Tuesday, 6 September 2011 by Irene Hoofs

Flower Press by Helen Bird from Curly Birds

Whether your first spring blooms are about to appear, or the late summer flowers are near their end, preserving your garden’s beauty can be a fun activity for any child. A home-made flower press is fun to make and can be used forever.

What you’ll need:
* 2 9x9” ply wood
* 4 1.5” ¼-20 screws
* 4 ¼-20 wing nuts
* Cardboard
* Tissue paper
* Drill
* Sandpaper
* Pencil with eraser
* Letter stamps (optional)

Step 1:
Cut 2 pieces of ply wood to 9”x9” (the kind folks at our hardware store did this for me)
Step 2:
Using a ¼” drill bit, drill 4 holes in one of the boards. Place this drilled board on top of the second board and drill through the made holes and through the next board. As you complete a hole, screw the boards together – this will keep all the holes aligned.
Step 3:
Sand the wood to make sure there are no rough edges or splinters
Step 4:
To decorate the press, draw a circle in the middle of the top board. Using letter stamps, stamp a saying around the circle. (I stamped “PRESS ME A FLOWER”) Erase the pencil mark after the ink is dry.
Step 5:
Cut the cardboard and tissue paper to 5.5”x5.5” or fit in between the screws
Step 6:
Thread the screws through the bottom piece of wood and lay a piece of cardboard and tissue paper on top of the wood. Place the flowers on the press. (For best results, the flowers should not overlap of lay off the paper.)
Step 7:
Repeat cardboard and tissue paper layers until you have placed all of the flowers on the press.
Step 8:
Slide the top wood board onto the screws and tighten with the wing nuts.
Step 9:
Wait 2-3 weeks. And watch this space for a craft involving pressed flowers in the next 3 weeks!