Surprisingly easy and versatile, pressed flower projects turn spring blooms into statement pieces for tabletops, walls, home decor, and more. Learn how to press and dry your own flowers -- and let these projects inspire you to capture the season's beauty in your own way!
Calling all nature explorers! Haeley from Designed Improvised and her little ones designed these flower pots to be as cheerful on the outside as the blooms they bear. Take the kids on a stroll to gather fresh blooms, then glue them to a paper liner and let dry. Decorate the liner with oil pastel doodles for extra flair before setting each liner under a stack of heavy books (to press the flowers). Insert the liner into your pot, then it's ready to house a new plant!
Make the Project
For a modern twist on a still-life painting, create a dried flower composition to invigorate your walls. Jessica Marquez turned a simple white shadow box frame into a museum-like display with a few inexpensive supplies. Using the frame's mat as a guide, cut two sheets of craft foam and one sheet of colored paper to size. Glue the foam to the paper and frame, then compose your flowers and secure with specimen pins.
Photo: Design Sponge
Guests and family members will never need encouragement to use a coaster with this mesmerizing design from Brit + Co. Glass tiles, copper tape, pressed flowers, and glue are all the supplies you'll need for this handsome, totally giftable project. Start by arranging your flowers on top of each glass coaster and securing with a dot of glue. Lay a second glass tile over the top of your flowers, then cover the edges with copper tape (use a credit card to flatten the edge). Cheers!
Photo: Brit + Co
Whether it's for a hostess gift, a birthday, or welcoming new neighbors, a good bottle of vino is always a smooth move. Make the gift extra-thoughtful and personal with a DIY pressed flower wine bottle label. Carrie from Dream Green DIY made wine labels (get the templates here and here) that you can print onto white cardstock paper and trim to over the label your wine bottle. Attach dried flowers to the label with tacky glue, then seal with clear packing tape. Carrie pressed and dried her own flowers using wax paper and a heavy book, but if you're in a pinch, you can start with pre-dried blooms.
Photo: Dream Green DIY
Make the Project
This may look like a floral painting, but we'll let you in on a little secret: you won't lift a brush to make this print! Spread cardstock or watercolor paper onto a sturdy work surface and scatter fresh-picked pansies (or colorful blooms of your choosing) on top of it. Next, use a rubber mallet to strike the flowers. The flowers' color will instantly transfer onto the paper. Experiment with different compositions, layer flowers of different colors, and separate petals to add interest and variety to your designs. Whether you turn your prints into framed pieces of art, trinket box liners, Mother's Day cards, or gift tags, this versatile craft is beautiful in any number of ways.
Photo: Craftberry Bush
This pressed petal tray by The House That Lars Built is the epitome of style and function, and it's up to you whether you put your version to work or prop it up and marvel at its beauty. To make one of your own, paint an unfinished wood tray with white latex or acrylic paint. Brush Mod Podge® onto the tray, then lay pressed, dried flower petals down. Coat the petals with another layer of Mod Podge® and let dry overnight. To make your design durable for everyday use, place a sheet of glass or a clear dry-erase board over top. Brunch in bed, anyone?
Photo: The House That Lars Built
Hello, spring! Ring in the season with a colorful DIY phone case creation like this one by Clare McGibbon. Glue an assortment of pressed flowers to the back of an inexpensive white phone case, then mix up resin to pour over the petals. Use a wood craft stick to spread the resin evenly on the case, starting from the center. Clean up any drips with q-tips dipped in acetone and let the case dry for about two hours. Just remember to Instagram it before popping it on your phone, wink wink.
Photo: Etsy Blog
Everyone knows a floral centerpiece is spectacular on the dining table, but a flower-power placemat is a delightful surprise. Michelle from her namesake blog, Michelle Edgemont, pressed and dried an assortment of flower heads before sandwiching them between two clear dry-erase boards. Lay one dry-erase board flat and place the flowers face-down. Add a dab of Mod Podge on the back of each flower, then place the second dry-erase board on top. Set each placemat under a stack of heavy books for about an hour until dry, then bring them out and dazzle your dinner guests.
Light the way to spring with a DIY pressed flower candle that could pass for store-bought. Mikko from I Try DIY used a plain white pillar candle and a few pressed flowers and leaves in her design. To adhere the pressed flowers to the pillar candle, she heated a metal spoon over a second smaller candle and rubbed the hot spoon over the flowers to gently "melt" them into the candle. To turn this candle into a handmade gift, tie a burlap ribbon around it.
Photo: I Try DIY
Papermash proves you don't need deep pockets to create personalized gift wrap for birthdays, showers, or Mother's Day. When pressed flowers are Mod Podged onto kraft paper and gift tags, the look is sheer beauty--and it's entirely customizable depending on your recipient and occasion. Keep gift wrap pretty and understated with a few flower embellishments, or add extra flash with Washi tape, glitter stickers, and yarn.
Photo: Papermash
Know someone who just got engaged? Give them a pretty place to show off the ring like a DIY clay dish adorned with botanical prints. Katie Taylor from Rustic Garden Market used a rolling pin to imprint leaves into sculpting clay, then she shaped the clay around a bowl. Once the dish dried, she filled the leaf imprints with green craft paint. Try this idea with whatever flowers or plants are in season -- the best part about modeling clay is, if you aren't fond of the design you make, you can easily start over by balling up the clay and imprinting another element.
Photo: Rustic Garden Market via Garden Therapy
Liven up a porch or patio with an easy-to-make chime. Foraged finds star in these sun catcher wind chimes -- and they're the perfect spring craft for kids to help with. Let little ones collect bits of nature like leaves, flowers, and grasses, then call them back indoors to trace mini mason jar rings onto contact paper with Sharpie® markers. Peel the back off of the contact paper and place it on your work surface, sticky-side up. Next, have kids decorate each circle with their finds. Place another piece of contact paper on top (sticky-side will touch the flower collages). Press together and smooth out any air bubbles, then use scissors to cut out the circles. Slip them into mason jar rings, then use hemp cording to tie the rings to a sturdy stick. When you're finished, hang your creation near a favorite outdoor spot to enjoy each day.
Photo: Hands On As We Grow
