How to Build a Flower Press

Preserve the beauty of nature and flex your woodworking skills with this easy-to-build flower press—a wonderful rainy-day project or a thoughtful gift. Add pressed flowers and foliage to artwork, picture frames, Mod Podge® them to surfaces, or cover them in a glossy resin for an elegant way to enjoy your favorite plants for years to come.

Materials:

2 pieces of wood, equal in size (We recommend 10" x 5 ½"x 1/2")
4 carriage bolts
4 wing nuts
Parchment paper

Supplies:

Drill
Drill bit
C-clamps
Ruler
Sandpaper
Pencil

Note: Make sure your bolts, wing nuts, and drill bit are the same size.

Directions:

Cut wood down to your preferred size, or go to your local hardware store to have them cut the wood for you. We made ours approximately 10" x 5 ½", and 1/2" thick. Use sandpaper to smooth down any sharp edges.
Measure and cut two pieces of parchment paper, slightly smaller than the wood.
Stack the two pieces of wood and clamp them together using c-clamps to secure their position. You may also clamp the wood to a work surface to make drilling easier.
Use a pencil to mark where you wish to drill your holes. We placed ours 1/2" from each corner to ensure room for the carriage bolts.
Drill a hole through the stacked pieces of wood at the marked areas.
Insert the bolts into each corner of the bottom piece of wood, with the necks of the bolts pointing up. The head of the bolts should be on the side of the wood that will serve as the bottom piece.
Lay the two pieces of parchment paper in the center of the bolts, trimming to fit as needed.
Line up the holes on the top piece of wood to the bolts.
Place the wing nuts on the bolts and tighten them until everything feels secure.

You may decorate your flower press in any way that you would like. We used Mod Podge® to decorate ours with pressed flowers!

Flower Pressing Tips

To press your flower, lay the flower face down between a couple of pieces of parchment paper and tighten wing nuts. Option to layer many flowers between pieces of parchment paper, ensuring enough paper is there so the flowers won't bleed through.
Choose flat blooms, like violas or cosmos, for the most natural-looking pressed plants.
Leaves and stems also make beautiful pressed plants; be adventurous with your creations!
Press flowers when they are completely dry. Harvest in the morning after dew has evaporated.
Removing stamens from your flowers will help avoid stains.
Press as soon as possible, before flowers begin to wilt.
Allow one to two weeks for them to completely dry in press, and enjoy!

Some recommended flowers:

Written by Madeleine Pesso