How to make pressed flower cards

Materials Needed:

Pressed flowers, stems, leaves
card stock
tweezers
small soft brush
Perfect Paper Adhesive
background paper or fabric (optional)

1)  Select the pressed flowers, stems, ands leaves you will be using – make sure the size of your pressed flowers will be the right size for your composition.  Pressed flowers may be bought online, or better yet, press your own in just minutes with a  Microfleur microwave flower press

2) Take a moment to arrange the flowers on your card, taking note of how and where you want to position them.  The pressed flowers can be mounted directly on the card itself, or you may want to adhere a background of fabric, or handmade paper to the card stock first (like I do), before gluing the flowers down.

3.  Using a tweezers to hold the pressed flower, apply a very small amount of Perfect Paper Adhesive - Matte to the back of the flower, position it on the card, and gently press down.  Do the same with the stems and leaves.  Some artists prefer to glue fern leaves, or other decorative foliage down first, and place the flowers on top of them.  Do what ever seems natural to you!

4)  Once you’ve finished adhering your pressed flowers/foliage, it’s a good idea to place the card under a heavy book for a few minutes.  The firm pressure will ensure that your pressed flowers will dry flat. 

5)  Your card is ready to go, but will it be able to survive a trip through the mail?  Maybe not.  It used to be that the best options of protection were to use contact paper, wax paper, or lamination to protect the pressed flowers, but the results were, not surprisingly, plastic and unnatural looking. 

Perfect Paper Adhesive - Matte as a protective sealant is the superior choice, because its tough, flexible finish is barely perceptible, and best of all, it’s UV resistant, which keeps pressed flowers from fading.  Apply a very thin coat of Perfect Paper Adhesive (PPA) on top of the pressed flowers, leaves, and stems with a barely damp soft brush.

Generally speaking, if white is seen when applying PPA, too much is being used. Once the card is dry, it’s ready to send. Perfect Paper Adhesive not only is excellent for gluing pressed flowers, it also acts as a tough, flexible layer of protection over pressed flowers, with out changing the color or the appearance of the flowers.  Because PPA is flexible when dry, it's perfect for protecting handmade pressed flower cards. 

Do you have more questions about making pressed flower cards? Check the tutorials on Elizabeth's Flowers blog or, feel free to e-mail Elizabeth.