Let’s Make A Flower Press!

Looking back now, it makes complete sense that I chose this medium to work with. Flowers have always drawn me in, and from a very young age I remember picking flowers from my grandmother’s garden and pressing them between the pages of a book. I distinctly recall the joy I felt when I opened a book to find a perfectly pressed red hibiscus that I had carefully placed there days before. It wasn’t until after I started making art pieces from preserved flowers that I discovered long ago my grandmother also preserved flowers and framed them. Learning that made me feel like it had been passed down through generations and maybe flowers chose me to work with, instead of the other way around.

I have always felt called to create, and when I moved out to Hawaii I was creating all kinds of art. I’ve always loved scavenging thrift stores as well, and it wasn’t long before I found a flower press in one of my go-to thrift stores. The press still had flowers in it from the last owner! A sweet woman named Sylvia who I could tell just shared a similar passion as me. She had labeled each flower in her dainty handwriting. Upon opening the press and discovering her hard work, my inner child awoke and recalled that joyous feeling. I used Sylvia’s press to make quite a few of my earlier pieces, but once I transitioned into larger scale art pieces I needed to figure out how to make my own large press. So let me tell you exactly what you need and how to make your own!

You can always use a book to press small flowers or plants, as long as the pages stay tightly shut for 2 weeks. I recommend stacking books on top of the book you are using. Giving flowers has always been a token of love and appreciation, and I like to hide pressed plants and flowers between the pages of a loved one’s favorite book for them to find later on. If you’d like to get a little more serious and DIY a bigger press, I’ll share my process with you below.

Materials:

2 Pieces of wood of equal size (I suggest 9in x 12in to start) ¾-1in thickness
4 bolts 5/16 size and a length of 6in
4 washers (make sure they fit around the 5/16 bolt)
4 wing nuts 5/16 size
4 pieces of cardboard cut to size of wood
Strathmore newsprint paper 9in x 12in
Saw
Drill with 5/16 drill bit
Sandpaper

Steps:

Cut wood to size, ask for assistance at the home improvement store if you do not have a saw at home.
Cut cardboard to size and cut off all four corners to leave room for bolts.
Cut corners off all four sides off 9 pieces of newsprint paper, use cardboard as a guide for paper to make sure they are all the same size.
With a pen mark about an inch from each corner of the wood pieces as a guideline to drill the holes.
Stack the two pieces of wood together and place them atop a piece of scrap wood. Carefully drill through both pieces of wood, ensuring a clean, straight hole all the way through. Pro-tip* with a Sharpie mark one edge of the wood pieces with a line to help you match up the pieces each time you use your new flower press.
Use the sandpaper to smooth any rough edges of the drilled areas.
Assemble flower press in this order:

Bolts
First wood piece
Cardboard
Three pieces of newsprint
Cardboard
Three pieces of newsprint
Cardboard
Three pieces of newsprint
Cardboard
Second wood piece
Washers
Wingnuts

Now it’s time to go out foraging!

Harvesting and Foraging Etiquette

Start in your backyard, some place you know well or from your herb garden- Stay away from roadsides that use weed spray and heavy with pollution.
As you enter a space, ask permission and keep a positive mindset.
Be respectful of the space and the plants, make it seem as if you were never there.
Harvest like you are pruning. What does this mean? If you don’t plan to use the entire plant harvest in a way that encourages growth, cutting to the nodule allows the plant to continue to grow. If you are harvesting single stock flowers-once the bloom is plucked off, cut back the stock so the plant is not sending its energy to a flowerless stem.
Leave enough for the bees! Do not over harvest one specific location, leave a few blooms and leaves here and there so you can return to an area still alive with your favorites.
Never take more than you need, and bring your press along with you! Find a quiet space in the woods to sit down and press your flora and thank the space when your press is full.

Always to try and press the plants as soon as possible to prevent wilting and browning*
Forage on a dry day-any rain or dew can affect the preservation or color of the plants*

A great foraging and plant ritual resource- The Witch’s Herbal Apothecary- Rituals & Recipes for a year of Earth Magick and Sacred Medicine Making By Marysia Miernowska