Pressed Flower Crafts

Pressed flowers can be beautiful for crafts and home decor. Pressing the flowers and drying them is very easy to do. Choose flowers that are flat, as well as leaves, or even pretty weeds. To press and dry the flowers, I simply use a book, with a heavy brick on top. I lay tissue paper in the book, and set the flowers, flattening them out as much as possible, in between the tissue paper. I usually leave them in the book to flatten and dry for at least a month. After you have gathered your flowers and pressed them, you can start using them to decorate! The following paragraphs will give you instructions and ideas for using your pressed flowers.

This first project is a window. You can find an old vintage window at a flea market, or antique store. Make sure you clean the glass panes really well before placing your pressed flowers. To place the pressed flowers, you can use tweezers to help place them. Placing one flower at a time, use white craft glue and apply to the back of the dried flowers. Gently pat the flowers where you want them to be on the glass. Use the tweezers to do this, not your fingers. If you use your fingers, they will get sticky, and pull the pressed flowers away from the glass. If you do get a petal that sticks up, you can brush a little glue across the top, it will dry clear. When you are finished placing your flowers, set the newly decorated window in front of one of your existing windows, or hang it in front using hooks.

This next project is candles. Choose white or cream colored pillar candles for this project. Ferns, or other leaves work well for this project, but flowers are just as wonderful! Just apply glue to the dried flowers, and press onto the candles. You can brush glue over the edges if the dried flowers start to curl. You can keep these candles going for a lifetime, if you let some of the candle burn down, and then put a tea lite in the hole. Then you can just replace the tea lite when needed, and have the candles for years to come!

This next project is pretty easy. To make some delightful, and inexpensive art, paint four wooden craft store frames. Choose a pale paint to compliment the flowers and your style. Then cut pieces of decorative paper to a size that fits into the frame opening. Dot your craft glue onto the backs of your flowers, and place them onto your decorative paper with tweezers. Then just cut out cardboard to fit a frame opening, and attach the paper backed flower to the cardboard, place in the opening, and secure with small nails!

This last project is a table. Choose a small table in a light color, or you can paint one a light color for this project. Lightly trace a plate, or other circular template
on the table top. You will use the pencil line as a guide for where to place your flowers. Lay your flowers, being sure to overlap the edges slightly, over the circle. Just apply the flowers with the craft glue, and then top the table with a piece of glass!

There are an array of projects that you can make with pressed flowers. These are just some examples of the beautiful home decor you can create. A way to bring the garden inside, for year round enjoyment!