Inkling: pressed leaves

I received this flower press kit as a gift years ago and I never used it. But now I can’t stop pressing leaves and flowers.

It takes a little while to press and dry the flowers - so for this post, I’m showing my first batch of fern leaves.

You place the leaves between pressing paper which absorbs the moisture from the plant. You can do several layers at one time. Once you have your plants between the pressing papers, you cover the top and bottom with pressing board and place into the press. My press uses straps which you tighten.

I checked the fern leaves periodically and they were flat and dry in about one week. I used spray mount to adhere the leaves to the cards.

Here they are – pressed, dried and ready to use.

I currently have flowers in the press and will post about those once they’re ready. This project requires a little patience while your flowers are pressing. It’s a good skill for me to learn…the patience part – not the pressing.