Sketch of person with dark sunglasses smelling a flower.

1. The first step is to follow your nose. Select some flowers or herbs growing in your garden – whatever is to your liking.

Sketch of an iron, book, notepad and parchment paper.

2. The tools you will need in addition to your collected plant specimens are: parchment paper or a few pages of notebook or printer paper, an old heavy book and either an iron or a microwave.

Sketch of ironing paper, inserting plants into book, and book being microwaved

3. We will press/flatten one of two simple ways; one uses the parchment paper and ironing board, the other uses the notepaper, old book and a microwave.

Ironing:

  • On a flat (ironing-proof) surface, lightly sandwich the flowers between tow sheets of parchment paper.
  • Using your iron at the lowest heat setting, iron and flatten the flowers out. Press firmly (depending on the thickness of you plants or delicacy of the petals they will require more or less pressure.
  • Once flattened, rest the iron atop one of the plants and let it set for 10 – 15 seconds at a time. Once may be enough to complete the process though you may sense a second or third round could be useful.
  • Wait until the parchment paper feels cool before you separate them to reveal your flowers. Enjoy the aroma the ironing has released!

Microwaving:

  • Open the book so it is somewhat evenly weighted on either side. Slip a piece or two of notebook or printer paper on the page face of each side of the book (this will protect the page from some moisture or color the flowers may release when squashed.
  • Place the collected plants on one side of the open book — place them closer along the middle of the book rather than on the page edges.
  • Shut the book so that the plants are squeezed between the pages. Give it a couple good thwacks to flatten them out — you maybe also choose to put a rubber band around the book to keep it closed.
  • Next, put the book in the microwave power it 30 – 45 seconds on high. Do this about 3 times, being sure to wait approximately 5-10 minutes in between heating so that the book doesn’t get too hot and the heat and scent of the plants can be released. Wait until the paper cools before removing the flowers.
Sketch of paper pressed with flowers and envelope with pressed flowers inside

4. After you complete pressing the flowers, let them sit and dry a little. Then, you can use them to decorate a card, make a collage, or slip inside an envelope and mail someone dear to you.

Happy Spring and Healthy Wishes for Mother’s Day!