Here is a little pressed flower collage which is very easy to design when you have a few pressed flowers in stock.

There are many more pictures like this at my website, where you can find out for yourself how easy it is to press flowers.

It’s a very satisfying craft or hobby and I highly recommend it. Mainly because it keeps you out of doors and away from the computer.  And that’s a very valuable thing these days!

There are ways to make your pressed flowers and foliage look vibrantly alive.

You don’t need to put up with dull browns and greys either.  With a bit of know-how you can make your pressed flower pictures look as if they have just come from an artist’s palette.

And the colours will remain bright for years and years to come.

If this craft interests you, you will find some valuable tips and hints at how to press flowers

And by the way it is my very favourite hobby! If you would like some help to get started I will be happy to oblige! Just put your  questions into the comment section below and I’ll get back to you.

One of my favourite crafts is pressing flowers. If you haven’t tried it yet you don’t know what you’re missing!

I use pressed flowers to make greeting cards and pictures and they always attract attention. But most of all, I enjoy making them.

Greeting cards made with pressed flowers are completely different from the ordinary printed variety. And you don’t have to be particularly artistic – the flowers do everything for you!

Here are 5 of my flower pressing tips to get you started:

1.     An important tip when you start to press flowers is to make sure that you only use fresh flowers. Flowers that are not at their best tend to lose their colour very quickly.

2.     See to it that the flowers you press are always dry. Dry flowers press the best because they have little moisture to spoil them. Remember that any damp flowers will simply collect mould and even spoil any other pressed flowers that are next to them.

3.     Try to secure a regular source of flowers for your pressing. For example you will need to be able to rely on your own garden or a market or a florist for a suitable supply of flowers.

4.     Do not try to buy expensive flowers for pressing.  In general, the best flowers for pressing are the least expensive ones.  In fact, orchids, roses and exotic flowers do not press well at all. You will soon find that you will rely mainly on inexpensive, very ordinary and easily obtainable flowers.

5.     You also should not be tempted to invest in expensive equipment. A flower press can easily be made using readily available material that you have in your home. You can easily make a flower press with bricks and hardboard. There really is no need to complicate matters by purchasing ready made flower pressing kits.

Follow these tips and dive right in. Remember that the most important step of all is to get started. Begin with just a few flowers and you will soon start to experiment and enjoy this lovely creative craft.

If you would like to find out more about pressing flowers try Flower Pressing Secrets

Nothing can compare with the joy of working with real flowers. Not only because of their beauty but because they hold a special meaning for us.

I think that part of this meaning lies in a flower’s fragility and fleeting existence. We know that it will only last for a short while.

A flower is but a brief moment in time.

When you press a flower you capture that moment in time and preserve it in a picture where it will always be able to jump-start a memory.

It can be a flower from a wedding bouquet, a leaf from a memorable holiday or a gift from a loved one.

Pressing flowers isn’t just about sticking flowers to cardboard. It’s so much more than that. Pressing flowers connects us with nature.

It’s a way to appreciate the joyful little things that money can’t buy, like a new bud, a curved tendril or a delicate petal.

It makes us more aware of the beauty in nature and gives us a way of looking at the world with appreciative eyes.

How to press flowers

Here is a simple collage of pressed flowers that I made for one of my greeting cards. As you can see it’s very colourful. No touching up – all the colours are natural.

The only difference is that the actual picture is larger than the one I have reproduced here.

Flower pressing is a wonderfully creative craft. And it’s such fun.  You don’t even have to be artistic.  The flowers do it all for you!

If you would like to find out how to press flowers like this – you can. Because I have written up a detailed manual with all my flower pressing secrets.

“Flower Pressing Secrets” is a detailed and illustrated course that will help you to master the art of flower pressing – perfectly!

Not only will I show you how to press flowers step by step – you will also find out how to make lovely greeting cards, pictures and more – all with that polished, professional look.

I have put everything I know about flower pressing into this course. I have held nothing back. I show you exactly which flowers to use and how to press them; how to preserve the colours; how to create easy designs that you will love – and so much more.

This course contains every bit of information that I collected personally over years of flower pressing.  And I have many innovative and original methods that are inexpensive and easy to use.

I know they work because these are the identical methods that I have used!

You’ll find this flower pressing course practical and easy to follow. It’s perfect for the home user because the materials you’ll use are inexpensive and easily available.

You won’t need expensive flower presses or kits either. Simply follow my methods that I have tried and tested personally- and you’ll get excellent results.

” Flower Pressing Secrets” is a complete course that covers everything from the picking and pressing of flowers right up to marketing your cards and pictures.

It’s packed with real helpful information, clear instructions, many good tips and colourful pictures of real pressed flowers and designs. You’ll be thrilled at how quickly you can start producing your own designs and pictures.

If you’re on the lookout for an inspiring and creative craft that you can really enjoy you should think about pressing flowers.

For one thing, flower pressing is a wonderful boost to creativity – which is a gift in itself.  But it’s also a great stress reducer and that is certainly one of its most appealing qualities. It takes your mind off everything because it becomes quite addictive and all you need to do is concentrate on your lovely flowers and designs.

You’ll be pleased to know that you can learn to press flowers rather quickly. And once you get started you’ll be amazed at the variety of articles that you can make and decorate with your lovely collection of pressed flowers.

How to use pressed flowers

Pressed flowers are ideal for making colourful and original greeting cards.  You can also use them to make pictures for framing.  I have used smaller pressed flower pictures in sets of three to decorate a little girl’s bedroom.

You can use your pressed flowers to decorate boring looking telephone directories.  My own telephone directory  is quite a conversation piece!

Candles, photo albums and lampshades look great with applications of pressed flowers artistically placed in one corner.  There is no end to the various ways you can use your collection of flowers. You are truly limited only by your imagination.

A really big plus is that the tools you need for pressing flowers are simple and easy to obtain. You’ll probably find that you have most of the requirements for flower pressing in your home already.

If you liked this post you will also find the following articles interesting:

A Few Pressed Flowers – Pretty and easy to make

How to Make your own Greeting Cards

A good hobby gives us something to escape to in the midst of tension and turmoil. It isn’t possible to over-estimate the importance of a satisfying hobby. It can even sow the seeds of a future career.

But mostly, a great hobby is something that we enjoy doing. It gives us something to look forward to and gives us happiness and peace of mind.

These cardmaking tips will help you make your own greeting cards with that professional look.

The problem with most handmade cards is that they tend to look just that – homemade. The idea is to have them look artistic but at the same time, also professional. It can be a difficult balance but it’s easy once you know how.

Artists are fortunate in that they can decorate their cards with lovely hand painted designs and pictures. But if you are not an artist, one of the best ways to add a genuinely artistic element to your cards is to use pressed flowers. In a way, it’s almost like cheating because the flowers do all the work for you!

Here are some tips to help you with your card making:

• Always use good quality card that is firm yet pliable. It’s possible to buy sheets of cardboard in all colours but I prefer to use white or cream for my cards because they show off the delicacy of the pressed flowers best.  Coloured cardboard competes with the flowers and you really don’t want to overwhelm them.

• Some people like to use recycled or even homemade cardboard for their handmade cards but this is optional. You can start out with any firm cardboard and then move on to the more specialized varieties.

• Make sure that you purchase envelopes of the correct size and that they match and complement your cards.  Don’t be tempted to use envelopes that are too big or too much of a tight squeeze.  Rather adjust your cards to the size of the envelopes that you purchase.  You’ll find it much easier.

• One of the first signs of a badly made card is an uneven fold. A badly folded card shouts “amateur” before you even open it. So it’s important to score your cards carefully.

• Here’s how to score your cards properly. Position your ruler along the centre of your card and hold it down firmly with your left hand.  Then with your right hand, work your way neatly and swiftly down the card following the line of the ruler with the back end of a blunt knife or scissors. I sometimes use a steel knitting needle.

• Try to make a smooth line and be careful not to catch the threads of the paper.  Once the indented line has been drawn, you will be able to make a perfectly clean fold in your card like a professional!

• With cardmaking, the real fun starts when you start to decorate your cards.  As you may have gathered, flower pressing is my own particular craft and I have a lot of ideas to share.  I’ll discuss them in future articles.

• Cards made with pressed flowers have a very long shelf life. People usually keep them and often frame them too. Some of these cards are even used as promotional gifts by commercial companies so there is good moneymaking potential here too.

A real benefit of using pressed flowers is that your cards will always look original and natural. Making your own greeting cards is a fun thing to do and at the end of the day, it can even bring in a tidy profit from the comfort of your own home.