When Spring flowers bloom, it is the perfect time to press flowers. Before you make a start, bear in mind these basic tips:
- Avoid picking wet or damp flowers and wait until the afternoon to allow morning dew to evaporate.
- Think about the size of the work that you want to create. If you are making an A5 card, you will only need a few cuttings and smaller flowers will work best. Conversely, if you want to create a larger work to be framed, you will need more flowers and might want to consider using larger blooms.
- Flowers with thinner petals work best (any moisture is removed quickly). Primroses, crocuses or narcissus are ideal. Roses also press well. Avoid more succulent flowers like orchids and African Violets.
- Pick some greenery for your design. As with flowers, opt for thinner leaves; ferns press very well.
- If you take the flower apart and press each petal individually, it will dry out quicker (accepting that this will not always be practical with flowers like daisies).
- Sandwich the picked flowers between several sheets of absorbent paper to help them dry out; tissue paper and kitchen towelling both work well.
- The aim of pressing is to flatten and dry out flowers, rather than squashing them. Place the sandwiched flowers inside a large book and then you should only need to place a couple of heavy hard backed books on top of this to apply the optimum pressure level.
- Store the pressing flowers in a dry warm place such as by a radiator or in the airing cupboard for at least two weeks (ideally up to five weeks will give the best results).