How To: Make a Pressed Flower Notebook

I love fresh flowers, but the problem with them is that they last no where near long enough. In a perfect world, there would be blooms all year round, unfortunately, it's simply not possible or natural. So I've decided to make the most of flowers whilst they are in season. The best way to do this? Press them and save them for a rainy day. This notebook makes use of some daisies I had pressed recently.

This notebook was fairly easy to make (minimum book binding skills required), but if you're feeling lazy or impatient, simply stick some pressed flowers onto the front of an already made notebook. Simples!

To make this notebook you will need:

two pages from an old book
some paper of your choice
some pressed flowers
washi tape
glue stick
quick drying varnish
a needle and embroidery floss
an awl

To get the best results, press your flowers well in advance - I pressed my daisies for a good six or seven days. You don't need a flower press either, I just put my daisies in between two sheets of tissue and slid them inside an impressive looking encyclopaedia. The thicker the book, the better.

To begin with, make the cover of your notebook by using washi tape to stick your two book pages together, along one side. Do this to both sides of your notebook cover, to make it secure. Look out for old children's books with thick pages, so that the cover is sturdy.

Use a glue stick to arrange your flowers in place on the front of your notebook cover. Then, apply a thin layer of varnish to both parts of the cover (front and back). This is to make the pages more secure, but also helps to secure the pressed flowers in place. Wait until the varnish has completely dried before moving on to binding your notebook. If the varnish makes the corners of your notebook cover curl, simply place your dried cover inside a thick book to flatten it out.

Fold your paper in half, depending on how many pages you want your notebook to have, and slip your pages inside the notebook cover. Use an awl to make three holes running through the centre of your notebook, and use a needle and some embroidery thread to stitch your notebook together.

This is such a simple little project that I really enjoyed, so I will definitely be making more soon! I'm hoping to try this with different varieties of pressed flowers, sneakily picked from the garden (or maybe even the park... mwa ha ha).