How can I preserve my flowers for indoor display?

Thanks to Kim Bruch who shares how to laminate dried garden flowers for display, bookmarks and picture albums! Kim is student teaching middle school science this fall and made her collection for her future classroom. She says, “I’m excited to share my collections with students.”

First: dry your flowers. If you don’t have a plant press, use the tried and true method of wrapping your plants in newspaper and tucking them into a heavy book for several weeks.

To laminate, Kim uses Swingline GBC letter size self-adhesive laminating sheets (item # 3747307). Here’s how she does it.

1.       Peel the backing off one sheet with sticky side up

2.       Gently arrange flowers

3.       Once flowers are arranged and leaves are in a position that is appealing, gentle press into sheet.

4.       Begin to lift backing off a second sheet and align bottoms together.  Takes a little practice.  I wouldn’t try on your best specimens.  Maybe try with some  grass from the yard.

5.       Once the pieces are aligned, lay the top sheet down onto the bottom and continue to peel the top sheet while sticking to bottom sheet.

6.       Work out any air bubbles. I use a small needle to help.  The tiny holes are not visible and create a cleaner looking final product.

7.       Trim to fit into album or binder of choice. Insert into a frame or even cut into bookmarks.