Using a professional flower press ensures flowers are pressed evenly and properly dehydrated. This is particularly important for maintaining the integrity of the petals and preventing discoloration or damage during the drying process.
Whether you're a hobbyist, an artist, or simply someone looking to capture the fleeting beauty of nature, we have our step-by-step guide here for best practices to beautifully preserve your botanical specimens.
Step 1: Selecting Your Flowers
Fresh flowers without morning dew are ideal. For the best results, choose flowers with naturally flat faces like pansies or violets. If you wish to press thicker flowers, such as roses, consider cutting them down the middle with scissors to press each side evenly.
It may also be beneficial to separate the petals from the flower heads and press each petal and head separately. While a little tedious, this method offers great results. After they're pressed, simply reconstruct the 2D flower.
Step 2: Pre-Press Hydration
It's beneficial to place your flowers in a clean vase with water and a bit of flower food, or even just a teaspoon of sugar, for a few hours. This step helps to hydrate the flowers, ensuring they retain their beauty when pressed.
Step 3: Setting Up Your Press
Your DIY Flower Press comes with the necessary layers of cardboard and absorbent paper. Ensure these are dry and clean before starting.
Step 4: Arranging the Flowers
Carefully arrange your flowers on the absorbent paper, leaving space between each one. For larger or layered flowers, consider pressing individual petals or sections. If you're pressing several flowers, you may simply layer the sheets of paper and cardboard for more space for your flowers.
Step 5: Pressing Your Flowers
Close the press gently and tighten the screws evenly. It's important not to overtighten to avoid damaging the flowers. The pressing process usually takes three to four weeks. Check after a few days at first to change the paper. The first few days is when the flowers will release most of their moisture. Check again after another week. After the four weeks, if the flowers aren't completely dry, leave them for a few more days.
Step 6: Removing the Flowers
Handle the dried flowers with care as they will be delicate. Using tweezers can be helpful in this step.
Step 7: Creativity with Pressed Flowers
Once pressed, these flowers can be used in various crafts, from scrapbooking to home decor. Get creative and have fun!
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