DIY Pressed Flower Art

Here's an easy tutorial that shows you how to make beautiful pressed flower art with basic dollar store frames and watercolor paper. Gather or buy some today and start creating your own masterpiece.

Pressed flower art is something that you can easily create for next to nothing. These two beauties were created with flowers from my garden and pressed in an old phone book, (a great way to use that old dinosaur).

The frames were purchased at the dollar store and the paper and glue I already had at home. I bet most of you do too.

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How to Make Pressed Flower Art

I was inspired by the three pictures (above), which currently hang on the wall in front of my desk. The two gold framed prints are from my sister, and the black one in the middle is a gift from one of my closest friends.

Pressing Flowers

Start by pressing flowers from your garden or fresh flowers from the store in an old phone book. You can also place the plant material between absorbent paper such as newsprint, parchment paper, or wax paper. Then weigh it down with a couple of heavy books or bricks.

You can also easily make your own special flower press to use all year long.

Depending on the thickness and water content of the blooms, you can have pressed flowers ready to craft within a few weeks.

Good choices are flat flowers and stems such as daisies and pansies. Thicker flowers are hard to flatten and take longer to press.  Pretty foliage like ferns and herbs work well too.

In a pinch, you could try using a microwave to press flowers though the results may be less than ideal.

Even if you don't have any of your own pressed flowers, you can easily buy pressed flowers online.

Arranging the Flowers

Start by arranging your flowers and leaves in a pattern.

It's okay if you don't stick to the plan. It's just helpful to have something to refer to. As you can see, I veered a little from my original layouts. I like the pattern that looks somewhat like a bouquet of flowers, however, you can arrange them any way you like.

Tip: Take a snapshot of your arrangement with your phone so you can refer back to it while gluing.

Using a paintbrush and white glue, thinned with a little water paint the backs of the delicate plant material, and set it in place on your paper. The paper should be a heavier weight, like card stock,  or watercolor paper to handle the weight of the flowers.

Once the glue has dried, you are all set to place your pressed flower artwork under glass. Then hang it in all its glory.

A while back I created something similar in my Shadow Box Peonies post. This shows you that the same idea can be used to create dried flower art too. Dried flowers are usually thicker so you may need to find a frame that has some depth such as a keepsake frame or shadow box. 

Creating art with pressed flowers is such fun and it makes a great gift. Perhaps with flowers from a special occasion?