Forget me knots... what did I do wrong

[Cameo Val]

Well on my way home tonight, I cut a crop of forget-me-knots to dry and use as nail decorations at a later date. I cut them at 5pm and sat down to press them at 8pm and they had all witherd up ???? What did I do wrong, I thought that you just cut flowers, let them dry a bit, then pressed them between sheets of tissues between the sheets of a heavy book. Obviously there is more to it than this.

Please can all you successful flower driers tell me what i did wrong. Know it will be something really basic, but I am a bit duuuuuurrrrrrrrr !

thank you

 

[artymarty]

:?: I would also be interested to know how to press these......as I've got loads in my garden!!! Martine x

 

[redchris001]

Now I'm certainly no expert in this area but my mother-in-law puts stuff like this in the microwave as it dries them very quickly and according to her this is a good thing!!! :o but I don't know just thought I'd tell you what she does as hers are always Ok and she dries every flower going!! In fact she grows them to dry and sell at her church fetes :biggrin: Hope this helps

 

[Glorsclaws]

Hiya,
My experience of pressing flowers has shown me to believe that you need to press as soon as picked.
Three hours is a bit long for delicate little blooms. :wink2:
You dont let them 'dry out a bit first' you press straight away.
Also, dont pick when wet, they will begin to rot.
Ive also been told by a more experienced person, that its best to pick in the morning, after the dew has gone.
Hope this helps a little.

 

[chrisbow]

I found this on the Internet - hope it helps

How To Press Your Own Flowers ​

Pressed flowers are just as beautiful as fresh flowers and they last forever. Pressing your own flowers can be a very fun project. There's not much to it. Just follow the easy instructions below.
Materials Needed:
*Your favorite flowers or foliage picked and ready to press
*A large phone book or dictionary
*A sheet of newspaper
*More books or heavy objects - about 20 lbs. worth

Instructions:
Step 1.) After picking your favorite flowers and foliage, put them in the refrigerator or an ice chest to keep them from wilting while you prepare your pressing materials.
Step 2.) Place the flowers or foliage on the inside fold of the sheet of newspaper. Make sure there is no overlapping of leaves, petals, stems, etc... and fold the top half of the newspaper sheet down over the flowers.
Step 3.) Open the dictionary or phone book and place the newspaer in the middle at about letter M.
Step 4.) Close the dictionary and place the other books or heavy objects on top.

The drying process takes about 3 days. Once the flowers are pressed and dry you can use them in arrangements, art work, as gifts, whatever you like.

 

[Cameo Val]

So its that easy eh. well I will pick another crop tonigh on the way home and try again. This time I will do it immediately I get home and not kill the poor little things again................... I HAVE MURDERED FLOWERS gulp.

 

[bekster123]

Don't worry Val you are not the only one- i spent 2 hrs last night picking them off the stems really carefully & laying them out on the window sill on a bit of kitchen roll to settle!! (don't know what i was thinking there)

Went to put them into a book today to start the drying/pressing process & they all look like little shrivelled up prunes :sad:

Feel really sad cos they were so pretty just sat there sunbathing in the sun before i cam along & hacked them out. :cry: :cry: :cry:

They weren't even mine to pick.. i got my 6yr old girl & 2 yr old son to knock on the ladies door, looking all sweet, to ask if she would mind if they picked some of her pretty flowers!!!

My God- WHAT SORT OF A MOTHER AM I???:Scared:

XXX

I HAVE MURDERED FLOWERS gulp.

 

[Tavinailtech]

Ok, so after you have pressed the flowers then how do you get it on the nail? place it in the l&p? or the gel? this sounds really neat but don't know just how to do it?
~Jackie~

 

[Glorsclaws]

Hi Jackie,
Its easy!
Create your enhancements the same as ususal, pressuming you work nice & thin.
Put a little blob of adhesive or resin where you want the centre of the flower to be,
Pick up the flower using tweezers... they are VERY delicate,
Place it on the nail and put a layer of clear acrylic or gel over the top.
Some flowers have a bulky centre so you need to work quite thin first before putting that final layer over the top!

This was my first attempt last year... I loved them!

P.s ... Bekster & Valburt ... you crack me up, pmsl!!!

 

[Tavinailtech]

thanks for the quick reply, i am off to do some flower picking, i have lost of little flowers in my garden! Will any dried flowers work? My mind is racing to get this started! Never seen this done in Canada!!

 

[gracy]

also use couch roll or toilet paper as most kitchen roll has bumps in and they dont lie as flat as they need to be to dry properly.

 

[Cameo Val]

Beckser, we must be twins or something........... I pinched someone elses too, and I sent my daughter to do it with me. These flowers were just peeking through a fence (which was luckily not seen from the house) so we nipped out of the car, did a quick raid and was gone in less that a minute.

Oh no................... I'm turning into a criminal. Never mind, as least my daughter can keep me company when I am in the clink.

 

[jussy]

Thanks for that yo lot. I'm going to have a go now!

 

[Fingertips ND]

Hi guys!

Just a quick one to let you know that if you log on to www.lakelandlimited.co.uk and go into the creative craft section they sell:

Microwave Flower Press
'Love pressed flowers but hate the wait? With this specially developed microwave flower press, all it takes is a couple of minutes in the microwave to produce perfectly preserved blooms, ready for decorating cards. Capture the true, vibrant colours of many hundreds of pressings'.

It's £29.95!

HTH