Creating holiday cards with pressed flowers

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

When I first started pressing flowers, I wondered what I would do with all the beautiful flowers. Therefore, I started researching what to do with pressed flowers. Well, I found lots of great ideas. In this post, I share my process for creating holiday cards with pressed flowers. Specifically, I focus on holiday designs.

As I recorded the video, I thought about the process. The process I came up with is as follows:

• Gather supplies and prepare
• Assemble and glue pressed flowers/leaves to card stock
• Finish the pressed flower card

While this post and the video focus on holiday greeting cards, the same process can be used for any design. I included a couple of samples of other cards that I have made at the end of the post.

Gather supplies and prepare

Here is a list of supplies that I used:

• Arborvitae leaves, various pressed flowers
• Card stock. Look for card stock that is acid-free
• Glue. I use a matte finish Mod Podge
• Small container for holding the glue
• Paint brushes. I used a ¼ inch and a ½ inch brush
• Tweezers for picking up and laying down the flowers
• Scotch tape for picking up small pieces of plant material that may fall onto the card
• Pencil
• Ruler
• Popsicle stick

After the supplies are assembled, I like to determine the design and prepare the plant material for the next step. This year, I chose two designs. First, a Christmas tree. Second, a wreath. The arborvitae leaves were perfect for both. Next, I looked through my pressed flower collection and picked out flowers that could be used to ‘decorate’ both the tree and the wreath.

So, supplies are ready, and the design is confirmed. Now it’s time to prepare the plant material. Let’s start by discussing the arborvitae stems. There are two parts of the arborvitae stems that I use. First, the individual leaflets. Second, the spine of the stem. The stem is used to form the basis of the tree. The individual leaflets are used to form the branches of the tree.

Next, let’s discuss the flowers. The flowers used to ‘decorate’ the tree and wreath will be based on the dimensions of your card. The card I used was rather small 3 inches by 4.25 inches. Therefore, I chose small flower petals to use as decorations.

The last step is to design your cards. If you need inspiration, Pinterest and Etsy are good sources. Use the plant material and design your cards.

Assemble and glue the pressed flower greeting card

Now the fun begins. I will focus on putting together the Christmas tree design. The same steps can be followed for the wreath. Set your design aside, and follow the directions below:

Step 1 – Prepare glue

Pour a small amount of glue into the container you set aside for this purpose

Step 2 – Measure

Next, we need to place the stem of the tree on the card stock. The stem should be directly in the center of the card. Therefore, you need to measure and find the center. My card is 3 inches wide, therefore, I marked the center at 1.5 inches. Use a pencil and place a small dot in the center of the card.

Step 3 – Glue the tree stem in the middle of the card

There are two methods I use when it comes to gluing. In one method, I place glue directly on the plant material and then place that material on the card. In the second method, I place glue directly on the card stock and then place the stem on the glue. Pick a method that you are most

Step 4 – Let the glue dry for a minute

Place the stem on the card. Hold in place for 10-20 seconds. I like to use a popsicle stick, as opposed to my fingers, to hold the plant material in place. I find my hands get sticky and then tend to lift the plant material I am trying to glue down.

Step 5 – Assemble the branches of the tree

After the stem is in place, start gluing the branches. Remember, the branches are the leaflets that were peeled off the stem. Start at the bottom of the tree and work your way up. Use your design to guide the placement of the branches.

Step 6 – Let the glue dry

Once all the branches have been glued, let the glue try for a couple of minutes.

Step 7 – Decorate the tree

After the tree is somewhat dry, it’s time to glue the decorations. I use flower petals for the decorations/ornaments. In the video, you will see how I pick each individual petal off the flower. The size of the flower you chose should be relational to the size of the Christmas tree. As my tree was on the smaller side, I looked for small petaled flowers. Baby’s breath worked nicely.

That’s all there is to creating holiday cards using pressed flowers.

Finish the pressed flower greeting card

There is a finishing touch I recommend for the greeting cards. Apply a thin layer of glue over all the plant material. Don’t worry, the glue will dry clear. This provides a layer of protection for the plant material.

Here are two additional tips that you may want to consider:

• Stamp or write a greeting inside the card
• Place a piece of protective paper on top of the plant material. This will protect the plant material. You can use either a piece of wax paper or a piece of Acid-free Glassine paper. Place the card between the pages of a heavy book. This will prevent the card stock from getting wrinkles. This same protective paper can be placed on top of the plant material before you place the card in an envelope.

That’s all there is to it. I wish you much success creating holiday cards with pressed flowers.

Examples of non-holiday greeting cards

Additional Pressed Flower Information

You may want to check out the following post for more pressed flower ideas:

• How to create a floating glass herbarium
• How to create pressed flower art – the summer garden
• DIY: Press flowers the old-fashioned way
• DIY resin coasters with dried pressed flowers
• An easy practical way to store dried pressed flowers
• How to create perfectly pressed flowers using a microwave flower press