DIY Floral Ideas: Crafting with the Flower Pounding Technique

Hey there, crafty friends! Today, I’m excited to share a fun and easy DIY project that’s perfect for preserving the beauty of your garden blooms. If you’re looking for a way to add a touch of nature to your home decor, you’ve come to the right place.

Flower pounding is a simple yet stunning technique that allows you to transfer the colors and patterns of fresh flowers onto paper or fabric. It’s a great way to create unique and personalized pieces, from notecards to wall art.

In this tutorial, I’ll walk you through the step-by-step process, sharing my tips and tricks for achieving the best results. So grab your flowers, a hammer, and let’s get creative

Flower Craft Ideas: A Step-by-Step Guide to Flower Pounding

Today I will show you step-by-step the basics of flower pounding from what supplies to grab beforehand, what flowers worked best for me, and 4 different projects that I made with my pounded flower art.

Here is a “quick-start guide”, I will explain each step to you next.

This post may include affiliate links; you can read my disclosure policy here.

Gather Your Supplies

This project doesn’t require any hard-to-find supplies. You will need a variety of fresh flowers, parchment paper, a hammer or mallet, and a surface to transfer the flower pigment onto like watercolor paper or art canvas.

What Type of Flowers Should I Use For Flower Pounding Art?

While trying this flower art technique I gathered as many different flowers from my garden to experiment on before sharing it with you all. Some were amazing and some flowers that I thought would work well just didn’t perform.

For the first idea, I will walk you through how I made a simple art canvas that can be framed and hung.

What I used was a sheet of printable canvas. It is made for use in printers but doubles as a great surface for this craft project.

To create contrast for this print I first wanted to make a base of green leaves before adding all of the colorful flowers.

Once the leaves are in place, cover the canvas with a sheet of parchment paper. To keep the paper in place you can use tape on the edges if needed.

Make sure to protect the counter or surface you are working on! I used a thick pad of art paper but a cutting board or thick piece of cardboard works too.

Start hammering the leaves, be mindful to get the entire leaf and all the edges to create the best print. You will have to pound the leaves longer than the flowers to release the pigment.

As you pound the leaves keep an eye out for the parchment sheet to start looking wet, this is a sign that the pigment is transferring. Don’t be afraid to take a peek under the parchment to check on the progress, I did this multiple times for all of the art projects that I did today.

Remove the parchment and the now pulverized leaves from the canvas; this is what the prints will look like. I found that a toothpick worked wonderfully to remove all of the leftover leaf bits.

To monitor the progress, again don’t be afraid to lift the parchment or use a toothpick to lift a flower petal to check on the progress, I did it multiple times. Some flowers required a couple extra pounds to make a clear print.

Tip: when removing the flower debris use a toothpick or paintbrush. If some of the debris is stubborn just wait until it dries and it will be much easier to brush off. If you are too aggressive you could damage the canvas or paper.

Once the canvas had dried I framed it in a matted frame that I already had for hanging. Doesn’t it look pretty?

Working With Watercolor Paper

The next medium that I will show you is watercolor paper. This is the perfect surface for doing flower pounding. The porous paper holds the flower pigments so well.

This is a great project to make your own notecards or just to make a few small pieces of artwork. ( links: small watercolor sheets , watercolor notecards)

Here I made a simple print with just a piece of Russian sage. Doing the same steps as the prior canvas art. Place your flower, cover with parchment, and pound with a hammer until the print is on the watercolor sheet.

Then I made a few more watercolor cards using a variety of flowers. It was so fun creating different combinations! My #1 favorite flower for this project was definitely the cosmos, with nasturtiums as a close second. They both made the most dramatic prints!

Did I have some duds?? Yes! Not every attempt came out beautifully, so have a few extra pieces of paper at the ready. There are a few variables working with flowers, that’s nature!

Below, you can click through my favorite watercolor prints to see the different combinations that I did.

DIY Rustic Framed Flower Art

Another easy idea to make your own art from one of the flower pounding watercolor sheets was to make a rustic wooden frame.

For this, I started with a wood craft panel (find in the woodworking section of your craft store, Amazon sells them in sets but are slightly more expensive). Then I stained it with the Varathane Less Mess wood stain (it comes in a little bottle w/ a sponge-tipped applicator, super easy to use, especially for this girl who isn’t a fan of staining!)

Once the stain was dried I used a squirt of spray adhesive to keep the art in place. Glue dots would work too, just don’t use hot glue or glue that can seep through the paper.

To Wrap It Up!

From the vibrant hues of a watercolor notecard to the beauty of a framed canvas, flower pounding offers endless creative possibilities. The technique is simple, yet the results can be truly breathtaking.

As you’ve seen, flower pounding is a versatile craft that can be adapted to suit your style and preferences. Whether you’re a seasoned artist or just starting out, this project is a wonderful way to connect with nature and create unique, personalized pieces.

So, grab your flowers, a hammer, and a blank canvas, and let your imagination run wild. The beauty of flower pounding lies in its simplicity and the endless possibilities it offers.