Simple DIY Pressed Flower Art
We’re moving right along on the guest bedroom makeover saga, and it turns out, after all this time, the perfect wall decor was growing right in our backyard.
If you’ve been around these parts awhile, then you already know I have a “thing” for botanical prints… even though I couldn’t keep a real plant alive if my own life depended on it.
So hey! Let’s just kill ’em and stick ’em in frames. That’ll do it.
How to Make Pressed Flower Art
Some people make lemonade out of lemons. We’re making art out of dead plants. Logic.
This is such an easy way to create wall art for nearly free. If you have flowers already growing in your yard, you’re even more in luck. If you don’t have access to free flowers though, you can pick up a bundle at the grocery store or Trader Joe’s usually for less than $10.
TIP: Keep a lookout for picture frames at the thrift store. I score them all the time! The best part is you end up with an eclectic gallery wall that’s full of character when using thrifted frames.
(Some affiliate links are provided below. Full disclosure here.)
Supplies
- A variety of leaves and flowers (pick them on a sunny day after the morning dew has dissipated)
- Flower press (I bought this fancy little contraption, but if you already have parchment paper and a lot of large, heavy books, or an old phone book, save your money because that will do the trick just fine.)
- Textured paper
- Picture frames
Step 1 – Gather Flowers
Choose flowers with thin petals. Thicker, “juicier” flowers will take much longer to press.
Best Flowers for Pressing
- Anemonies
- Pansies
- Daisies
- Violas
- Cosmos
- Forget-Me-Nots
- Buttercups
- Poppies
- Sweet Peas
- Larkspur
- Lily of the Valley
- Hydrangea petals
- Bluebells
Greenery such as ferns, herbs, grasses, and flat leaves are great for pressing too.
Robert, Olivia, Regan, and I all took a little walk around the backyard together to pick a few different leaves and flowers for the job, which makes it even more special.
Look at this sweet face. She’s so proud!
Step 2 – Dry Out Flowers and Leaves
Make sure your leaves/flowers aren’t wet at all before pressing. Place each individual flower/leaf on a piece of blotting paper with about an inch between each and place another piece of blotting paper on top.
Step 3 – Place Flowers Between Pages
“Sandwich” the blotting paper with the flowers/leaves between cardboard and continue stacking them.
Step 4 – Place Heavy Books
Place the large, heavy books on top or between the two boards in the flower press. If you’re using a flower press, clamp the boards down as tightly as you can.
Step 5 – Wait
Small, thin flowers and leaves may only need a week to press. For really large flowers, it may take up to 3 weeks for them to fully press.
When working with a flower press, tighten the screws every few days as the petals lose more moisture. You can open the press to check every so often. But be patient so they can completely dry out in the press.
Step 6 – Create Arrangements
Carefully remove the pressed flowers/leaves and get creative in your layout arrangements on paper. Place the pressed flowers into a frame with a piece of textured paper behind it and press in place with the frame’s backing.
If you want your flowers to last even longer, use museum glass, especially when hanging them in direct sunlight.
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Easy peasy… flower squeezey. 😉
How long do pressed flowers last?
There are a lot of factors that can determine how long your pressed flowers can last in a picture frame. Some can last a few decades to even a hundred years!
The type of flowers you use, how you store them, and the quality of how well you pressed them will all affect how they last. Some colors may fade over time after 5-7 years.
How to Care for Pressed Flowers
Try to keep your pressed flowers away from direct sunlight, heat, and moisture. Conversation glass or museum glass can help them last even longer.
Where to Buy Pressed Flowers
If you like the look of pressed flowers but don’t want to deal with pressing them yourself, you can find flowers already pressed from several Etsy shops. Here are a couple of places where you can buy huge packs of pressed flowers for less than $10.
Pressed Flower Shops
It’s still a fun way to make these in fall and winter to have a fun craft when fresh flowers aren’t growing.
I picked up the frames from Walmart and the paper pieces were just textured scrapbook pages I grabbed at Michael’s for about 80 cents each. Check thrift stores or the dollar store too.
So now the guest room is going places with some art! What’s even better is all of the plants have a bit of a significance to South Carolina where we live – magnolia, crape myrtle, palmetto, and gardenia.
The frames are on the small side since I plan on putting a large leaner mirror right beside them, and a massive piece of art will hang on the opposite wall.
The other two are ginkgo and what I think is snapdragon? See? I know absolutely zilch about plants… which is probably why they suffer a sad, pathetic death with me as their mama.
DIY Pressed Fall Leaf Art
This is one of those projects that is so pretty with different colored fall leaves too, so I whipped up another set during an autumn #crafternoon .
By the way, you can find more DIY art ideas here, if you have a whole lot of blank walls that need love.
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More Floral Decorating Ideas
How to Dry Hydrangeas for Fall Decor
Preserved Flowers + How to Dry Leaves and Flowers for Decor
Simple DIY Flower Arrangement Using Faux Florals
