I will be doing a series of posts this spring/summer that are re-posts from an old blog a few years ago.
It's fun to go back and see what we did when we were younger and how we've grown since then!
It's fun to go back and see what we did when we were younger and how we've grown since then!
"Pressing flowers is a technique that has been in existence since the Victorian Era. The process was used to preserve plant specimens for cataloguing and identifying, as well as for art. Lewis and Clark collected and pressed many specimens on the Discovery Trail, a feat in itself when you consider the hardships they endured. This link takes you to a site that still contains preserved plants from their journey. Many of their plant specimens were destroyed before they returned to the East Coast. I was able to view an herbarium from the early 1800′s at a local museum, and it was amazing to see the color was still present in the specimens. The collection was very well preserved, every leaf and petal was in place." Quote taken from this site.
This is the press making information and general tutorial we used to make our flower presses a lovely little project to do for a handicraft. Each family made a press, and each child made a card using a pressed flower I had done ahead of time.
This one is another great tutorial for making your own press.
Instead of phone books, we cut 5 sheets of cardboard to layer inside, along with paper towels to lay the flowers on in between the cardboard. Water color paper would also work instead of paper towels.
However, I have also pressed flowers using only thick books with no press around it. So don't let your lack of a press or ability to make one, hold you back from pressing flowers.
Our flower presses are 10x10 in. and the cardboard inside ours is 8x8. The 3/8 bolts are 5 inches long.
Great instructions for applying pressed flowers to paper can be found here. We used glue sticks and contact paper for basic supplies to make simple greeting cards.
This is the press making information and general tutorial we used to make our flower presses a lovely little project to do for a handicraft. Each family made a press, and each child made a card using a pressed flower I had done ahead of time.
This one is another great tutorial for making your own press.
Instead of phone books, we cut 5 sheets of cardboard to layer inside, along with paper towels to lay the flowers on in between the cardboard. Water color paper would also work instead of paper towels.
However, I have also pressed flowers using only thick books with no press around it. So don't let your lack of a press or ability to make one, hold you back from pressing flowers.
Our flower presses are 10x10 in. and the cardboard inside ours is 8x8. The 3/8 bolts are 5 inches long.
Great instructions for applying pressed flowers to paper can be found here. We used glue sticks and contact paper for basic supplies to make simple greeting cards.
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