Decorate handmade papers with colourful flowers or pressed leaves for a more neutral theme.


Among the easiest things to make with pressed flowers are greeting cards and tags. Decorate handmade papers with colourful flowers, such as pansies or larkspur or, if you prefer a neutral scheme, decorate with pressed leaves or wheat.

Floral designs for cards do not need to be elaborate - often a simple design is the most effective. Choose one flower and work with that, or select a colour theme and work with flowers in graduated tones.

You'll need
Assorted pressed flowers
Handmade paper or card
Scissors and ruler
Small paintbrush
Craft adhesive and small brush
Single hole punch
Ribbon

Here's how
1. Press the flowers.
2 Cut the paper for the cards or tags slightly larger than needed. Handmade cards look best when the edges are slightly jagged. To do this, hold a ruler near the edges of the paper and run a wet paintbrush along the ruler. Tear the paper along the soaked line. Use a ruler to fold the paper in half to make the card.
3. If your arrangement is complex, experiment by first arranging the flowers on the card without using any adhesive. Start by laying the taller or larger flowers first, and build up the arrangement, placing the smallest or feature flowers last. If making a gift tag, leave enough room on the card to write the message.
4. Use the brush to apply the adhesive to the back of the flowers and press them onto the card.
5. If desired, punch a hole in the corner of the card or tag and thread a length of ribbon through the hole.

Source: Drying your own flowers, Murdoch Books