Pressed flowers Masterpost
Hello, this is a masterpost of how to press flowers correctly, taken from a 1984 book (more info at the end of the post) and it was all in portuguese, so I translate it all, but english is not my first language, if any sentence is messy, let me know and I’ll fix it. And this is a more “professional” way to do it, you don’t have to follow all the steps, but keep in mind that the result will be different if you don’t follow them.
The drying and pressing process gives the leaves extraordinary delicacy. Care, patience and imagination is the only requirement!
When harvesting the leaves and flowers to be pressed, try not to break its branches, as this would damage the irrediavelmente plant.
Most species of flowers and leaves can be subjected to drying and pressing process, but the results may not always be satisfactory.
White or very light flowers often have a brownish hue when dried.
Blue and violet petals fade quickly
The yellow flowers are the ones that keep the color the longest.
Daisy, roses, carnations and tulips are flowers that, after drying, retain their beautiful colors very well.
Another thing to watch out for is volume: very large flowers and leaves should have their various parts pressed separately.
Picking the flowers: always pick the flower that already bloom. Try to harvest them when the dew has already evaporated, ie at noon. This will facilitate the drying process. Press them immediately after picking them.
Preparing the Flowers: Now that you have harvested the flowers you will use, it is time to prepare them for the drying process. Remove the stem leaves from the flowers, each part should pressed individually. Remove any kind of dirt from the flower.
More delicate flowers like pansy, poppy, buttercup, daisy and primrose, for example, are easier to press, put them face-down on the press pad (Tutorial below)
Flowers like the daisy should have some of their thickness removed.
‘‘Image 2. a. How to cut it / b. Cup-shaped flower‘‘ CORTE = Cut here
Small flowers such as lily of the valley and forget-me-not can be pressed whole.
Cup-shaped stem flowers such as jasmine, tulip and hyacinth should be cut in half and each part will be pressed separately
Very large flowers, such as carnation rose and chrysanthemum, must be separated into petals before being pressed.
Pressing Process: First things first always press more flowers than necessary as damage to plant parts in the drying process is inevitable. Keep similar flowers in the same layer, do not mix flowers of different thicknesses. do not let them touch each other and leave a safe space for the plants to be stretched in the pressing process.
Arrange an even weight, any heavy object will do (Big and heavy books can be a weight for pressing flowers.) and the thicker the flower, the heavier it should be. After 2 days, remove the weight from your press pad, and very carefully remove the layers of damp newspaper sheets. Do not open the paper towel layer at all! Remove the wet newspapers and put very dry new ones, put them back where they were, with the weight on it again. This should be repeated at least 3 times, if you do not remove the newspaper sheets, the flowers will scoff!
To absorb moisture from the plants, you will need paper towels (can be replaced by WHITE napkins or off-set paper), a good deal of old newspapers and two wooden planks.
Press Pad: To absorb moisture from the plants, you will need paper towels (can be replaced by WHITE napkins or off-set paper), a good deal of old newspapers and two wooden planks.
First of all, dry the newspapers to be used, do not use moist newspaper sheets!!
How to do it: Make two layers with newspapers folded in half, and place on one of the wooden planks, also fold the sheet of paper in half and place it on the newspapers. The flowers will be placed in the middle of the paper towel (as shown below), and the other layer of newspaper will be placed on the paper towel (with the flowers in the middle), and the other wooden plank will be placed on top, like a sandwich…
‘’Image a4 and b. How to improvise a table tennis net press’’
The book suggests leaving it for 6 weeks!
Book: Artes Aplicadas (1984), Rio de Janeiro (RJ)
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