With two months left of the kids’ summer vacation and every activity canceled, I’m wracking my brain trying to find things to keep them busy! Last week we got crafty with some leaves and flowers we found in our yard, and we made a pretty pressed flower craft – lovely air dry clay flower plaques! I’m excited to show you how to make them, too!
Surprisingly, my son enjoyed this activity the most! He loved foraging around the forest (not really a forest – just some junk trees in a shady spot in the yard – but forest sounds more magical), to find pretty flowers and leaves to use on his plaques.
What types of flowers are best to press into air dry clay?
This part of the activity was nice because it got us talking about what was growing outside and what types of blooms and greenery might work best for flower pressing and leaf pressing.
Once we collected enough specimens to make our pressed flower plaques, we headed inside and got down to business. We quickly realized that the flatter the flowers or leaves were to begin with, the better they were to press into the clay. Bulky flowers had too much dimension to be pressed flat into clay, and very veiny leaves had the same problem.
What type of air dry clay is best for pressing flowers into?
I had air dry clay leftover from previous projects (like my air dry clay keychains and air dry clay garden markers), and so we didn’t need to buy anything new for this project!
The air dry clay we used was totally natural clay (not polymer clay), which I think is best when working with flowers as there are no chemicals to discolor the flowers or leaves.
This project was really simple but quite fun; rolling the clay, pressing the flowers into it, poking holes so that the plaques could be hung once dry. We had a nice time together and made so many of these pressed flower plaques, which we plan to hang in our sun room.
If you make it with kids, not only will you end up with a nice piece of decor, but you’ll also have sweet memories of your time together.
Create a pretty pressed flower craft with blooms and leaves from your yard! Use air dry clay to create this pretty floral craft. The beauty of this project is the imperfections. These enhance the rustic or natural feel of this craft. Don't worry about your plaque being the perfect shape or if your clay starts to crack or wrinkle. Embrace the imperfections!Pressed Flower Craft: Air Dry Clay Flower Plaque
Materials
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Instructions
Notes
Stephanie says
Thanks for showing me how to do this. I got the idea out of a magazine and wanted to try it; so, I looked it up and found your site. đŸ™‚
Bre says
Hi, Stephanie – yay! Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope your project turned out awesome!
Malka Winner says
Really really cute project that looks easy and has nice results! I’m curious if the leaves and flowers stayed vibrant or if they faded, yellowed, and browned after several days?
Bre says
Hi, Malka – that is such a good question!!! We didn’t know what would happen and sort of expected the leaves and flowers to brown or crumble, but they haven’t! I think because you’re pressing them so flat into the clay, it’s sort of like when you press them in a book (how they don’t brown or shrivel). It’s just a guess – I don’t really know why they haven’t decayed, but they’re looking great!