The Art of Pressed Flowers and Leaves: Contemporary techniques & designs

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Nigella (love-in-a-mist), aquilegia, pansies and violas, astrantia, larkspur, lacecap hydrangeas, geraniums, geums, flowering herbs (thyme, borage and dill work particularly). well) Don’t forget the leaves! You can buy special microwave presses, which may give better results, but we haven’t tested those. Iron the flowers to press them:

The florists behind JamJar Flowers share their modern take on the lost art of pressing flowers'. Gardens IllustratedIf you’re a beginner or buying it for a child, then make sure you get a flower press kit that is designed to be easy to use and very approachable for someone who has never done this before. Failure to get the right difficulty level can turn out to be a very boring experience or a very difficult one, depending on where you missed the mark. Value The florists behind JamJar Flowers share their modern take on the lost art of pressing flowers' Gardens Illustrated

This is a really good method for pressing flowers, but it requires either buying a press or some woodworking know-how to put one together. If you’re only pressing a few flowers at a time, the book method is much easier. Press flowers in the microwave: The next consideration on your mind should be how much you’re willing to spend on your flower pressing kit. They’re available in a wide range of prices, so spend accordingly. Using a flower press is best when you have a large number of flowers. It is also the ideal method for preserving the flowers’ color. These presses are very easy to DIY if you have two boards, pieces of cardboard, paper, and a way to tighten it—for example, by using straps or fashioning it with bolts and wing nuts. On the other hand, you could simply buy one as well. Cut the cardboard to fit inside the plywood or MDF, working around the four holes where you will insert the bolts. Lay a piece of blotting paper on top of the cardboard, and arrange the flowers on top as desired.

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Step 3 — Leave the flowers for three to four weeks, changing the paper a few times during that period to prevent browning. Once dried completely, you can remove the flowers from the press. My love of flower pressing was re-kindled after I had children and they liked to bring me fistfuls of cowslips and meadowsweet when we went out on walks though the fields near our home. Not wanting to discard them (they’d never last too long in vases once we get them home), I began putting them in books to preserve them to keep as mementos of our summer walks. Now, the books in my workroom are filled with countless specimens of flowers and leaves – partly because I can’t resist collecting them, but I’ve also recently started to use them in my artworks. Catherine’s top tip:"Some people make a really massive mistake of thinking they have to push loads of weight down on the flowers to make it press well, but that’s not the case – in fact, you can really damage the flowers doing that. Just put enough gentle pressure to flatten the petals without squashing them. Placing a pile of books on top is lovely but you don’t need to sit on the pile of books." Designing the flowers You could use PVA glue, it will go clear. Traditionally, years ago, people used to use egg white. If you haven’t got any glue, that could be a possibility,” Catherine said. Flower pressing is enjoying a particular moment of popularity. Here the pair behind fashionable London florist JamJar Flowers sketch out the history of the pastime, provide inspirational ideas from JamJar's own commissions and offer an array of creative projects to try at home.' The English Garden