Pressed flower art can be found in most home furnishing stores, but most pieces are kind of expensive. This how-to guide will explain how to successfully press your flowers and how to create pressed flower art with them. You can make your favorite flowers last a very long time and cherish them for years with these methods. Not only are these perfect for your own home, but a nice personalized sentiment for being given as a gift.
Begin by selecting flowers with little or no decaying or withered parts. Flowers that hold lots of water in the petals and leaves are not a good choice to press and, most of the times, will not press correctly or will mold rapidly after being framed. The flowers must be kept as dry as possible during the pressing process. You may place the flowers in the oven on about 300 degrees for a minute or two about five days to a week or so after pressing to ensure that there is no excess moisture that will cause withering and even mold on your flower art. Fold each flower, petal, stem or leaf in wax or parchment paper and then place inside of a heavy book. You may place a flower every few pages or so depending on the overall size of the book and weight of the cover. It takes about 2 weeks in warm weather for the flowers to be fully pressed and ready to use.
Some of the most popular pressed flowers and plants such as ferns, roses, and daisies are readily available at your local gardening stores. One of my favorite flowers to press is the Dianthus. It is a good plant for potting and for pressing, it comes in many different colors like blood red, dark red, pastel pink, salmon, magenta, white, and dark red with white rings inside of the flower. These flowers keep their color after being pressed better than any other flower I have pressed. Certain roses maintain their color after being pressed and framed, but most will start to mold after enough time is passed. A think layer of clear spray paint will help keep the pressed flower from beginning the decaying process and developing mold as fast.
Any part of a flower can be used, so do not limit your art to flowers, feel free to use stems, pine needles, leaves, and even that cool-looking insect that has died in your window. All of these things can be used to create a realistic or personalized picture or scene. Once you have selected the items you want to use for your art, try arranging them without too much thought and then rearrange them until you are happy. You can make realistic scenes with your flowers, stems and other findings, or you can use your artistic abilities a bit more and layer flowers, leaves and whatever else you have. Select complimenting colors and textures. Don’t do a picture with all flowers, instead try breaking up the flowers a bit. Use whole flowers, single petals arranged how you think they fit best. When you are ready, simply glue down the pieces of flowers to a background, which can be a sheet of paper or cardboard.
Flowers are a gift that most people enjoy, but this way they will last for a lot longer than those in a vase. Anyone would be happy to receive these beautiful and personalized crafts as a gift. Not only do they tell someone that you took the time to create it just for them, but you can choose colors that you know are the recipient’s favorite or has dominant colors from their household decor.
