A HANDY GUIDE TO PRESSING FLOWERS

Thank you for purchasing a special little memory keeper from Arlo & Co.  We hope you love your Flower Press. 

Here you'll find instructions and tips to help you make the most of the blooms you collect.

Let's get started!

1. Collect flowers which have just opened, so they are undamaged and bright. Lay out your flowers, and trim away any unwanted leaves.  Cut stems at an angle, and brush off any dirt with a moist paper-towel. 

 

2. If your flowers have wilted slightly, place them in water and allow them to rehydrate for about an hour. You can use scissors to split any thick flowers in half, for best results.  

 

3. Open your flower press and remove all cardboard except for the bottom piece. (You can discard the pieces of cardboard with holes in the centre - they are provided to nestle your wing nuts and bolts in the post - but keep the other four full sheets of cardboard for pressing your flowers).  You'll want to distribute your flowers and leaves evenly throughout the press, starting at the bottom layer. 

 

4. Avoid placing your flowers and leaves directly onto the cardboard without blotting paper (tissue paper, or paper towel) in between the flowers and the cardboard. This will preserve your cardboard and allow you to reuse it next time.

  

5. Layer your flower press from the bottom up, in this order - 

• Bottom timber base
• Cardboard
• Blotting paper
• Flowers
• Blotting Paper
• Cardboard
• Blotting Paper
• Flowers
• ... and repeat

Once you've placed the final layer of cardboard on top, place the timber 'lid' of your flower press on top of the stack.  Use the four wing nuts to hold the press tightly together.

6. Keep your press in a warm, dry place for approximately 6 weeks. You can carefully check on the progress of your flowers now and again; different flowers take different amounts of time to press. 

Your flowers are ready to take out when they are stiff and completely dry.

 

We hope you love using your flower press to preserve blooms and memories alike. We'd love to see your results, so be sure to tag @arloandco on Instagram and Facebook, or pop through a message via email to show your beautiful blooms!