Autumn inspired crafts- Pressed flower bookmark

Autumn is one of my favourite seasons; not only do I feel like doing more crafts in the colder seasons but also, as the evenings are starting to get darker, it's the perfect time to snuggle up and get cosy! 

One thing that helps me relax is reading. I love being transported to a different world for a little while and during lockdown I have really reignited my passion for reading! For this, a bookmark is required! This nicely segues me to the first autumn inspired craft: 

Pressed flower bookmarks

This craft produces beautifully unique results every-time and the method is simple: 

1) Collect some flowers- I walked round the garden with a pair of scissors and snipped off small, singular flowers. To make a collage of flowers like mine, you should pick smaller flowers however you can do whatever design you like! Pick flatter flowers where possible, for example, I used lavender which turned out not to be the best choice as it is rather bulky and took a long time to press

2) Time to press the flowers- I used a press from a kit I've had since I was a child and this took a couple of days for the flowers to lose their moisture and become paper thin. I've seen some methods online where you can press flowers in minutes using an old book and microwave!! An easy method however is via placing your flowers into thick paper (e.g. watercolour paper), folding it over the flowers, then placing this inside a heavy book with a couple of other books stacked on top. This process may take a couple of days if the flower is thicker.

3) Arrange the flowers how you like- I went for a collage approach but you do what you want!

4) Cut some sticky-back plastic to size- you can use the transparent sticky vinyl which you had to cover all your school books in- I still had a full roll left in a draw! Make the bookmark as big or small as you like- mine is 2" by 6".

5) Place your flowers into position on the vinyl and sandwich them with another piece of sticky-back plastic. Press evenly and firmly- by doing so you create a transparent bookmark which showcases your beautiful flowers!

Et voila!! You are ready for a cosy evening of reading ♥

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