“Winter is coming,” as the widely-watched Television show popularized, summer’s end tail has just left. I was sitting in my favorite chair listening to the strong pour of the rain hitting our roof and windows. Nothing can be more serene than sipping a cup of hot cocoa topped with marshmallow while reading my latest book conquest. This is until I saw the flowers me and my mom collected from the summer. It looks scared of the gloomy weather.
I thought of ways on how to preserve the beautiful blooms and I remembered my art project in high school– pressing flowers.
If you feel sad for the eminent death of these blossoms, we can all stop mourning and ‘immortalize’ them with this easy do-it-yourself pressed flower project.
What we need:
Fresh flowers of your choice
Flower scissors or ordinary scissors strong enough to cut the blooms
Presser (You may use a real presser or a book)
Parchment papers
What to do:
1 If you are using cut flowers, choose the freshest ones.
2 You can use any blooms you want. But, remember that flowers that are naturally flat are easier to press. Do not let this hinder you though from using other chunky blossoms. If you prefer these, cut it in half (lengthwise) using the scissors.
3 Completely dry the flowers with a smooth tissue or the parchment paper to avoid wilting.
4 Once the flowers are dried out, you are now ready to press them.
When using a book as a presser, fold the parchment paper in equal parts. Place the cut and dried blossoms facing down on the paper. Only use one-half of the paper to avoid overlapping the flowers.
Some crafters want to group similar blooms together. For first timers, you can also arrange them in one paper.
5 Book as a presser
- Place the folded parchment paper (from step 4) inside the middle of the book.
- You can place several folded papers in one book. But, do not place the papers on the same page. You should separate them with 5 to 10 pages.
- You should carefully close the book and place more weight on it. You can stack more books on top of the one you are using as a presser.
- Leave the flowers pressed for 5 to 10 days or longer for thick blooms.
- Make sure the flowers have the papery texture before you can take it out.
Wasn’t it a nice and easy project to keep you company this winter? You can even start a new craft project using the pressed blooms.