Pressing ferns and flowers is an ancient art style that is still
being extensively incorporated in various kinds of design. If you love working
with pressed flowers, I encourage you to press your own. Doing so will
certainly bring out your creativity and just like any other craft, pressing
flowers can be calming, stress-reducing and very fulfilling.
How to press
Pick mostly flat leaves, flowers or ferns with a low-moisture
content. Make sure to gather them at their prime and freshest to ensure best results.
There are quite a lot of fine techniques for pressing flowers but
basically the most common is to lay flat the foliage between two sheets of
paper then place between the pages of a heavy book may it be a phone directory
or any hard bound volume. Weigh the book down with blocks, rocks, bricks or
some heavy wooden boards. Wait a couple of weeks about two or three and voila,
You’ll be surprised to discover how you can accent almost anything using your
pressed pieces.
How to Decorate/ Design
using pressed flowers
There is so much you can accomplish with pressed leaves, ferns and
flowers. The pieces are inexpensive to create yet they can make wonderful
gifts.
1. Decorative stationary,
greeting cards, photos and scrapbooks
Nature-themed stationery can be decorated with pressed flowers,
ferns or leaves. There is actually no end to the variety of ways in which you
can use them. You can add a natural touch to greeting cards, photos and
scrapbooks. Ferns in particular can produce striking Christmas cards using the
whole fern as a solo Christmas tree or snip off the fronds to make a set of
trees decorated with glitters, shredded Styrofoam to serve as snow if you wish
to spray your ferns in white for a White Christmas. Attach them to a folded
handmade paper card or just mount them on felt or parchment.
2. Decorated Glass Jars
and Bottles
As much as possible, use only flat flowers and leaves such as rose
petals. You can achieve a much better result if the flowers will press
completely against the glass. Glass jars can make appealing containers for
spices, tea bags, craft materials such as beads and pebbles. You can also use
them to hold flowers for a nice centerpiece.
3. Decorated gourds or
squash
Decoupage gourds or squash using pressed ferns and flowers. The
gourds are arched so it is great to aim for a natural flowing look by choosing
elegantly curved tendrils or strands and leaves in your decoupage. You can
finish you pieces by embellishing them with other charms or bordering the rim
with woven rattan or dried pine needles.
4. Accented walls,
shelves, lampshades, candles, tables, windows etc
Almost any furnishings can be decorated with sprays of pressed
flowers. For instance, some wooden tables have glasses on top so aside from
putting family pictures beneath, you can accent them with pressed ferns and
flowers. Decorate a plain lampshade, bare wall and other furniture with leaves
and fronds for a natural look. You may wish to go further by framing the ferns
and hanging them on the wall.
5. Adorned jewelries, key
chains and other charms
Be creative with your design and don't be afraid to experiment.
Mount ferns and flowers on wood or glass earrings or key chains. Seal them off
then polish with coats of lacquer or varnish.
Check our website for other recycled items:
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