A Gardeners Forum Forums Members History Forum Life 2004 Pressed Flowers

I make sure I pick flowers that are dry, not a bit of dew on the petals. Water on the flowers can cause brown spots.

I do not have a fancy press just my old nursing books from college. Do not use a glossy paged book.

Use a book mark, scrap of paper to label what you have placed in the book. Make sure there is at least 1/16" of pages between each group of flowers.

I stack the book and place a brick on them.

Flat flowers are the easiets to press but you can take apart or cut in half flowers that are thick. Daffodils can be cut from the top of the blossom down through the stem. You end up with 2 complete profiles of the daffodil.

It varies on how long it takes to dry, by the type of flower and how much weight you put on them.

You will be able to feel when they are dry.

Shoot Rue I knew someone could come up with a way to recycle those old nursing books....

Wow this really sounds fun!

After the flowers are dry how do you adhere them to the paper and what kind of paper is required?

Do you cover them with anything to preserve?
Thanks so much for this write up!!!

Am I in trouble again Karen???
Another nurse????

Hey Rue,
Karen and I have a little joust going on about being nice to nurses, she keeps wanting to give me a shot to be nice to nurses, I keep telling her I'll take a shot, but I'd like mine in a shot glass with some nice cold Bailey's in it!!!!

I would love to do this someday, I make alot of
my own stationery and envelopes on my computer and I have always wanted to do something along the lines of drying flowers and making things with them....

I'd like to know too how you attach them to anything, or paper or what it is you do for them afterwards......

Do tell!!!!

Thanks!
Weezie

Some of my old nursing books are holding my son's computer up off the floor!

LOL!

I use small dots of elmer`s glue on any kind of paper, wood, cloth or metal. Pale flowers will show the dots of glue if you put them on darker surfaces.

You can use clear contact paper to cover the flowers on the paper, a thin coat of elmer`s glue mixed with a bit of water, hair spray (my favorite), put adhesive on tissue paper and put that over the flower (another favorite) or fine netting or toile sprayed with adhesive.

The metal and wood projects reguir a stronger coating of clear whatever depending how sturdy you want the piece. I have used the stuff you mix together right before you put it on and it has held up on a tray very well.

The most important thing to remember is that UV rays even from a light bulb will fade the flowers.

I don`t use any dyes or paints on mine, some people do. I like the more muted natural colors.

Thanks Rue

The offical answer is 6 weeks, but mine have dried in 2 weeks and less.

I learned a lot by trial and error and from books by Penny Black "Pressed flowers" and "The Book of Cards and Collages".

Rue I was shopping the other day and saw some little dried flowers in a picture frame....and they also used miniature rose leaves along with them ....another idea!!!

That light colored border around a pix (sorry there is a name for it but it escapes me) would be cute with those flowers!!!!

I thought that drying process would depend on how boring and dry the book was! J/K ....so approx. 6 wks give or take!

Funny Karen!!

Ha Ha Ha!
Weezie

hehehe! good one.

You can even gild the pressed leaves, fall leaves and ferns turn out very nice.

I have a friend that works at a printing shop. She has given me the used gilding stuff (don`t know what it is called) from printing certificates, anything with gold printing.

It is a plastic roll. One side is shiney the other is dull. You can use sizing, but spray adhesive is the easiest. You just put the dull side down and the amount of pressure you prub it with determines tha amount of gold left on the leaves.

lol! I need to start proofreading my posts.

prub=rub