By Ali Elsberry
Warm summer mornings are my absolute favorite; a quiet stillness in the air, the birds out singing messages to one another, and plants that seem to be so much more alive in those early hours.
I have walked around my yard noticing things in the morning that appear to speak with more personality than at other times of the day, and it always inspires me to find a way to capture that moment.
A few years ago, I found a wonderful little German-made leaf press; quite basic, but solidly built, and small and light enough to throw into a pocket and take out for a hike. Over the years, I have acquired other, much larger leaf presses, but this one is still my favorite because it is just so simple and easy to take on an adventure.
If you do not have a leaf press, I highly recommend you get one; it affords endless craft possibilities and weaves you through an entire process with the plant. You can find them at many online and brick-and-mortar shops, but you can also make them without too much fuss (written and video tutorials are easy to come by online).
If making your own, try using heavier-weight paper than standard print paper so that your plants have more backing while drying. And of course, in a pinch, you can just place your pressings between book pages, which works just as well, as long as you remember they are in there …
Once you have a plan in place for pressing, you can start collecting pretty much anything you want. The more solid the specimen, the harder it can be to work with once dried – woody stems and thick flower buds are not as versatile – but I have had some amazing results with some of those things.
I really encourage you to try a wide variety of plants and flowers, to experiment and have fun. The whole process, from finding things in the wild, to the end result of a flattened and dried object, is so fascinating, and is very engaging for children. Mine have selected some plants and flowers I probably would not have picked myself, but they pressed out to the most beautiful and unique shapes and images, so definitely let everyone participate.
Two of our favorites for color and texture are dandelions and buttercups, they both press out beautifully!
You want to use the entire plant, freshly picked, and try to dry the whole thing – from the base of the stem to the top petal – but also break off those parts to dry individually, say for example choosing a uniquely shaped leaf or just a small part of the budding flower. You can refer to Jane Valencia’s plant-friendly harvesting tips in previous articles in The Vashon Loop.
I have found it usually takes about a week in our house to achieve the desired dryness, but this can vary depending on moisture levels and time of the year (summer plants are going to require less external dry time than something you collect during the rainy fall), as well as the thickness of the paper inside your press (if you have just placed things in between book pages it will take longer for them to dry than if you are using heavier-weight paper). Or, if you are like us and you fill the press with things you collected while on a trip, you might occasionally forget until a month later when you are ready to press a new set of plants. You would rather over dry than under, so it’s not really a problem.
I cannot possibly list all of the things you can make with your pressings, but one of our favorites is to make bookmarks by laying the flowers, leaves, etcetera onto a piece of cardstock and laminating it. We have used them to decorate brown paper bags (the small kind that you would pack a lunch into) by gluing the pressing onto the outside and placing the gift inside; we make gift cards in the same way. We have created images of animals and landscape scenes by piecing together different pressings, both by themselves and in combination with colored pencil drawings.
The possibilities are endless, and I hope this inspires you to see a few of them the next time that warm summer light rises up and calls attention to the plants in your own yard!
