We’d like you to meet Nicki, a Freytag’s customer service team member and flower pressing aficionado. Nicki is a very crafty gal. Luckily, she spends her days in a flower shop, surrounded by inspiration. We asked her to share some pro tips and walk us through a few of her favorite DIY projects. Let’s get down to pressing business. Take it away, Nicki…
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Pressing petals and flowers is a fun and inexpensive way to preserve memories and make some creative gifts and home decor. From decorative gift bags, stationery and custom gift tags to framed wall art, the possibilities are as vast as your imagination with this medium.
Step One: Collect Flowers and Petals
First things first; fresh flowers need to be collected for pressing. Some flowers that are easily pressed and have a quicker dry time include: rose petals and leaves, peony petals, baby’s breath, oncidium orchids and any other flower with a low water content.
Tools of the trade: flower press, cinder block, notebook and tissues.
Step Two: Choose a Method
There are several different methods for pressing flowers. a flower press is great, but you can improvise with items you probably already have around the house. Grab some tissues, a simple spiral bound notebook, a cinder block or a really heavy, hardcover book. For these projects, I chose the book method.
Step Three: Press Petals and Flowers
Put a piece of tissue on a blank sheet of paper. Place the petals neatly on the tissue. Remember to give each flower a little personal space. Place another piece of tissue/paper towel on top of the arranged petals and then another piece of paper on top of that. You’ve successfully made a petal sandwich.
Pressed rose petals and fresh rose petals.
Take the sandwich and gently place it in the center of a large book. Phone books, encyclopedias, and dictionaries work very well for pressing. Put the book beneath something heavy like other books or even a cinder block. I normally wait about a week before checking on the flowers, the time really various on the amount of water in the flowers. Once the petals feel dry and paper like they should be ready to use in your craft.
Pressed stargazer lily petals and fresh stargazer lily.
Step Four: Petal Art & Crafts
Heading to the craft store on a Sunday afternoon with some vague ideas in mind I start the hunt for fun projects to do with my pressed petals. A quick look down the clearance aisle and I found 2 simple frames that were the perfect backgrounds for the flowers. In the wood burning section, I found some small, decorative wooden gift tags and finally in the gift bag and stationery areas I found blank cards and brown bags. The best part of this project is the fact that most wooden and paper surfaces can be transformed with flowers.
Prepping before crafting is something I’m big on. I like to cover the table in a blanket that through the years has become more paint than a blanket. It has saved many a table and floor from paint and glue spills. I place all of my crafting tools and art supplies out on the table and decide what I want to use and put the rest to the side.
What I used:
Mod Podge, watercolors, sponge brushes, watercolor brushes, freshly pressed flowers, the housecat to supervise the project, paper towels, water (I use 2 separate cups, one to clean the paintbrush and one for the Mod Podge brush).
Getting started:
I lay out all of the flowers and what I’d like each flower to go with. Very gently I place petals on the paper or medium that I’ll be adhering them to. This is a good way to eyeball what looks best to you and is also good for seeing what fits where.
Once I have a general idea of where I want each petal to go I decide if I want to add some color to the paper or wood that each petal will go on. For the wooden tags, I chose to add watercolors for a colorful, transparent look. I wanted the gift bags to have a more shabby chic look so I decided not to paint the bags and added raffia bows to the handles as a finishing touch.
Pressed Rose Petal Gift Bags.
Once the paint is done drying, I can start applying the petals. I dilute the Mod Podge with a little bit of water, it should almost look like milk. I put some of the adhesive on the surface or the background and then gently place the petal on top of it then put another coat of the adhesive on top of the petal, gently pressing air bubbles out from beneath it. Sponge brushes work really well for this because they don’t leave any stray hair and smooth out the bubbles fairly easily.
Pressed Orchid Wooden Gift Tag.
I leave the freshly adhered creations in a dry spot in the house preferably away from my little kitty Tilly because I’m not really wanting fur accents on these. After an hour or two they should be dry and ready to go.
Framed Press Flower Bouquets.
Another craft project I like is a little bit simpler, with a picture frame. My favorite (on the left) is my interpretation of a classic rose arrangement. I took the backing out of the frame and gently started layering the petals on the glass still in the frame, then layered baby’s breath behind the petals and finally for the background I placed dried rose leaves, covering most of the rose petals and baby’s breath. I replaced the backing on the frame and the project was done. I love this idea to preserve a sweet bouquet from someone special.
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And there you have it. Three easy pressed flower projects for your next crafty day. We’re inspired now, thanks Nicki!