While drying flowers between the pages of a book is a practice I don't intend to give up, there's something alluring about a handmade flower press filled with summer blooms.

My husband and I recently made one out of a piece of scrap wood. It turned out so pretty, I thought I'd share!


Here's what you need:

  • 2 pieces of 1 inch plywood or similar wood cut into identical pieces (this will be the size of your flower press)
  • 6 or more pieces of cardboard cut an inch smaller than the wood pieces
  • Several pieces of paper cut the same size as your cardboard
  • 4 bolts and wing nuts (4- 6 inches long)


To make the flower press, you need to cut out two pieces of wood the size you want your press to be (you will need a top piece and a bottom piece). I wanted mine to be somewhat large, so we cut the scrap wood piece we found in half. This gave us two pieces each measuring 13x18 inches.


Next, drill holes at each corner of your boards. If you stack the boards on top of each other to drill, the holes will line up perfectly.


After this step, you will want to sand your boards so that they are nice and smooth. You can paint or stain them once you're finished sanding or leave them raw as I did.


Once you've finished sanding, you will need to rummage through the house/garage to find some old cardboard boxes. These will need to be cut into several pieces that fit nicely in your press. A simple google search will show you different ways to cut your cardboard. I opted to cut mine into rectangular pieces that lay nicely on the inside of the bolts.


Last but not least, you will need to cut several pieces of paper to layer between the cardboard. You can use anything you have on hand. I used left over brown craft paper. The purpose of the paper is to absorb any moisture in the flowers as they dry out. You will layer the cardboard and paper as follows: one piece of cardboard, two pieces of paper followed by another piece of cardboard. Continue this sequence until you fill up your press. Be sure to leave yourself room to add lots of flowers!


Enjoy!