Creating a beautiful pressed flower bookmark is easy and cost effective. You can create a great gift for gardeners, flower enthusiasts, avid readers or just about anyone who appreciates nature – using the pouch laminating machine you already own.

Here’s what you’ll need to get started:

Fresh flower blooms
White paper towels
Heavy books
Scissors
Craft glue (such as Elmer’s)
Toothpick
Card stock (preferably acid free), cut to 1.5” x 8.5” strips
Lamination pouch
Pouch laminating machine
Hole punch
Ribbon

Processing your flowers

Pick (or purchase) fresh flower blooms that you want to use as the decorative element in your bookmark. If you are creating this for your mom, a friend or teacher consider using their favorite color or schools colors. Thinner and smaller blooms, such as violets and forget-me-nots, are ideal as they are easier to press and dry. However, almost any tender flower bloom can be used if you have a little patience.

Petals may be removed from the flower head (if you want individual petals) or you can leave the flower head fully intact. Lay your desired petals or flowers flat on a white paper towel placed over a hardcover book. You don’t need to worry about arranging them. Just ensure that the individual petals are not touching each other to prevent color bleeding or inability to separate the flowers once they are dried. Cover the flowers with a second white paper towel. Now carefully place a stack of heavy books on top of the top paper towel.

Leave the flowers in place for at least a week. At that point, check to see if they have thoroughly dried and flattened. Patience is key during this step. Blooms that are not totally dry will ultimately rot, producing disappointing results. Note that for larger or thicker blooms, it can take up to four weeks for a flower head to be completely dry and flat.

The next step is to arrange the blooms and/or petals to create your desired design on the cardstock strips. Once you have your layout finalized for each bookmark you plan to create, it’s time to glue the blooms in place. For best results, we recommend placing a small amount of glue into a disposable plastic lid. Then, using a toothpick, get a tiny bit of glue and glue each of your blooms in place on the cardstock. Use just enough glue to get your flowers to stay in place. You do not have to glue the entire bloom or petal. Then wait for the glue to dry (a few hours should suffice). Now place the glued bookmarks between two fresh paper towels, and place them under the stack of heavy books again overnight to ensure your now glued flowers are totally flat.

Now it’s time to laminate!

Carefully line up your bookmarks inside the laminating pouch leaving enough space between each cardboard strip to cut between the bookmarks. A 1/8″ minimum sealed edge around your piece is recommended. Leave extra space at the top where you want to punch a hole. With the side of your hand, smooth out any air between the two layers of the pouch for a better seal. Now feed the filled laminating pouch, sealed edge first, into the laminating machine. Next, cut your bookmarks out while leaving enough space at the top to punch out a hole. Do not punch into your paper, this will expose the paper to moisture. Finally, tie a ribbon or yarn through the hole to complete your pressed flower bookmark.

Pressed flower laminated bookmarks are a great gift and can also be used by nonprofits and schools as a token of thanks or even a fundraiser to support children’s reading initiatives. Filmsource offers a wide variety of pouch laminating machines and laminating pouches for all of your laminating needs. Contact Filmsource today to learn more about our array of products, perfect for businesses and home crafters, alike.

Creating a Beautiful Pressed Flower Bookmark