Pressed Flower Tips

If you have pressed some flowers successfully, and you are looking for something to do with them, here is a beginner project.

Pressed Flower Bookmarks

Choose a simple background, and cut to the size of a standard bookmark.  Lay your flowers out on the bookmark until you are satisfied with your design.  At this point, you have two choices:  you can either remove your design and try to recreate it as you glue the pieces onto the paper, or you can remove a few top items, and attempt to glue the bottom pieces by lifting portions and pushing glue under them.  Be aware that your finished design will never be identical to your beginning design—it’s just a fact of life for pressed flower artists!

There are several types of glue that you can use to attach your flowers: botanical glue, Perfect Paper Adhesive, standard white glue (like Elmer’s), or rubber cement.  There are also a variety of ways to apply glue, but the most common are brushes or toothpicks.  Use very small amounts of glue.  Some sturdier flowers can have the glue painted directly on them, and then be placed on the paper.  Other flowers are so fragile that the glue must be applied to the paper and then the flower placed on top of it.

When you are finished with your design, you can have your bookmark laminated to protect your flowers, or you can cover the flowers with an iron-on laminate.  Thermoweb and Drytac are two options for iron-on laminate, and can be purchased in craft shops or online.

All pressed flower artists have their favorite materials and their favorite techniques, and you will develop yours as you go along.  Look at our class offerings (free and for purchase) for more ideas on pressed flower projects.  Consider joining the World Wide Pressed Flower Guild in order to have access to member prices for classes, the Pressed Flower Database, and our unique monthly classes taught by artists from around the world.