What is flower pressing and how do you do it?

Answer 1

This works best with single petal flowers like pansies as opposed to roses -

The easiest and most inexpensive way is to pick the flower - put between two sheets of waxed paper and then insert into a very big book. Add weights to the book if you feel you need to - wait a couple of weeks - propably not even that long - and remove the flower. It should be dry and pressed and still colorful.

Answer 2

You'll need 2 sheets of white newsprint:lay one inside an old phone book and place the flowers you want to press on the paper. Be careful to leave space between each flower and to arrange the flowers the way you want it to dry. Place the other sheet of newsprint on top of the flowers and VERY CAREFULLY close the phone book on the flowers, If you are doing multiple flowers be sure to leave 20-30 pages of the phone book between each layer of flowers. Stack heavy stuff on top of phone book and leave undisturbed for at least a week..longer if the airflow is bad where your flowerpress is located or if the humidity is high. Carefully lift flowers off paper after the week is up and frame them as desired.
Phonebooks work great for this just be sure to use a different area in the phone book for each batch of flowers and don't reuse the same paper.

Answer 3

Lyllyan is right. Using waxed paper is best. It will stop the moisture from ruining the book. I always place mine back in my bookcase to keep heavy pressure on the books with the flowers. For a flimsy flower, let it dry for 2 or 3 weeks. For thicker flowers, you may want to press it more slowly. Leave the book out with another book or two on it until it starts to flatten. After a week or two place it back in the bookcase for at least a month to finish flattening and drying it.

Answer 4

Easiest cheapest way is with wax paper with books like everyone has said. You can also buy kits like from Big Yellow Box (a division of Crayola), that allow you to do it quickly in your microwave. May even be able to get some supplies from Hobby Lobby or Michael's. Never tried it but my friend swears by it. I have always had good luck with the wax paper method though. My friend uses them on cards and has even decoupaged them onto plates and furniture (not sure if you have to add any other processes to preserve them when decoupaging). She makes the paper weights with them where you pour the clear stuff in a mold and it sets up. She adds them to her scrapbooks. There are thousands of crafts you can make with them.