How to make a simple flower press

Time to Spring into Action

Let's make a flower press.

Spring is here at last and the flowers are beginning to bloom.  I love spring and I love flowers.  I want them in my house all the time.  Fresh flowers are the best, but of course winter will come and take them away.  So, I want to save a few so there will always be some in the house.  I have an idea, why don't we make a flower press. This is a quick afternoon project and it will preserve the color and beauty of the flowers.  I'll tell you a secret.... Misty is going to make something pretty with the flowers in her blog next Friday.      So stay tuned and be sure to check that out!!


This is a really easy project.  I used some scrap pieces of plywood from my shop that have been lying around for years.  I did a little measuring with kapro's nifty measure mate 313, a little cutting with proxxon's band saw, some easy sanding with the proxxon's OZI/E detail sander  and some sprucing up with plaid paints and zippity do,  it was done.

I will take you step by step below.

Supplies:

(2)- wood pieces I used 1/2"  plywood measuring 10" x 14"
      (you can use whatever you have, the two just need to be the same size)
(4)-  1 1/2"bolts with wing nuts
(4)- small metal washers
glues- I used weldbond and a 2 part epoxy
(2) sheets of foam sheet.
plaid paints - colors of your choice.
  
Equipment:

Proxxon band saw
proxxon OZI/E detail sander
kapro measure mate 313
drill and drill bits.
box cutter or razor tool

The first thing I did was to measure my two boards.  I took measurements using the kapro measure mate 313 of the smaller of the 2 boards so that I could cut the bigger one to the exact size as the smaller one.  The kapro measure mate 313, has a neat little sliding marker so transferring the measurements from one board to the other was a snap.  I marked out my lines and cut my pieces using the proxxon band saw.   

proxxon band saw

kapro measure mate 313

                                                                                    That saw cuts like butter !!  I love it!  💗                          

I sanded it smooth using the Proxxon OZI/E detail sander.

We don't want splinters!

The next thing I did was to cut my foam sheets to size.  I measured them with the Kapro measure mate 313 and then I used another feature on this measuring tool which is a guide for a cutting.  The same red sliding marker used for measuring has a notch in it to fit a razor edge tool so you can't go astray with your cutting.  Look at the picture below.    Really cool.

using the edge guide on the kapro measure mate 313

Ok, now everything is smooth and cut to size.  The next step is simply to glue the foam sheets to the boards. I used a cinder block to weight it down and left it to dry overnight.  Pay attention to gluing the corners and edges so it doesn't come loose.









Now it is dry.  On the bottom I used a large drill bit  (the size of the head of my bolt) to countersink the head of my bolt,  then I stacked the 2 pieces of wood together and drilled a hole the size of my bolt through all 4 layers  (wood-foam--foam-wood) in the 4 corners approx. 1 1/2" from the top and sides. 

I used a drop of 2 part epoxy glue in the hole where the head of the bolt will rest.  This will keep it from falling out or turning when the wing nut is fastened. I put it all together, put the bolts in and fastened the wingnuts  I left it for the necessary 5 minutes to dry.  

 

I painted both sides using plaid paints.  

On the lighter green side, (top side) I used Martha Stewarts design roller to roll on a design of leaves and berries.  This is also a product of plaid paints  

I used a stencil of bees and dragonflies on the bottom.

To finish it off and add durability I sprayed it with a gloss sealer.  

All done!

Now I'm off to gather some flowers so Misty will have some material to work with next week.  (that is about how long it takes for most flowers to dry).   Please come back and see what she does with them.  It will be amazing !!  

Thanks to everyone for visiting.  Thanks to Proxxon, Kapro, and Plaid for providing materials and equipment, and thanks to Terri our coordinated coordinator for keeping us all together.

Till next time.  Have some fun, make something, and celebrate spring!   Carol