If you were to take a look at my resumes hobbies and interests section you would find wrapping presents tucked neatly between typicalities such as traveling and music. I’m kidding of course but I am not kidding when I say that I consider wrapping presents to be one of my absolute favourite past times. That’s probably why I love Christmas so much, because I can wrap a ton of presents (both mine and my families) and no one can pass a single judgement. Each year I make it a point to put as much effort into my wrapping as I do on the actual presents themselves because as I find that extra little touch never goes unnoticed. This year I decided to add an even more personal touch with the addition of handmade pressed flower ornaments. Besides waiting on the flowers to press (don’t worry, you can also purchase pre-pressed flowers) these ornaments take seconds to whip up and I love the natural, rustic touch they offer to basic packing paper, textured ribbon and twine. Now the only problem is choosing whom I’m going to gift these ornaments to since I only purchased 6 frames…whoops!
What You Will Need:
1. Freshly picked flowers for pressing or pre-pressed flowers (available here)
2. Glass Frames with hinge
3. Modge Podge + chop sticks
4. Supplies for wrapping (boxes, craft paper, assorted ribbon, twine, tape, etc.)
Step 1: If you are purchasing pre-pressed flowers you can skip this step. For flowers that you’ve picked or purchased to press, start by cutting the stems and laying flowers and/or leaves out on a piece of white printing paper. Make sure that none of the flowers are touching each other and carefully lay the piece of paper in the middle of a large book. You may want to have a few pieces of paper underneath the page of the book so that no moisture will soak through and ruin it. Lay a few more sheets of paper carefully on top of the flowers and close the book. Stack a few more books of heavy objects on top of the book and leave it alone for about 2 weeks. Tip: Thinner, wild flowers, leaves and single petals will produce less moisture and are much easier to press.
Step 2: Open up your frames and decide roughly where you want your flowers to be placed. Dip the tip of a chopstick into the Modge Podge and dab the tiniest amount onto the frame where you want your flowers to be placed. Gently lay flowers back onto the frame. Close the frame using the hinge. If you find the hinges aren’t doing a good job at keeping the frames securely closed, you can use a small amount of hot glue or crazy glue to secure it shut.
Step 3: Measure out your twine and tie it around the hole in the frames to create your ornament.
