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Pressed Flowers in the Microwave

In: DECORATING, DIY Decorating Projects

Today I want to show you such a quick and easy way to make pressed flowers in a microwave in just two minutes!!

For this month’s Thrifty Style Team we all have great decorating ideas and DIYs for our readers! Every month a group of my blogging friends organized by Julie of Redhead Can Decorate come together to share thrifty and budget-friendly decorating ideas with you.


How to Press Flowers in the Microwave

small Spring flowers

How to Press

Flowers in the Microwave

OK, I saw this on Pinterest and thought to myself…no way that works!! I’ve had a few Pinterest fails in my time!! I’m still not over a few of them!! What I liked about this one is that it wouldn’t cost me a dime to give it a try…perfect!!!

Gather Flowers to Press

It’s Springtime now, so I went outside and picked the flowers that I had available right now which was mostly violas, pansies, geum, & lavender.

I figured I would try smaller flowers that would press well if I was doing it the old school way…in a big book.

a container filled with spring flowers

Prepare the Flowers

Next I grabbed a dinner plate and covered it with a paper towel. Then I started placing the flowers on the paper towel. I gave the flowers a gentle press to slightly flatten them without damaging the delicate faces.

Once I had the flowers set on the paper towel I covered them with another paper towel.

Violas and geum stems to make pressed flowers

Then I topped the paper towel with another one of my dinner plates that “pressed” down on the flowers.

white dinner plate

Microwave the Flowers

Now I am not going to lie…this just felt plain weird taking the plate of flowers and shoving it into my mircrowave!!!!!

I checked the flowers every 30 seconds because I wasn’t sure how long it was going to take. Also, I was curious if I would be able to tell when they were “pressed”

flowers going into the microwave to press

It took my microwave 2 minutes to dry the flowers.

The cooking time will definitely depend on how powerful your microwave is and what flowers you are trying to press.

Just check every 30 seconds when you are trying this…you will be able to tell when they are ready ( they have the feel of dried, pressed flowers)

The picture below was at 1 1/2 minutes. They weren’t quite down yet!!

colorful flowers that have been pressed

One thing that was quite impressive using the microwave pressing method was just how vibrant the flowers stayed!! Usually with pressing some of the colors fade away.

variety of spring flowers on a paper towel

Arranging the Pressed Flowers

Now the fun part, making a pretty piece of artwork with the pressed flowers!

Any piece of cardstock or even a thick sheet of drawing paper would work for this; I used a natural cardstock that I had on hand.

I didn’t really have a plan in mind for how I wanted to arrange the pressed flowers…I just went with it and played around with the flowers until I glued them in place.

To secure the flowers to the paper I used a small ( I mean teeny!!) amount of white craft glue on the back of each flower and then pressed it into place on the sheet of paper. A toothpick with glue on the end works for the really small flowers

dried flowers

Making a Frame

This pressed flower art would look beautiful in a floating frame or regular frame. I wanted to try something a little different though.

First, I grabbed a Dollar Tree canvas, flipped it over, and separated the canvas from the staples using a small flathead screwdriver.

backside of canvas frame
taking a canvas off a frame

Once the canvas was separated from the frame I grabbed a pencil and traced the shape of the frame onto the canvas. Then I cut the excess canvas off.

canvas and frame
cutting a piece of canvas with scissors

To attach the pressed flower sheet to the canvas I used spray adhesive. Just a light coat of the adhesive over the canvas and then I placed the paper on top and gently smoothed the sheet without disturbing the pressed flowers.

spraying adhesive onto a canvas

Making the Frame

Instead of painting or staining the unfinished wood frame from the canvas, I used one of my absolute favorite crafting tricks…RIT fabric dye!!

You heard that right, you can use dark brown Rit fabric dye to “stain” unfinished wood!! It is soooo easy and only takes a few minutes! Bonus, no stinky stain smell to deal with.

In a container big enough to place the frame I added hot water (deep enough to cover the frame) and a few tablespoons of the dye.

pouring fabric dye into a container

Then I stirred the solution and added the frame, I had to use a heavy bowl to weigh the frame down and keep it underwater.

It took about 10 minutes to get the frame to the color that I was going for, then I did a quick rinse of the excess dye and wiped it dry with a paper towel.

You can see how I used this trick on other projects: Wood Bead Wreath and these Christmas Ornaments

Finishing the Pressed Flower Art

To attach the frame to the pressed flower canvas I added a strong craft glue to the back of the frame (the side with the staples) and pressed the frame down onto the canvas.

Look at how pretty it turned out!!! This is one project that I will definitely do again!! It was really easy and I had everything on hand to make it.

Pressed Flower Art
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Please check out what the rest of the team is sharing this month!

collage with pictures of craft projects

Redhead Can Decorate – Milk Glass Fruit & Cheese Appetizer Tower

Our Crafty Mom – Bicycle Tire Sunflower Wreath

I Should Be Mopping the Floor – DIY Bulletin Board with Nailhead Trim

The How to Home – Shabby Chic Decoupage Plant Pot

DIY Beautify – Update Older Exterior Windows with Spray Paint

2 Bees in a Pod – Antique French Hat Boxes

Postcards From the Ridge – How to Decorate on a Budget

The Tattered Pew – How to Create a Simple Hat Wall with Hooks

Cottage on Bunker Hill – How to Press Flowers in the Microwave

Vinyet Etc. – Transform a Vintage Frame into an Antique Mirror

Amy Sadler Designs – How to Paint Flower Pots for the Porch

Songbird – How to Make Lace Napkin Rings Tutorial

 

By: Jennifer Howard · In: DECORATING, DIY Decorating Projects · Tagged: diy decor

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kelly says

    May 22, 2022 at 11:21 pm

    You are so clever! I can’t wait to try this with some of our flowers. Can you come help me? ha!

    Reply
  2. Jane says

    May 17, 2022 at 11:47 pm

    I never knew that flowers could be pressed in the microwave. Thanks for the idea 🙂

    Reply
    • Jennifer Howard says

      May 22, 2022 at 12:02 pm

      It’s crazy, right!!

      Reply
  3. Laurie @ Vinyet Etc says

    May 17, 2022 at 4:02 pm

    I totally have to try this technique, no flower is safe now! 😉

    Reply
  4. Kim says

    May 17, 2022 at 10:40 am

    Such a fun project!! Big Al will think I’m nuts when I start microwaving flowers! 😂

    Reply
  5. Julie says

    May 16, 2022 at 4:28 pm

    Absolutely beautiful and now I want to microwave every little flower I see lol. I mean it’s just so versatile. We might be selling our home soon so I’m thinking of going out to get a few flowers for a memory frame. Smart idea to use RIT, too!!

    Reply
  6. Kristi Dominguez says

    May 16, 2022 at 3:22 pm

    Jennifer- this is such a clever idea! I never realized a microwave could be used for this…so clever. And I love how you displayed them all…so pretty! xoxo, kristi

    Reply
  7. Angie @ Postcards from the Ridge says

    May 16, 2022 at 10:50 am

    Such a cute project! I didn’t know you could dry flowers this way but I’m glad you showed us how! The colors are so pretty! Pinned!

    Reply
  8. Vicki and Jenn 2 Bees in a Pod says

    May 15, 2022 at 7:50 am

    Jennifer – this looks beautiful! My method is pretty much the same as your! I love how you left some of the stems attached. I’ll need to try that next time.

    Reply
    • Jennifer Howard says

      May 15, 2022 at 3:40 pm

      I will definitely do it again with other flowers…this was my test run to see if it really worked. I can’t wait to see yours!!

      Reply
    • Cindy says

      May 15, 2022 at 6:34 pm

      I’m trying thus with my Violas. They’re at peak so I know it’s the best time to make this project

      Reply
  9. stacy says

    May 15, 2022 at 7:01 am

    What a fun project idea! It turned out so pretty!

    Reply
    • Jennifer Howard says

      May 15, 2022 at 3:43 pm

      You have to try it with some of your flowers! They would look so pretty framed in your house.

      Reply
  10. Cindy says

    May 13, 2022 at 5:05 pm

    What a great project! I had no idea you could dry flowers in the microwave!

    Reply
    • Jennifer Howard says

      May 14, 2022 at 7:16 am

      I know, I thought it was so cool!!

      Reply

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