We have finally reached the end of this 3-part series on drying flowers. If you’ve made it this far, you probably already know that small, homemade, DIY flower presses can be purchased at places like craft stores, well-stocked gift shops, and even some of the big box stores. Stores have been known to carry some from time to time. I’ve seen the batch…mostly made in some distant third world country, then shipped here to sell for way more than it should.

A flower press is really a useful gadget for the craftsman. Not only is it fun to dry and iron on your own… it can also be profitable. Our daughter, for example, earned a good sum of money in her spare time after school making perfectly lovely pressed flower bookmarks that were accepted and marketed at a very nice craft store. Imagine making your own delightfully cute, laminated, personalized bookmarks to give to friends and family. Leading glass artisans also employ pressed flowers to good effect in their often jewel-like creations.

Literally anyone who has the most basic hand tools, or who has a friend or neighbor with a handsaw and light drill. The one detailed throughout this article cost a total of 88 cents (for the four bolts with wing nuts and washers), so you see, this is not an expensive project! A link to process images appears at the end of this article.

First, locate some scrap pieces of quarter-inch plywood, Masonite, or paneling. You will need three pieces. The color, type of wood, or finish doesn’t really matter. Old clipboards that are no longer in use would be a perfect source. Most basements, attics, garages, or barns have stashes of wood scraps too nice to throw away. Rummage.

Your finished product can be virtually any reasonable size; this one will be 5-1/2″ by 7″ when finished, but that could vary depending on your needs. Don’t be fussy about precise measurements, as long as all three pieces are the same size and shape. Most of the flowers you’ll press will be quite small, so there’s no point in making a giant-sized one.

Cut them (or have them cut them) to whatever you think is an appropriate size, then carefully, thoroughly sand with medium then fine grit sandpaper to remove all rough edges. The splinters can be an awkward reminder if you skip this step. Smooth edges and surfaces will be much better for painting or decorating later. Now stack all three pieces together and place 4 or 5 rubber bands around them to hold them in place. Using a hand or power drill, drill a 1/4-inch hole about 1/2 inch from each corner. Hold the drill as close to perpendicular as possible and drill all three pieces at the same time, making sure nothing “slips” in the process so all the holes line up. I like to file or sand a notch along one edge of all three boards at this point to make it easier to line up the holes when it comes time to press on some flowers.

Once the holes are made, go back with your sandpaper and smooth the rough edges of each hole to remove splinters and “hanging chads” (sorry, just had to poke that in!). So far the fun part.

Somewhere in that basement, garage, or barn there must be some cardboard boxes just waiting for the need to arise. If not, try your local supermarket, hardware or appliance store; they’ll be happy to let you rummage through their recyclables. Use one of the pieces of wood to measure and mark about a dozen equal-sized pieces of cardboard, using either a pair of sturdy scissors, a garden stick, and a craft knife (being careful not to cut yourself a of the knee). or thumb), or a paper cutter, cut them out. Cleanliness counts…and be careful not to cut into the rug or dining room table.

Do the same with about 25-30 sheets of newspaper of the same size. “Newsprint” is what the daily newspaper is printed on. Most art or craft supply stores carry blank newsprint boards that artists sometimes use as drawing pads. You can check with your local daily or weekly newspaper printer…very often they will have what they call tail ends – remnants of paper rolls that were once huge and are now too short to put back on the press. The pound shouldn’t cost more than a dollar or so, and a pound will cost a long way. They might even give you a handful. Most newspaper pressmen will make a few blank, folded copies before they start applying the ink, just to make sure everything lines up. All those blank newspapers go into a really big recycling bin. There is no harm in asking!

I prefer newspaper because fragile dried flowers are unlikely to stick to it because the modern type has a hard surface. Copier paper, on the other hand, is more porous, rough, and delicate petals can hang on the texture.

Now comes an important step. Remember the holes you drilled in the corners for the bolts? The corners of both the cardboard and newsprint should be trimmed to accommodate the hardware. Of course, it should go without saying, but here it comes anyway: be very careful with those scissors! Yes, surgeons can sew the fingertips back together, but the process leaves a big scar; more than one knows this from personal experience.

All that’s left is to take a trip to your local hardware store and buy four 4-inch long 1/8″ bolts (a little smaller or a little larger, it doesn’t matter, as long as they’re long enough), 4 nuts (you can finger-tighten them instead of having to use a wrench or pliers) and 8 appropriately sized washers.

Now what? Very easy! The ideal flower for pressing is one that has very few lumps. You wouldn’t have much luck with, say, a rose, a daffodil, a begonia, or a bunch of geranium flowers. On the other hand, among the best are pansies and violas. Violets, individual geranium florets, and hydrangeas seem made to be pressed. There are many others equally apt for the technique…and don’t forget small bits of grass seed heads, small ferns, and colorful or interestingly shaped leaves. Let your imagination fly.

That is how:

* Slide a washer onto each of the four bolts and slide them through the four holes in a piece of wood. Place it on a table with the threaded ends of the bolts pointing toward the ceiling.

* Place a sheet of cardboard cutout, followed by a sheet of newspaper on that piece of wood… between the studs.

* Now position your flowers so they are not touching each other… watch out for bent petals or anything else that looks unnatural.

* Gently lay a sheet of newspaper on top of them, followed by another piece of cardboard. Lay down another sheet of newsprint…ready for your next layer of flowers.

* Continue building: cardboard, newsprint, flowers, newsprint, cardboard, etc., until you are halfway through.

* Now gently slide a second piece of wood down over the studs as a stiff center brace and continue building layer upon layer until all 12 cardboard pieces have been used.

* Finally, slide the last piece of wood over the bolts, put a washer on each and turn the wing nuts until snug. At this point, it might help to press down on the center of the stack with the palm of your hand as you continue to tighten the nuts.

The purpose here is to gently flatten the flowers… but not to flatten all the corrugations in the cardboard. Done? Ok, it’s time to be patient and dream about what you are going to do with your pressed flowers. Place your press with its valuable cargo in a dry place at room temperature with some air circulation. Keep him away from excessive heat and high humidity…and don’t take your shirt off.

Because the cardboard has corrugations, air is allowed to move through each of these little “tunnels,” evaporating the moisture that is drawn from the flowers by the dry spacer materials. And because the process is quite fast, almost all of the original color of the flower is preserved.

How long? For very small or light flowers with low humidity, 2 or 3 days are usually sufficient. The thicker petals may take a little longer. Gently loosen the four wing nuts, remove the first layer of wood and very carefully lift the newspaper from the corner and “peek” at the flowers. If they’re dry, you’ll know right away: they’ll lift easily, and if you’re not careful, they can fly off the table in the slightest breeze. If they seem to “stick” to the paper, carefully put everything back together and wait a couple more days.

So what do you do now? We started by using clear adhesive vinyl which is sold as shelf paper. Later, we bought a plastic sheeting machine at Staples for just under $100. Most copy shops (“Quick-Prints”) have laminators and will be happy to stamp anything you bring in that will fit in their machine. Some of these big machines use a hot process… some cold. I personally don’t think it matters. I know some industrious crafters who use the same plastic sealing bags (Staples, again) and a clothes iron to dry a little lower on the hottest setting. A very flat surface and a sheet of smooth, stiff paper on each side should suffice. If it were me, I’d give it a try a couple of times before going in with my best pressed flower samples!

Finally, don’t forget to look at the photos of this process using the link below. When you get there, click on each photo for a closer view. Enjoy! And why not share your pressed flower bookmarks with a book lover or recluse. They will be be appreciated!