How to Create Sustainable Beauty: Flower Pressing
Flower pressing can be a fantastic hobby, as well as a learning experience for people of all ages. Consider all of the ways that you and your kids will enjoy learning how to create sustainable beauty with flower pressing. For example, it can be a good way to get the kids to learn more about flowers and the outside world. Also, the flowers can be used as keepsakes and remembrances of all of the adventures you and your family have when you go for hikes, camping, etc.
Of course, one of the other popular reasons to start learning how to press flowers is because of how they can be used for crafting. They could be used in school projects, artwork, greeting cards, and so much more. You can keep flowers looking beautiful and vibrant for years when they are pressed.
Getting Started with Flower Pressing
One of the most important things to keep in mind is that you need to start with the right flowers. What does this mean? You want to start with fresh flowers, and you want to be sure they don’t have any morning dew on them if you are getting them from outside. Please make sure they are as dry as possible, and that they are in good condition.
While you can press some types of thicker flowers, such as orchids, you will want to be careful about the ones that are a lot thicker, such as begonias. This is because they might not dry out properly, and they could end up becoming moldy. Here’s a quick tip for those thick flowers—cut them in half down the center, so you can more easily press them.
Additionally, you will want to use trim the stems to the size you prefer for whatever project you are doing. There is no right or wrong when it comes to how long you leave the stems since the flowers are going to dry and be pressed anyway. Just keep in mind that once you cut the stems, you can’t reverse the process. You would need a new flower.
Keep the Flowers Cold Until You Get Ready to Use Them
If you aren’t going to be using the flowers that you’ve prepped right away, you will want to keep them fresh until you get the chance. Fortunately, this is easy to do. Just put the flowers into a plastic, resealable bag and put them in the refrigerator. This should keep them fresh for between two and three days until you get ready to press them. Additionally, this technique is helpful if you are out traveling. Put them in a plastic bag and keep them in the cooler. Just don’t put them on ice, as the flowers could end up wet, which could cause them to go bad.
Parchment Paper Helps Dry the Flowers
You will get two pieces of parchment paper, and place the flowers between them on a flat, hard surface. The parchment paper is meant to help dry out the flowers and absorb any moisture in them. When you are placing the flowers on the parchment, you want to make sure that none of the petals or other elements overlap. What if you don’t have parchment paper handy? That’s no worry—you can use coffee filters, and you will find that they can provide about the same effect when it comes to drying out the flowers.
Next comes the actual pressing. You will need to put the sheets between the pages of a heavy book. The book needs to be large enough that it will cover the flowers completely. Keep in mind that anything that doesn’t get covered and pressed will not dry. Try to put the flowers as far toward the back of the book as possible, so that more of the book’s weight will press down on them.
Weight on the Pressed Flower is Critical
Then, stack several other heavy books on top of the book that contains the flowers. Make sure you stack these in a safe location because you don’t want to knock them over by mistake. You also want to ensure that you are using books that you won’t need to use when pressing.
You will want to leave them for about one to two weeks. Check on them to see if they have fully dried by that time. The flowers should be thinner and look similar to tissue paper. If they aren’t dried, just put them back and wait another week.
The book method discussed here is just one of the methods that could be used to dry the flowers. You could put together a wooden press or even iron them, for example. However, you will find that the book method works quite well. It’s fast and easy, and you will be happy with the results. Check out this ‘wiki-how’ article for visual examples and see how anyone can learn how to create sustainable beauty with flower pressing!
Kids Can Learn How to Create Sustainable Beauty with Our Flower Pressing Class
As you can see, pressing flowers isn’t too difficult, but most people, including kids, learn better when they get to take a class and see it in action. They can learn step-by-step the best ways to press flowers to ensure they keep their beauty. To help make learning this hobby nice and easy, we are offering a fantastic kids’ course at Stoney Creek Farm and would love to have the kids come out and learn to press flowers. It takes place on Saturday, June 25 from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
We’re holding our class in our large, party barn (across the creek), so even if there happens to be wind and/or rain that day, the kids will be comfortable and dry. Each child will be given their own flower press kit, so they will have everything they need to learn and get started. The cost is $20, but parents and grandparents are free. The parents and grandparents can hang out at the farm and check out what the kids will be learning!
This class will provide the kids with knowledge of how to enjoy a fun, new hobby that can last a lifetime. Your kids will love going outside and hunting new flowers to press.
