When I grew up, flower pressing was (in my mind), a rather romantic pass time, one that spoke to me of Jane Austen and long walks through the countryside collecting wild blooms, of cottage garden blossoms transformed into decorations on cards and tucked into envelopes within the pages of hand written letters. And today, I think Flower Pressing, along with many other ‘eco’ crafts, is making a big come-back! Pressed flowers can be used in multiple ways; card-making, wall art, resin jewelry, there are so many wonderful ideas for using these preserved treasures!
So I have begun my new range of presses! I hand build my presses, cutting the covers on my laser to my own design, followed by the divider cards and papers. I then hand-sand each cover piece, add the design, and layer on several coats of sealer and varnish before assembling each press ready for use.
Materials used
The presses measure 11.5cm x 8 cm and the covers are made of sustainable bamboo, which I have found to be very durable and strong, as well as having a lovely grain. The interior 6 divider cards are a simple corrugated card. As a fun point of difference with my presses, and as a nod to the traditional method of flower pressing in books, I am upcycling paper from vintage books that are no longer repairable. This paper is thick, acid free, and brings its own story! The current batch of presses uses pages from the 1903 publication of Charles Dickens ‘The Old Curiousity Shop’. Each press comes with ten sheets of this unique blotting paper and its own, customised box with instructions included.
The press is bound with two translucent silicone bands, strong enough to hold it together with enough pressure to keep the flowers flat without damaging them, and will adjust pressure as the flowers flatten. My plan for the up-coming larger model is to use four bolts to make a more traditional fastening.
Cover Art
The cover art on these presses has a distinctly Aotearoa New Zealand flavour – I love the old 1930’s NZ Tourism board posters, and have chosen the ones with some of our unique native plants featured. Alternatively, for the more traditional-minded presser, I have a selection of images by a woman named Sarah Featon, she painted these as botanical watercolour illustrations of New Zealand flora, published in 1889!
This image above shows all the press designs – the text in white indicates the name of each press on the photo and is not part of the design. Make your selection in the ‘buy now’ box below!, only those currently available will be displayed in the selection field.
Global shipping is included in the price (listed in $USD)
