The Joy of Pressing Flowers

A good flower press can last you a lifetime, even become a treasured heirloom that all generations can enjoy, passed down from grandmother to mother and to sons and daughters. I still treasure the huge one my Grandfather (a talented carpenter) created for my Grandmother, who adored her garden and had a lifetime's enjoyment from pressing flowers. It is this ungainly (but very effective) tool that was the basis for my design for The Gathered Room presses. Large enough to preserve those beautiful arcing sweet pea stems, as well as tiny daisies.

Top Tips for Pressing Flowers

1. Use fresh flowers. They will retain their colour and shape better if they come straight from the garden to the press.
2. Pressing flowers is really a method of drying them, so, just like you would with hanging flowers to dry, make sure any excess moisture or raindrops have been blotted off as much as possible using kitchen paper.
3. Ensure every part of the flower is well within the paper leaves you are pressing them between. If any peeps out it will not be preserved well as the air gets to them. 
4. Make sure none of the flowers touch each other if you want to use them individually after pressing, otherwise they will become stuck together - of course this can be an art form in itself if you wish however!
5. Tighten the screws as much as possible - it is the pressure you create that makes a successful end result. Make sure the pressure is even all the way around your press. We've used 6 bolts to aid this better rather than the often used 4.
6. Keep your press in a warm, dry environment for around 2 weeks for the best results. Try not to be tempted to peek before the time is up! 

Ideas for Using Pressed Flowers

1. Frame your best stems, or create patterns with them. Transparent frames are perfect for this. 
2. Glue them onto good quality card and make gift cards or bookmarks.
3. Stick them in a nature journal and record the flowers in your garden - date them with when they were picked so you can look back at the seasons each year and notice the different flowering times.
4. Make multi-media collages or use them in scrapbooking.
5. Use them for decoupage on boxes or lampshades for example.

However you use your pressed flowers, I'd love to see them - just use the hashtag #thegatheredroom on Instagram and I'll share my favourites with my followers!



Buy your flower press here.