Using a microwave and cooking the flowers for short periods of time, you’ll be able to see a difference in a matter of seconds versus waiting weeks using the old-fashioned methods. Perfect for impatient folks! Step 2 — Tighten the press. If you are using straps, try to tighten them as evenly as possible. If you have a press with bolts and wing nuts, screw them down tightly until the press lies flat.

If you’re a beginner or buying it for a child, then make sure you get a flower press kit that is designed to be easy to use and very approachable for someone who has never done this before. Failure to get the right difficulty level can turn out to be a very boring experience or a very difficult one, depending on where you missed the mark. Value Using a flower press is best when you have a large number of flowers. It is also the ideal method for preserving the flowers’ color. These presses are very easy to DIY if you have two boards, pieces of cardboard, paper, and a way to tighten it—for example, by using straps or fashioning it with bolts and wing nuts. On the other hand, you could simply buy one as well. You can buy special microwave presses, which may give better results, but we haven’t tested those. Iron the flowers to press them:If using a bouquet, keep it in water until ready to press. (Tip: Always cut stems at an angle and place flowers in a vase with flower food to maintain freshness. Replace water daily and remove any leaves below the water line.) If you want to press a succulent plant or something with a large stem, use kitchen roll to absorb the extra moisture that comes out on the first day, and throw it away. Ditto if you are trying to press multiple specimens at once. Place the kitchen roll so that it is an extra layer outside of the newspaper. You could also consider cutting the plant stem in half. Put them somewhere lovely and warm. Somewhere like an airing cupboard or nice, sunny conservatory is ideal.

To do this, place your fresh blooms between 2 sheets of parchment paper in the microwave and place a heavy microwave safe dish on top. Microwave on medium power for 90 seconds.Step 4 — Repeat this process until the flower is dry. You can also use this method to jumpstart the more traditional pressing method and transfer your flower to a book or a press to finish drying. Then they should be dried after a couple of days instead of weeks. The faster methods sort of work, but the flowers don’t get fully dried and they end up much more fragile. It’s important to wait this amount of time, because if the book is opened before the flowers are completely dry, the petals can rip when the book is opened. Again, you will place the flower between two pieces of blotting paper. Then place a piece of cardboard on either side, followed by the wood or MDF. Step 3: Screw in the bolts, and wait 2-4 weeks for flowers to dry