DIY with Local Flowers ~Pressed Art

Wildflowers will be everywhere in Marianna come spring, summer, and fall. There are various shapes, sizes, and colors from which to choose if you plan to dry them in a flower press. Store-bought or handmade flower presses work nice, but flowers can also be put between the pages of an old phone book. Flower pressing dates back to ancient Egypt and was considered a simple art form. It spread to various places, including Victorian England, and before long whole pictures of dried pressed flowers skillfully positioned became a popular pastime. It was a way to preserve a special gift or moment. Today, crafters and nature-lovers press flowers for the same reasons. And some do it because it's an eco-friendly and cheap way to create a unique piece of art.

Have you ever come across a dried rose or flower in an old book and wondered who put it there, and when? And where exactly did it come from? A field or a garden? Did the person's lover or friend give it to them for a holiday, or perhaps as a reminder  of a loved one who passed away? 

Oh the memories and stories that we can create with pressed wildflowers. Whether we group them together to make a scene or frame them individually there are hundreds of ways to make beautiful keepsakes with pressed flowers.    

“Happiness held is the seed; Happiness shared is the flower.” – John Harrigan