Pressed Flower Collage

Time

4 3 2 1 Early Stage

Benefits

Participants

One to One or Group Activity

What you need

A selection of fresh flowers (ones you’ve been displaying in a vase that have just passed their best are good)
A flower press, or a few heavy books and 2 sheets of blotting paper
Card
Glue

Intro

It’s always a shame to see a lovely bunch of flowers droop and end up in the bin. But if you dry and press the heads, you can enjoy them for eternity! You can do this activity with flowers that have past their best, bought bouquets or freshly picked bunches from the garden.

Once dried, why not turn them into a delicate greetings card? Or a picture to hang in a communal space or to give away as a gift?

The Activity

Lay out all the flowers on the table
Invite each person to choose a few flowers they’d like to press
Give them time to enjoy the textures and aromas
Place the chosen flowers into the flower press or between the sheets of blotting paper within the book
Make sure the flowers don’t touch or overlap
Once the flowers are in place, close the press or book
If using a book, put a few heavy books on top for extra weight
Leave the flowers to flatten for at least a week
Once the flowers are nice and dry and flat, open the press or book and carefully take them out
Ask each person if they want to make a greetings card or a picture. If they want to make a greetings card, fold their piece of card in half
Encourage each person to gently arrange the dried flowers onto the card and glue them into place
Once the glue is dry, they can write in their card and give it to a loved one, or frame the picture and maybe even give it as a gift