Week 7 Press flowers

This is a lovely simple activity and you can do so many different things with the flowers once you have pressed them.  You can make cards, photo frames, bookmarks, all sorts of things by placing the pressed flowers on card and covering them with clear sticky plastic or putting them in a frame.  I once found a four-leaf clover pressed inside an old book. The book is over 100 years old, so it was very lucky to survive!

The easiest way to start is to choose a flower that’s naturally quite flat like a buttercup or a daisy.  Pick it fresh but make sure it is dry.  Place the flower between two sheets of paper or tissue, then place this between the pages of a thick heavy book – make sure you ask before using a book in case the pages go slightly wavy.  Put more heavy books on top to press it flat.  Change the paper every 3 or 4 days.  After 2 to 3 weeks the flower should be completely dry and flat.  You might want to use tweezers to lift it out of the book as it will be very delicate.

Cath, our Education Officer particularly wanted to try pressing the blossom that has brought so much cheer these past weeks, “I tried pressing them flat with my finger, and trimming any thicker bits out, before putting them between paper. I thought it would be fun to press them in gardening books as they are very heavy and I should remember where I’ve put them!”  Don’t forget to share what you’ve done with your flowers with us!