DIY Flower Press ART IN FLOWER FORM

There is excitement and comfort in being in the middle of a wildflower field collecting specimens to press.

The golden rays of warm sunshine shine down upon you and the calming sound of the gentle hum of the insects among the flowers make hunting down the perfect specimens to press a joy.

A New Hobby

A new hobby emerges, or should I say an old one? Back in the 90's a had a store-bought press but somewhere over the many moves it disappeared. Plus, the one old was a small square-shaped press and it just wouldn't do for some of the projects I have in mind making.

I gathered a few materials and made another one.

How To Make Your Own

This was my first season hunting down wildflowers and using this handmade flower press for a full season, I can state it works well. I included directions on how we made it below so you can make one for yourself.

Gather Materials

Instructions

First, we cut two 2-inch x 18-inch rectangular pieces of wood and went to work lining up the boards my husband drilled the holes for the 4 – 1/4 inch threaded 5.5-inch long bolts. When drilling the holes chose a drill bit that will not give the bolt a lot of play or wiggle room. Secondly, be sure that if you will be using cake boards as I did, that they will fit in the center of your four holes.

Materials: 2 - 12" x-18 pieces of scrap wood from the shed. 4 - 1/4" wingnuts 4 - 1/4" washers 4 - 1/4" threaded 5.5" long bolts 6 - Rectangle cardboard cake boards.

We marked four holes in the top piece of the first board and then drilled straight down through both pieces so they lined up perfectly. See the hole placement below.

The Hardware

I had cardboard rectangle cake boards and they work perfectly centered in the middle of the press. Regular white copy paper works well as blotting paper to place the flowers on. If you do not have rectangle cake boards ask your local bakery to purchase them or check any cake supply store.

The hardware was purchased from Home Depot. A tip when purchasing your hardware is to purchase them in plastic bags. They come with 4-6 washers, wingnuts, and bolts to a package. They are cheaper to purchase this way and will cost under $6.00.

Side View

The side view with all the pieces together. The wingnut is the top of your press and the round bolts are the bottom and become feet.

Video

What Can You Make?

You are only limited to your imagination. To date, I have made notecards, wall art, and paper. I'm looking forward to using all the flowers in design work to keep me busy over the long Wisconsin winter.

Pressed flowers make beautiful notecards. You can purchase card stock and use regular white school glue that has been watered down with a small paintbrush to glue your designs. They make perfect notecards for gift-giving when placed in an acid-free sleeve

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Watercolor & Pressed Flower Designs

Pressed flower art with watercolors is always a winning combination! The base of the watercolor elements was created and then the pressed flowers were arranged, and glued. After the design was completed a high-quality scan of the original art was achieved using a flatbed scanner. The reproductions, look as fantastic as the original pieces of art.

Close-up of a scanned piece of art. You can see all the tiny little details.

Three Pieces Of Art

Watering Can on Zazzle. Stethoscope on Zazzle. Vintage Scale on Zazzle

Most of the original pressed flower art was given away or sold – the top stethoscope art was given as a gift for a white coat ceremony – wishing Kenzie all the best! The bottom one was sold to a friend for another friend’s birthday and the top scale was donated to a local benefit to raise funds for a family that lost everything in a fire.

Hope you enjoyed the tutorial and the flower designs gave you ideas on what you can create. You are only limited to your imagination. Until next time friends, take care!

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