Pressing Flowers is a Victorian Pass Time You Can Add to Your Summer Activities
(Photo Credit - Summer Mincks)
As a busy mother with four kiddos, I’m always looking for ways to keep my kids busy during spring and summer. Sure with a massive budget, we could do just about anything to keep our little monsters entertained, but obviously, that is not our case or the case of many families. This Spring and Summer we have been focusing on taking old school traditions and turning them into just as relevant activities for our children to do.
One of my favorite things to do with my children is something that has been passed down in our family for generations, something that I bet you’ve heard of but possibly haven’t done with your kids; Flower Pressing.
Flower pressing is a simple act that is truly as easy to define as the name itself. Pressing live flowers, or plant life with heavy objects, in order to safely dry and preserve the element of nature. It can be done with virtually any flower or leaf as long as you are still able to get the plant life as flat as possible.
(Our Ginger-Sass loved setting the scene with her freshly picked wild flowers. Photo Credit - Summer Mincks)
The art of Flower Pressing was a quintessential past time of the Victorian Era but there are some documents to suggest that it has been around since well before the renaissance. This makes much sense as the act of preserving natural elements is practically ingrained into our own human nature. Something about having a piece of the natural world for us to keep immortalized is comforting.
One of my favorite things about pressing flowers is that you can use the creations in other forms of art. I’ve used my flattened and preserved pieces in creating mixed media art, wall décor, hand made cards and more.
This summer I decided to spend a morning with my kids passing on the tradition and using the seasonal blooms as a means of preparation for homemade cards and gifts this winter. The kids had a blast creating their own unique pieces of pressed art and really enjoyed getting the opportunity to pick flowers and plants that they found beautiful. We ended up getting everything from purple bells, to lilacs, to poppies, and of course some dandelions (Don’t worry, we saved plenty for the bees).
( We used an old school mythological art text book that worked perfectly with both weight and thickness. Photo Credit - Summer Mincks)
Here’s a really basic tutorial about how we press flowers and how you can easily do that same activity with your family.
Supplies you’ll need:
Paper Towels Freshly picked flowers, leaves, etc. Scissors for snipping (optional) A heavy or thick book* Heavy object to weigh down the book
Instructions:
First gather your main pressing supplies together, i.e. book, paper towels, scissors. This simply makes it easier once your flowers and plants have been plucked, and with kiddos, anything that makes it easier is definitely worth doing.
Next is the fun part, picking your natural little gems. This can be little wildflowers, leaves, or even larger blooms like roses or sunflowers. Keep in mind the larger the item the thicker the book and the more weight you will need. Keep in mind that you can easily snip the roots off or you can leave them on and press them along with the plant for a really great "Petal to Root" aesthetic.
(Photo Credit - Summer Mincks)
Once your items have been picked, open your book towards the center and line with paper towels. The paper towels, not only aid in drying the flowers, but also protecting the book in case the vibrant colors of your flowers bleed during the pressing process. My grandmother learned this the hard way as a rose placed inside a family bible stained through several pages.
Now that your pages are lined you need to set your scene. Layout your flowers on the paper towels according to your design. If you’re looking for just a few tiny pieces then lay them out sporadically and with an about an inch space around each. However if you would like a larger piece then lay out your flowers according to the sequence of what you would like them to be displayed, one on top of the other. This will help to seal the pieces together as they dry. Once this is finished simply close the book.
(Photo Credit - Summer Mincks)
Once the book is closed weight it down, this isn’t always necessary for small blooms or leaves, but for larger pieces, you will need more weight. We usually stack many heavy books together in order to maintain an even weight distribution.
How long you let the pressing take place will differ greatly depending on how large of bloom and of course how much moisture is in the flower. Small wildflowers and daisies typically require less time as they have less moisture whereas flowers like roses and dahlias require longer to fully dry. Typically we leave our flowers for a week at minimum and up to four weeks if needs be.
(I loved how translucent the poppies became and their striking color contrast to the purple bells. Photo Credit - Summer Mincks)
After your flowers are completely dry you can gently remove them from the paper towel and place in a picture frame or seal them onto various objects using a high-quality glue and sealant like Mod Podge. For storage, we typically leave the flowers in the books until we are ready to use them. At this point, all that’s left are the limits of your imagination.
And there you have it folks, a super easy and downright free activity to keep the little's busy this summer. As always I will say this is how our family has always pressed flowers, but there really is no right or wrong way.
(Photo Credit - Summer Mincks)
Does your family create pressed plants? What sort of beautiful creations have you created? Share your work on social media and tag us! I’d love to see the gorgeous art that you and your family creates!
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