How to press flowers

I still have pressed white rose petals from my bouquet from my friend Megan's wedding. I also have aspen tree leaves from my trip to Aspen, Colorado! (You'll often see examples of leaves in my scrapbooks.)

Having "real" foliage is a really great way to accent a scrapbook, or to save as a keepsake -- or for use in other crafts!

A variety of techniques

The "correct" way to press a flower is by using a flower press. You sandwich your flowers between botanical paper (available at many flower shops), and spacer board. Then press the flowers for one week, tightening your press every few days.

Don't have a flower press? You could always do it as I do -- the Girl Scout way! Collect flowers and arrange them on a piece of wax paper. Cover flowers with a second piece of wax paper (or -- if you've used a large piece, you can fold your wax paper so it covers the top and bottom of the flowers).

Next, place this "wax paper/flower sandwich" in the middle of a phone book's pages for several days. When dry, remove gently and add to your scrapbook, put inside a picture frame, or place a few on a piece of thick paper and cover with contact paper to make a bookmark or gift card!

If you're in a hurry, they now make affordable flower presses that work in the microwave and dry flowers quickly. Find out more about the microwave flower press here.