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Dried & Pressed Flowers

How long to press flowers?

18 years ago

Hi, I am a Girl Scout leader and day camp director, I would love to have a pressed flower activity at camp but from what I am reading it takes at least 10 days for the flowers to dry unless they are microwaved. Is there any flower that dries faster? or can a combination of microwave and press work? Any ideas appreciated ! Thanks Stitch

Comments (4)

stitch
Original Author
18 years ago
I guess I should let you know that we would only have about 3 days to dry the flowers
Josh
18 years ago
Stitch, I guess this will be a project for later this spring, although Pansies can be bought cheaply now and dry beautifully. I was thinking you could perhaps dry some flowers ahead of time to show the girls the finished product, then let them collect their own and start the drying/pressing process. Or are you planning a project with the girls making bookmarks, greeting cards, etc.? If so, of course you'll want the girls to have their own dried flowers to use.

Trouble is, I can't think of a flower which will thoroughly dry in just 3 days by pressing, and haven't used the microwave enough myself to be able to advise. Hope others more experienced will give you better advice.

Not much help...but I think it's great that you want to introduce this fun craft to young girls...josh
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Hi matriarchy, I have been pressing flowers for a while now and can help you a bit. Using a phone book certainly works with a number of flowers and leaves. If using paper towels, make sure to only use Viva brand as they are the only ones without an embossed design on them (that could show up on thin petals. I usually use computer paper to dry petals like hydrangeas, pansies, leaves, etc. Rosebuds should be sliced in half first as they are too bulky whole, and you get 2 buds for the price of one! With full petaled roses, I take the petals off and press each one individually, then reassemble some to look the the original. The point is that the flowers must be pressed under weights until completely dry. Never press a damp or wet flower or leaf. Know that some flowers will change color during pressing. The fresher the petals, the better. Some people use microwave presses, solar presses,or air presses, but all presses require wiights of some kind to flatten out the piece. I have pressed many fall leaves, and most are just as bright several years later. Storage- you can store most dried petals in the phone books themselves, in baggies, between sheets of computer paper. At Michael's or AC Moore, you can buy cans of silica which can be reactivated as needed. Put some in the bottom of a bin, lay on the layers of computer paper with flowers, then put on a tight sealing lid. Moisture and light cause deterioration. I started making cards with pressed flowers, and still do, but also, I now use the petals and leaves as paint, and do many scenes. I will try to upload some later. There are several processes to seal pictures to keep out moisture and sun, but that's too complicated to explain now! What kind of projects are you interested in doing? jpressed
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Never pressed a flower outside of a Texas BlueBonnet. How do you press a long stem red rose? Do you need to do it immediately, should it be out of water for any length of time first? How can you do it and preserve the color?
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Comments (2)
Hi! I have a number of flower pressing tutorials on my blog that might help you, including what flowers tend to press well with the microwave flower press that I use, called the Microfleur. I tend to primarily use the Microfleur because it's fast, and it preserves the brilliant colors of the flowers better than traditional methods. Also, there is a pressed flower group at yahoo you might consider joining - they have some good info in their archives for beginning flower pressers. As far as frames, I started out by purchasing frames on Ebay, however now I purchase my frames from americanframe.com. Hope this helps! Happy Pressing! Elizabeth Here is a link that might be useful: Elizabeth's Flowers Pressed Flower Tutorials
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Comments (2)
Hi, I'm attaching link which is of cards but same principal would apply to a framed picture. Oops, I just realized perhaps you might want to take into consideration the wall color or wallpaper, in addition to the color of the flowers. Anyway I think most any color background could be used. I've used black or dark brown with white flowers or grass plumes...very stark and dramatic. You might want to pick up an inexpensive children's pack of colored paper to experiment. I have a pack which must be 25 years old which is fading somewhat but gives an "antique patina"...or so I tell myself... Just have fun...I know my own creations are for only a few months before I'll want to try something else. I don't use mats but they do give a more professional finished look. Check out your library for Penny Black's book ...she used a deep red background with red, magenta, and rose colored blooms...not for everyone but it was very striking. josh Here is a link that might be useful: Riverhaven
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Cloco_bellsouth_net
12 years ago
For best results you can use a microwave flower press that has been designed specifically for the purpose or you can put a book with flowers and paper in the microwave.
When pressing in the microwave, be careful not to over do it. Start out with short bursts at a medium setting, perhaps 30-60 seconds, then experiment with the timing. Let the plant material cool between zaps. I open the press to let the steam escape while cooling, then repeat until almost dry. To save time, consider working with 2 presses, just zap one while the other cools and alternate.
While still in the paper, place your flowers in a book or flower press to finish pressing. This normally takes anywhere from a few hours to a day depending on the particular flower.

So it depends
RickyBobbitt
11 years ago
Preparing your favorite flowers, for pressing is not hard to leave pressed flowers in diaries and journals etc.

This post was edited by RickyBobbitt on Fri, Jan 3, 14 at 6:14

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