Got lots of pressed flowers and your fingers are ready for creativity? Ever wondered if there are more ways to display pressed flowers other than on a piece of paper? The world is your oyster. There are more ways to use your pressings than you thought possible.
Here are some ways in which you can utilise your pressed flower stash. There are many options for using pressed flowers. Just think outside the box (or off the page) and you'll be amazed how amenable pressed flowers can be!
Adorn wooden furniture or anything wooden - tables, desks, chairs, cupboard fronts, door panels, jewellery chests, internal window shutters; tray base; or put them on a plain wooden photo/picture frame
Set your flowers in jewellery findings
Set them in resin – to make ornaments or jewellery
Use flowers and leaves in dressing table sets.
Decorate a book cover
Brighten up a terracotta pot with your flower creations
Put your designs on glass jars or bottles - either directly or pasted on to a piece of paper which is then sealed onto the glass
Place on papier maché items sealing them with mod podge
Decorate large candles (for decorative purposes only)
Paper - place cards; gift wrap and gift tags; stationery (sheets for writing or cards
Make a picture in a frame placing your flowers on either paper or natural fabrics
Place on plexiglass or in a glass botanical frame
Last but not least, put flower designs in a shoji screen
This list is by no means exhaustive. If you have got a pressed flower obsession, then I’m sure you can think of all sorts of other ways that you can use your leaves, stems, tendrils, seeds, flowers and even sliced fruit and vegetables.
Remember to let the glue dry that you have used to stick your flowers down with. Otherwise sealing your design when slightly ‘glue-wet’ may create a mouldy mess in time!
When placing pressed flowers on anything wooden you must remember to seal your creation. Two to three layers of water-based clear matt varnish over your pressed items will prevent any damage happening to them. It is essential that you let each coat of varnish dry before applying the next coat. Sealing with varnish ensures that your flowers will be oxygen-free and the colours will hopefully last a lot longer (just as long as your creations are kept away from sunlight, harsh heat and humid atmospheres).
There are so many variations for flower backgrounds. Natural handmade papers blend very well with pressed flowers and they can also be textured which adds another layer of interest for your designs.
The paper that I have used for this card has a linen-weave texture which acts as a good contrast for the skeleton leaves and pressed flowers. You can see that I have left the edges of the paper uncut.
©Scottish Pressed Flower Art
If you decide to use watercolour paint for a paint wash then using watercolour paper is a must. Handmade Japanese papers are exquisite and papers from Nepal or other Asian countries can sometimes act as a catalyst for a design.
Papers that are printed with delicate motifs can also work well with natural pressed material. The background paper I used for the picture below has nonsensical words running the width of it, but it is not obtrusive and allows the beauty of the plants to still be centre-stage.
©Scottish Pressed Flower Art
Here is a pair of beach huts with inserts for placing photos. I have used moss, pressed flowers, dried seaweed, shells, pebbles, tiny pieces of driftwood, sand and wool to create a seaside scene.
©Scottish Pressed Flower Art
So the sky is the limit as far as where you’d like to put your
pressed flowers. I hope this blog post has whetted your appetite.
Now, get creative!
One particular press that I use in the microwave is the Microfleur.
A great tool for the flower presser, you can buy one from
Microfleur's website*.
*If you purchase the Microfleur using this link,
I get a small percentage.
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