Last summer I happened upon a simple and fast way to press flowers. Since pansies are on their way out for the season, I decided to preserve a few as dried flowers for future projects. You can of course press them in a book and wait over time for them to flatten, or you can also use a preservative called silica gel. Here’s an easy way for you to dry them with what you have on hand at home:

• First, you should pick them in the morning when they are at their plumpest and prettiest because they haven’t been zapped of moisture throughout the day as the sun gets brighter.
• Then cut off the stem at the base of the flower so it sits flat.
• After that take two sheets of paper towels and arrange the flowers laying face up between them.
• Then, place the paper towel sheets (with flowers in between them) on top of a plate. The moisture from the flowers will leach out onto the paper towels and you are creating a place for that moisture to be absorbed.
• After you have done this you are going to want to stack another plate on top of the other plate with the paper towels with flowers in them in between.
• Lastly, put another heavier bowl on top of this stack and put it in the microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute and 30 seconds depending on your microwave. Microwaves differ but you can periodically check to see how it is doing.
• Once you are done you’ll have a flat (though smaller) pressed flower that you have preserved which you can use for new art creations.

What do you think, will you try this technique out at home? How would you use the flowers once they are preserved? You can of course use this technique for any flower or foliage. If you do experiment with this method, I’d love to see the results!

Photos by Michelle Smith Creative for Gather Goods Co