinking they have to push loads of weight down on the flowers to make it press well, but that’s not the case – in fact, you can really damage the flowers doing that. Just put enough gentle pressure to flatten the petals without squashing them. Placing a pile of books on top is lovely but you don’t need to sit on the pile of books." Designing the flowers