How to: Dried, Pressed Flowers

This is an easy way to dry and press flowers. It is faster than just pressing them and waiting, but more importantly, it preserves the colors of the flowers. If you merely press them, the color may fade and the petals may turn brown.

This works with most flowers - but the hardest part is getting them to flatten out. In this video, I show how to flatten azaleas, and this will also work with rhododendrons (also featured), and similarly shaped flowers. Periwinkles are also shown as an example of flowers that are naturally flat. Other examples of this are hydrangeas and pansies, which will both be featured in a future video.

What you need:
!!!!Parental consent and supervision!!!!!
Vigilance (also very important)
Flowers to press
A heavy, rarely read book (I recommend an old encyclopedia or textbook)
Paper Towels
Microwave
Microwave-safe Plate
Oven Mitt
Tweezers (recommended, but not shown. They make it easier to maneuver the flowers)
A bit of patience and time

Please leave comments and questions for my future videos about drying flowers

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• dried
• pressed
• flowers
• microwave
• physicians
• desk
• reference
• azalea
• periwinkle
• rhododendron
• how
• to
• dry
• and
• press

[brandyme789]

I am so glad you made this video! I would have never thought of microwaving! SMART COOKIE!

[oddfud]

@brandyme789 Thank You! This video is very dear to me because I learned this method from one of my friends who has since passed away. I am so glad you enjoyed it. It is nice to know that people can continue to learn from her.

[echavesFAM]

hi cool video......i want to buy small dried flowers for the use of acrylic nail art but they are a little much so i watched ur video and im gonna do my own. what are the names of small flowers so i can search for them please....

[oddfud]

@echavesFAM This is hard to say - I am not an expert on flowers. There are some flowers that can be small enough, like pansies, or flowers that come in bunches (mopheads) like hydrangea. Sorry I can't be more helpful

[anniew304]

Thanks for sharing your flower drying tips......

So, for pansies....would you remove the petals, or dry the whole flower together? Some pansies won't dry flat, never thought of removing the petals, but how is that done without bruising the petal?

Would you include the stem?

Thanks again, will be watching for more tips!



[oddfud]

@anniew304 Hi Annie - thanks for your comment and for watching my video. Pansies are one of my favorite flowers to dry, and I do dry them whole, after flattening them for a bit in the big book. Please watch my other video "Dried, Pressed Flowers Part II - More Tips and Tricks" where I focus on specific flowers, including pansies.

[Roxanne755]

Can you do a video on how to press and arrange roses on a frame?

Thank you.

[oddfud]

@vallecim38 I'm glad you enjoyed my video. Thanks for stopping by - good luck with your roses!

[vallecim38]

Thanks for sharing. I was actually looking to see how to preserve roses and ran into your video. I learned something new today. Best of luck in your future endeavors.

[oddfud]

@itwashappiness You're not too late! spring's still in full force. I'm glad you liked the video.