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How to Press Flowers with a Microfleur Press

Drying flowers doesn’t have to take weeks. To create her beautiful and vibrant pressed flower designs, Ellie uses the Microfleur, a microwaveable flower press. Unlike the traditional method of pressing flowers or plant material in large books with weight on them for months, the Microfleur flower press goes in a microwave oven and dries flowers, leaves, and stems in seconds or minutes (depending on the thickness of the plant material and the strength of your oven).

 

It is the rapid drying of Microfleur Flower Press that keeps the vibrant colors of flowers, stems, and leaves. 

 

The Microfleur is easy to use.   Even Ellie's former first and second graders used the Microfleur.  You can too!

Materials

A Microfleur Microwave Flower Press Kit comes with the following materials:

  • 2 platens

  • 2 wool felt pads

  • 2 fabric liners

  • 2 clips (4 for max size)

  • Guide booklet

How to Press Flowers

Pressing flowers is easy with the Microfleur Flower Press. Here are the steps:

 

  1. Pick your flowers on a dry, sunny day after the morning dew is gone.  

  2. Open the microfleur with  one platen, wool

  3. Place flowers face down on fabric liner. Flowers should lay as flat as possible and not overlap.

  4. Place another fabric liner on top of the flowers, followed by a wool felt pad and the outer platen. Secure the platens with the clamps to apply pressure.

  5. Now the press is ready to go into the microwave. Check the guide booklet for drying times for the different size Microfleur Flower Presses and different watts of microwave ovens. Sometimes a second or third burst in the microwave is needed. (Drying times will vary.) It's always best and safer to do a few shorter bursts than one long one.

  6. Flowers are dried and ready to use when all the moisture is gone from them and they feel stiff and paper-like.

Best Flowers to Dry in the Press

Nearly all flowers can be pressed, but for beginners, it is best to start with plant material that is relatively flat—like leaves, ferns, and pansies.  

 

Here are some specific flowers that turn out well in the Microfleur Flower Press:

  • Violets

  • Daisies

  • Single-petal roses

  • Cosmos

  • Pansies

  • Perennial geraniums

  • Single petal phlox

Storing Pressed Flowers

If you are not ready to use the dried flowers and other plant material right away, they should be stored in a dry place away from direct sunlight.  

 

Dried flowers can be kept in airtight plastic containers, in phone books with absorbent pages, or in between pieces of paper with some weight added. You can even store them in a plastic bag, but make sure to remove as much of the air from the bag as you can.

What To Do with Pressed Flowers

After pressing flowers in the Microfleur Flower Press, what’s next? Well, there are many things that you can do with your vibrant pressed flowers.

 

Here are just a few ideas of what you can decorate with pressed flowers:

  • Bookmark

  • Card

  • Art

  • iPhone case

  • Jewelry

  • Ornaments

  • Display box

 

Now you’re on your way to creating beautiful designs with your own pressed flowers. For additional questions about using a Microfleur Flower Press, contact Ellie.

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