Scrapbook WAHM

What Do I Need to Start Pressing Flowers?

Pressed flowers make beautiful additions to all sorts of crafts. They’re often used to make handmade greeting cards, but there’s so much more that can be done with them. They’re great for plaques and other home décor items, scrapbooking, and even decoupaging onto furniture.

You can purchase a wide variety of pressed flowers in craft stores, from florists or online. But if you want as much control as possible over your finished product, pressing your own flowers is the way to go. You can press flowers that you may not be able to find in stores, and you can create your own unique pressed arrangements.

Pressing flowers is not at all complicated. In fact, it can be done with items you probably have around the house. But you can also purchase tools that will allow you to press your flowers much more quickly.

Pressing Flowers the Cheap Way

All you really need to press flowers is something that will compress them and hold them flat until they dry. An old, thick hardback book works beautifully for this purpose. All you have to do is place the flowers between two sheets of plain paper, insert in the middle of the book and place heavy objects on top of the book to weigh it down. About two weeks later, your flowers will be ready.

Some crafters use the microwave to get their flowers ready faster. If you want to try this, make sure you use a book that you don’t mind losing, just in case. Place the book with the flowers and paper inside in the microwave, and set it for 30 seconds. When the timer goes off, open the book to let out steam and check the flowers. Repeat until the flowers are nearly dry, then leave them in the book for a day or two to finish.

Flower Presses

Those who press a lot of flowers often invest in a flower press. Presses allow air to circulate around the flowers, making it possible for them to dry more quickly. Some are also designed to hold a large number of flowers, so you can press as many as you need in no time.

Many of today’s flower presses are designed for use in the microwave. But you’ll still need to microwave the flowers in short bursts to keep from burning them. For avid flower pressers, there are even presses designed for specific types of flowers.

If you do not use a lot of pressed flowers or are on a budget, using a big book will usually work out just fine. But for those who sell pressed flower crafts or make them frequently, a quality flower press is a good investment. Either way, pressing your own flowers is easy and rewarding.

Valentine’s Day is a time to show our partners how much we love them. It’s a time of flowers, chocolates, and special dates. And last but not least, it’s a time for Valentine cards.

Greeting card companies make lots of money in the weeks before Valentine’s Day. After all, no one wants to be the one who neglected to give the love of their life a special greeting! But you don’t have to buy the same cards everyone else is giving. Creating your own is so much more special.

You don’t have to be a celebrated artist to make a great Valentine card. Even if you can’t draw, paint or even cut out shapes, you can still create a memorable greeting for your love. Here are some ideas:

* Use greeting card software to design a card and print it out on card stock. You could use a ready-made design and verse, but most programs will also allow you to create a card from scratch. You can include clip art, photos, and your own special message.

* Are you a scrapbooker? Use your scrapping skills to create a beautiful Valentine. Find some pretty card stock, add photos and embellishments, and write a thoughtful message. You could use photos of you and your partner throughout the years, pictures from your honeymoon, or favorite candid snapshots.

* Hearts made out of construction paper add a whimsical touch to a handmade Valentine card, and they’re really easy to make. Just fold a piece of construction paper in half, draw half a heart with the center at the fold, cut out, and unfold. Glue the hearts onto paper doilies before adding to the card for an endearing look with very little effort.

* Are you brimming with design ideas but unsure what words to use on the card? Quote a poem or some song lyrics. You might even want to include a CD single of the song or a recording of someone (perhaps you) reciting the poem.

* Include some coupons. Not grocery or car wash coupons, but coupons that are good for favors and special nights out when presented to you. You could make coupons for backrubs, dinner and a movie on you, a trip to an event of your significant other’s choosing, a walk in the park, and all sorts of other things.

Creating a special Valentine card for the one you love is a sweet and inexpensive way to let him or her know you care. Whether you simply add a special message to a predesigned card made with greeting card software or break out the craft supplies and make something totally unique, the thought you put into it will make your Valentine feel truly special.