Making Pressed-Flower Bookmarks with Found Leaves and Petals
The Moment a Found Leaf Becomes Art
When you pick up a pretty leaf on a walk and tuck it into your pocket, it usually crumbles within a few days. Pressed flowers are a way to flatten and dry those leaves, preserving their color and shape. You can start with nothing more than a thick book you already have at home, and the finished leaves can be made into bookmarks to keep between the pages of a book you open every day.
| Section | Key summary |
|---|---|
| The Moment a Found Leaf Becomes Art | Pressed flowers are a way to flatten and dry those leaves, preserving their color and shape |
| Beginner Supplies and Budget | The biggest cost is the laminating material |
| Difficulty and Time Required | The difficulty level is easy |
| First-Try Steps | Choose leaves and petals |
| Turning It into a Pressed-Flower Notebook | Short key point |
Beginner Supplies and Budget
The biggest cost is the laminating material. If you use iron-on self-laminating sheets, you can finish the bookmarks neatly without a laminator. Prepared as shown in the table below, the supplies will make about 10 bookmarks.
| Supplies | Use | Budget |
|---|---|---|
| 2 to 3 thick books | Weight for pressing leaves | Items at home, 0 won |
| Kitchen towels and newspaper | Absorbing moisture | 1,000 to 2,000 won |
| 1 pack of A4 self-laminating sheets | Surface coating | 5,000 to 8,000 won |
| Hole punch, string, and scissors | Hole and knot finishing | 3,000 to 5,000 won |
Difficulty and Time Required
The difficulty level is easy. Since the process is more about waiting than hand skills, anyone can follow it. It takes 7 to 10 days for leaves to be pressed and fully dried, but if you are impatient, choosing thin leaves under 1mm thick, such as ginkgo leaves, clover, or cosmos petals, can shorten the time to 4 to 5 days. The laminating and finishing work itself takes about 5 minutes per bookmark.
First-Try Steps
- Choose leaves and petals. Pick up 5 to 6 thin, flat pieces, focusing on ones that have not been eaten by insects.
- Wipe wet leaves with a kitchen towel, then spread them in a single layer between sheets of newspaper so they do not overlap.
- Place a thick book on top, then stack one more heavy book on the first book.
- On the third day, replace only the newspaper with dry sheets. If it stays damp, mold can grow.
- After 7 to 10 days, when the leaves are crisp and dry, place them between two self-laminating sheets and cut them with scissors into bookmark size, 4cm wide by 12cm tall.
- Set the iron to medium heat, cover the sheets with a cloth, and press for 10 seconds to seal the coating. Then punch a hole at the top and thread a string through it.
Turning It into a Pressed-Flower Notebook
Each time you make a bookmark, write the date and place where you found the leaf on the back, such as “April 11, under the cherry tree in front of the school.” Once you have about 10, they become a record of your walks for the year. When you get used to the process, you can move on to arranging two or three leaves in layers or adding small wildflowers to create a picture-like composition.