Making Your Own Flower Press

Pressed flowers can be used in a wide variety of great crafts. Making them is easy and doesn't take a lot of time. However, it can ruin books (if you press them in books), take up a lot of space (such as rigging up a newspaper station to press your flowers), or be costly (for buying a pre-made press. But, it doesn't have to be. Instead of doing any of these to press your flowers you can make your own press which is often more effective and definitely a better option (saving space and money).

What you will need. In order to make your own flower press you will need two pine boards that are about 1/4" thick. They will need to be cut the same size and shape so you will need tools to do that. It is also nice to have a router round the edges, but not necessary. You will need a drill as well. In addition to the wood and tools to make the press you will need four long bolts and four wing nuts that fit the bolts, heavy cardboard (such as that found in large cardboard boxes), light cardboard (such as those found in cereal boxes or on the back of a pad of paper), a fine quality paper such as resume paper, and finally a pair of scissors and or a razor blade knife (such as an exacto knife or box cutter).

Step by Step Instructions.
Start out by cutting your boards the same size. You will want to make sure that they are a good size, but if you make them too big then the flowers placed in the center will not dry out fast enough. This means that a good size is one that is smaller then 12 inches by 12 inches. You can use a smaller size and often this makes it easier to put paper and cardboard inside it for drying the flowers. For example if you make it 9 inches by 11.5 inches then you can simply use regular letter size paper and you can also use the back of a pad of paper for your light weight cardboard.

Drill one whole in each corner of your boards. You will want to make sure that they are perfectly lined up (or it will be hard to use). These will need to be big enough for your bolts, but not so big that your wig nuts won't hold your bolts in place.

You will want to follow a pattern for each layer of your flower press. To do this you will need one piece of heavy cardboard, one piece of lightweight cardboard, followed by a piece of paper. Then you will want a piece of paper, lightweight cardboard, followed by heavy cardboard. You will then repeat the same pattern for each layer. You can have up to five layers and still have a successful press.

You can cut your heavy cardboard from large boxes or from cardboard stock. You can cut your lightweight cardboard from display boards, poster board, cereal boxes, or the backs of pads of paper (legal pads are especially nice). You will want a very nice paper for the inside. The paper will need to be replaced every now and again and the cardboard should be replaced at the start of the season.

Using your press.
You will want to pick all sorts of flowers, leaves, grass, and petals. You can collect them all in a small baggie. Bring them home and get ready to put them in your flower press. You will want to take out all of the precut pieces of cardboard and paper. Layer one piece of heavy cardboard on top of the bottom board followed by one light piece of cardboard and one piece of paper. Then gently lay down your plant material on top of the paper. You will want to flatten any three dimensional flowers and make sure nothing is laying on top of anything else. Then top it with a piece of paper, a light weight piece of cardboard, and finally a heavy piece of cardboard. If you are doing any other layers repeat by starting with another piece of heavy cardboard. Once you are done with all of your layers, top it with your other board. Carefully line up the holes and place your bolts in place. Tighten your wing nuts as tight as you can.

Each day tighten your wing nuts as much as possible. As your plant material gets dryer and flatter it will become tighter in there. After one week check your plant matter. Some will be completely dry. Particularly tough pieces will require as much as a second week.

You will want to note that particularly waxy, thick, or water filled plants won't press well. You will want to avoid these because they will actually rot and cause your press paper to smell horrible. Instead stick with flowers such as forget-me-knots, pansies, and flower petals from roses or tulips. Don't try to press a flower as thick as a rose or tulip, instead take its petals.

Using your flowers.
You can use your flowers for making cards, decorating scrapbook pages, in recycled paper, and for other paper crafts. Additionally you can use some of them in soap making and other bath or body products. You can even make a press flower picture for a great look. You can then frame it and hang it up somewhere in your house or give it as gifts.

A flower press is easy to make and can save you money and time. You can then have some great flowers and other plant materials to make great crafts with. It doesn't have to be real fancy or real costly. With just a little bit of time, you can then have it all!