Theresa Hambleton: Hi! I am Theresa Hambleton, floral artist and co-owner of All Seasons Floral Preservation and this is my sister Mary Beth Lopresti. In today's video, we are going to show you how to press flowers.

Mary Beth Lopresti: Today we are going to show you how to press flowers. We are going to start by showing you how to select the best flowers for pressing. We will then show you how to prepare your flowers for pressing and show you how to press using the two methods available; microwave pressing and phone book pressing. When pressing with a phone book, we use silica gel. So we will show you how to dry flowers with silica and also how to remove your dried flowers from the presses and properly store them. To use your pressed flowers and crafts, we will give you ideas and show you how to create a pressed flower bookmark and how to use the flowers when scrapbooking, one is to create a pressed petal picture frame with rose petals. We will also be showing you how to use pressed flowers to create a greeting card.

Many of the items you need can be found in your home. To press flowers, you will need a phone book, tissue paper, an air tight bin, silica gel, a board and weights, small sharp scissors, and paper towels. Some flowers press best in a microwave press, so having one is optional and we will show you how to use one. To store your pressed flowers, you will use acid-free cardstock and clear sleeves or envelopes. To create floral art with your pressed flowers, you will need tweezers, glue. For bookmarks, you will need to use a laminator and for the scrap up pages, you will use a photo and scrapbooking embellishments of your choice.

Before we get started, I want to go over a few important safety tips. Always be careful when using a microwave as the microwave press can be very hot when you remove it from the oven and also when using sharp scissors. If you have children working on this project with you, you want to be sure that you are supervising them at all times to be sure that they are staying safe also. We re co-owners of All Seasons Floral Preservation and we press and preserve and create framed floral art with special occasion flowers and now we are ready to begin to transform these beautiful flowers into floral art.