The Ultimate Guide to Flower Pressing:
How to Press, Preserve, and Create Stunning Floral Art
Hi! I’m Kate. A sustainable florist turned flower presser. I started pressing flowers to slow down from the hectic pace in my fresh flower studio. Now I create original art, eco-prints, professional flower presses and I teach across Canada and online the art of flower pressing.
Pressing flowers connects you to the seasons, the slow rhythm of nature, and your owncreativity. Whether you’re hoping to decorate and gift cards from your garden, create framed art, or start a pressed flower business, this mini guide will help you take your first steps into the art of pressing flowers, with tips that make it easy to start today.
In my full handbook (sold below), you’ll find deeper descriptions, detailed techniques and more problem solving, but this short guide gives you everything you need to begin right now.
What You’ll Need to Begin:
You don’t need expensive tools. Start with what’s already around your home.
Here are 4 essentials to get started:
1. Pressing layers — removes moisture while keeping colour vibrant. (chipboard, watercolourpaper, computer paper, natural felt, cotton pads
2. A flower press or weights on top of heavy books — our Large Size Professional Press is the best option for this as it was developed to work with high pressure, lots of flowers and has a large surface area
3. Tweezers — helps you gently position delicate petals without tearing.
4. Dry, clean workspace — moisture = mold! Always work in a dry area.
In the full handbook, I share professional tools, including how to build your own press.
Choosing Flowers to Press:
Some flowers press beautifully, others don’t. Start with blooms that are naturally flat and low in moisture.
Best Beginner Flowers:
Pansies
Daisies
Fern fronds
Buttercups
Cosmos
Queen Anne’s Lace
Violets
Larkspur
Tips for Picking:
Harvest on a dry day, after dew has evaporated.
Avoid blooms that are bruised or wilted.
Choose locally grown flowers if possible. They press better.
Easy Pressing Methods:
1. The Book Method (Simple & classic)
Sandwich flowers between two sheets of blotting paper, printer paper and chipboard or felt.
Place inside a large book or between chipboard pieces.
Stack heavy books or weights on top.
Check in the first there days and replace damp papers if needed.
Leave for a few weeks at least.
2. The Flower Press (Best long-term results)
Layer chipboard, paper and felt with flowers inside a wooden press like the professional presses we sell here.
Tighten screws evenly to create even pressure.
Retighten daily.
Replace paper every few days if pressing thicker blooms.
5-Day Plan to Press Your First Bloom
Day 1: Gather 3–5 blooms (try pansies or daisies).
Day 2: Build your pressing stack and start pressing.
Day 3: Replace blotting paper if damp.
Day 4: Check one flower’s progress — it should feel papery and flat.
Day 5: Open your press and admire your first preserved flower!
Common Questions Asked about the Next Stages
What glue do you use to make your art?
I use Lineco brand archival glue.
How to store your flowers?
I store them by season, project or colour in boxes big enough to hold the paper they are pressed on and store in a dry closet.
How do you retain colour?
This is a complicated question that involves a combination of best practices. Quickly, I will say to press fresh local flowers that have no pesticides on them. Press them fast and hard and change your moist pressing layers often.
How to manage wrinkles?
Press your flowers evenly on a plane with other like flowers in your pressing layers.
Why do you use felt?
Felt is an ultra-moisture absorber. It sucks up moisture quickly from a flower and wicks it away. I use it either directly on a flower in a pressing layer or between layers as a moisture wicking tool inside the ecosystem of a flower press. There are two large sheets of felt in our professional presses.
Ready to Keep Growing?
You’ve now learned the basics of flower pressing — the how, the what, and the why.
But this is just the beginning! In “Handbook for the Pressed Floral Artist” you’ll find:
Advanced techniques for thick or tricky blooms
Layout and design guides for creating one of a kind art
Mounting and framing advice
Tips for colour preservation and storage
DIY press building instructions
My handbook was written for hobbyists, crafters, flower farmers, gardeners, artists and creative entrepreneurs. It will speed up the process of flower to art for those looking to make pressed artfor themselves, preserve their own bridal bouquet or start a business pressing flowers.
If you are looking for deeper, more advanced pressed flower advice including paper selection, design principles, framing and art making - see below!
A Handbook for the Pressed Flower Artist
This is the guide for artists whose medium is pressed flowers.
It has taken me years to create a workflow that minimizes all the variables associated with pressing flowers. And I'm not talking just about how to prevent mold or what layer works best. I mean how to create an aesthetic with pressed flowers that feels alive and hopeful while also being preserved and long lasting.
This 50-page e-book includes stunning visuals from my pressed floral studio. It will serve to cut down time trying to figure it all out alone while pushing your work further and deeper into the imaginative realm.
What’s inside
Written from the viewpoint of the floral artist who digs deep into the creative process, this handbook includes sections on:
Building a Flower Press
Processes in Pressing Flowers
Elements of Design
The History, Science and Art of Pressing Flowers
This e-book is chock-full of information for the presser. It is a quick way to consolidate the basic and intermediate steps to go from flower to pressed flower art.
