We finally come to the end of this 3-part series on flower drying. If you’ve made it this far, you probably already know that small, home-style, and DIY flower presses can be purchased at places like craft stores, well-stocked gift shops, and even some of the big boxes. Stores are known to have some from time to time. I’ve seen the lot … mostly made in some distant third world country, then shipped here to be sold for way more than they should.
A flower press is really a useful device for the craftsman. It’s not only fun to dry and iron yours … it can be profitable too. Our daughter, for example, earned a good chunk of free time after school by making perfectly lovely pressed flower markers that were accepted and marketed in a very nice craft store. Imagine making your own delightfully lovely laminated personalized bookmarks to give to friends and family. Leaded glass artisans also use pressed flowers to good effect in their creations, often as jewelery.
Literally anyone with the most basic hand tools, or who has a friend or neighbor with a hand saw and light duty drill. The one detailed throughout this article cost a total of 88 cents (for the four bolts with wing nuts and washers), so you see, this is not an expensive project! A link to images of the process appears at the end of this article.
First, locate some quarter-inch pieces of plywood, Masonite, or paneling. You will need three pieces. The color, the type of wood, or the finish doesn’t really matter. Old and no longer used clipboards would be a perfect font. Most basements, attics, garages, or barns have stash of wood chips that are too nice to throw away. Rummage.
Your finished product can be virtually any reasonable size; this will be 5-1 / 2 “by 7” when ready, but that may vary based on your needs. Don’t be fussy about precise measurements, as long as all three pieces are the same size and shape. Most of the flowers you will press will be quite small, so there is no point in making one that is giant in size.
Cut them (or have them cut them) to what you think is an appropriate size, then carefully, thoroughly, sand with medium-grit sandpaper then fine to remove all rough edges. Splinters can be an uncomfortable reminder if you skip this step. Smooth edges and surfaces will be much better for painting or decorating later. Now stack the three pieces together and put 4-5 rubber bands around them to keep them in place. Using a hand or power drill, drill a 1/4-inch hole approximately 1/2-inch from each corner. Hold the drill as close to perpendicular as possible and drill through all three pieces at the same time, making sure nothing “slips” in the process so that all the holes line up. I like to file or sand a notch along one edge of the three boards at this point to make it easier to line up the holes when it comes time to press some flowers.
Once the holes are done, go back with your sandpaper and smooth the rough edges of each hole to remove chips and “hanging plates” (sorry, I just had to poke that in!). So far the fun part.
Somewhere in that basement, garage, or barn there must be some cardboard boxes waiting for a need to arise. If not, try your local grocery, hardware, or appliance store; they will be happy to allow you to review your recyclables. Use one of the pieces of wood to measure and mark about a dozen pieces of cardboard of the same size and, using either a strong pair of scissors, a measuring stick, and a craft knife (being careful not to cut a piece of your knee or thumb), or with a paper cutter, cut them out. Neatness counts … and be careful not to cut the carpet or dining room table.
Do the same with about 25-30 sheets of newspaper of the same size. “Newsprint” is what is printed on the newspaper. Most craft or art supply stores carry blank newsprint tablets that artists sometimes use as sketch pads. You can check with your local print shop for daily or weekly newspapers … quite often they will have what they call extremes – remnants of paper rolls that were once huge and are now too short to put back on the press. It shouldn’t cost more than a dollar or more a pound, and a pound will cost a long way. They might even give you a handful. Most journalists will run a few blank and folded copies before starting to ink, just to make sure everything is lined up. All those blank newspapers go to a really big recycle bin. There is nothing wrong with asking!
I prefer newsprint because brittle dried flowers are unlikely to stick to it because the modern type has a hard surface. Copier paper, on the other hand, is more porous, rough, and delicate petals can hang in texture.
Now comes an important step. Remember the holes you made in the corners for the bolts? The corners of both the cardboard and the newsprint should be trimmed to accommodate the hardware. Of course, it goes without saying, but here it comes anyway – be very careful with those scissors! Yes, surgeons can re-sew the fingertips, but the process leaves a large scar; many of us know this from personal experience.
All that’s left is to take a trip to your local hardware store and buy four 4-inch long 1/8 “bolts (a little smaller or a little larger doesn’t matter as long as they’re long enough), 4 bolts butterfly (you can tighten them with your fingers instead of having to use a wrench or pliers) and 8 washers of the appropriate size.
Now what? Very easy! The ideal flower for pressing is one that has very little clumpy volume. You would not be very lucky, for example, with a rose, a daffodil, a begonia or a cluster of geranium flowers. On the other hand, among the best are pansies and violas. The violets, individual geranium florets, and hydrangeas seem to be made for pressing. There are many others that are equally suited to the technique … and don’t forget little bits of grass seeds, little ferns, and colorful or interestingly shaped leaves. Let your imagination fly.
That is how:
* Slide a washer onto each of the four bolts and slide them through the four holes in a piece of wood. Place it on a table with the threaded ends of the bolts pointing toward the ceiling.
* Place a sheet of cutout cardboard, followed by a sheet of newspaper over that piece of wood … between the screws.
* Now position your flowers so they are not touching each other … watch for bent petals or anything that looks unnatural.
* Gently place a sheet of newspaper on top of them, followed by another piece of cardboard. Lay out another sheet of newsprint … ready for your next layer of flowers.
* Continue building cardboard, newsprint, flowers, newsprint, cardboard, etc., until you are halfway there.
* Now gently slide a second piece of wood down over the bolts as a rigid center brace, and continue to build layer after layer until all 12 pieces of cardboard have been used.
* Finally, slide the last piece of wood over the bolts, put a washer on each one, and turn the wing nuts until snug. At this point, it might be helpful to press down on the center of the stack with the palm of your hand while continuing to tighten the nuts.
The purpose here is to gently flatten the flowers … but not to squash all the corrugations in the cardboard. Done? Well, it’s time to be patient and dream about what you are going to do with your pressed flowers. Place your press with its precious cargo in a dry place at room temperature with some air circulation. Keep away from excessive heat and high humidity … and keep your shirt on.
Because cardboard is corrugated, air is allowed to move through each of these small “tunnels”, evaporating the moisture drawn from the flowers by the dried spacer materials. And because the process is really quite fast, almost all of the original color of the flower is preserved.
How long? For very small or light flowers with low humidity, 2 or 3 days are usually sufficient. Thicker petals may take a little longer. Gently loosen the four wing nuts, remove the first layer of wood, and very carefully pick up the newspaper at the corner and “look at” the flowers. If they’re dry, you’ll know right away – they’ll lift up easily, and if you’re not careful they can blow off the table in the slightest breeze. If they seem to “stick” to the paper, carefully reassemble everything and wait a couple more days.
So what do you do now? We started by using clear adhesive vinyl that is sold as bookshelf paper. Later, we bought a plastic laminator at Staples for just under $ 100. Most copy shops (“Quick-Prints”) have laminators and will be happy to seal just about anything you bring that will fit on their machine. Some of these great machines use a hot process … somewhat cold. Personally, I don’t think it matters. I know of some industrious craftsmen who use the same plastic bags for sealing (staples, again) and a dry clothes iron a little below the hottest setting. A very flat surface and a stiff, smooth sheet of paper on each side should be sufficient. If it was me, I’d give it a try a couple of times before walking in with my best pressed flower specimens!
Finally, don’t forget to look at the photos of this process using the link below. When you arrive, click on each photo to see a closer view. Enjoy! And why not share your pressed flower bookmarks with a book lover or a bull run. They Will Be appreciated!
