Pressed flowers are used by artists to create beautiful designs and by scientists to record specimens! As a #DIY activity, make an at-home flower press! Shout out to our Girl Scout sisters at Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona for these fun instructions!
Materials Needed:
- Several heavy books
- Cardboard
- Scissors
- Flowers
- Leaves
- White paper
- Rubber bands
Directions:
- Select a thin hardcover book to be your base. With your cardboard, cut several pieces to match the size of the hardcover book. Place one sheet of cardboard on your book, and one piece of white paper on top of that.
- Place your flowers on the white paper, ensuring they are spread out. Place another sheet of white paper on top, and another sheet of cardboard.
- Continue layering with the sequence of cardboard, paper, flowers/leaves, paper, cardboard. Once you have finished layering, place another thinner hardback book on top.
- Use rubber bands to bind the hardback books together tightly. Place extra books on top of the stack to compress further.
- Allow flowers to dry in an indoor dry space for at least 48-72 hours; larger flowers will take even longer.
- When your pressed flowers are dry, make them into a project, such as a card, paste them onto a canvas, or create a wall hanging.
Completed this activity? Send us a photo or post it on social media and tag us using #GSACPC.
