What You'll Need
Fresh flower blooms
White paper towels
Heavy books
Scissors
Laminate sheets
Ruler
Tweezers
Hole punch
Ribbon
Instructions
- Select live (fresh) flower blooms that you want to make into a bookmark. Thinner blooms are best because they are easier to press and dry. Small, delicate flowers like violets, violas and forget-me-nots work really well for laminated pressed flower bookmarks, but there are many possibilities. Make sure the flower heads are tender enough to get pressed flat.
- Separate the petals from the flower head, if you desire, or leave the flowers fully intact. Lay the flowers flat on a white paper towel. You don't need to worry about arranging them right now, but make sure none of the individual petal are touching each other. You don't want the colors from the petals to bleed into each other or the petals to get stuck together.
- Cover the flowers with another white paper towel so that they are sandwiched between two paper towels. Carefully place the paper towels (and flower petals) between a stack of heavy books. You can also place them between the pages of a heavy book, and then shut the book. You want to completely flatten and dry the flower heads.
- Check the flowers weekly to see if they have thoroughly dried and flattened. Flowers can take up to four weeks to fully dry and flatten. Do not apply any products like acrylic spray or hairspray to help preserve the flowers - these products are unnecessary when making laminated bookmarks.
- Cut the bookmark out of two laminated sheets. These two parts should be exactly the same size, since they will become both sides of the bookmark. Use a ruler to make sure the edges are parallel and straight. Standard bookmarks are typically 2 inches by 6 inches, but you can make your bookmark whatever size you want.
- Unpeel the laminate sheets and lay them sticky side up next to each other. Using tweezers, gently lift the dried flowers off the paper towel and lay them onto one of the laminate sheets (that you just cut out) in the arrangement of your choosing. Note: you will not be able to rearrange the flowers once you lay them on the laminate paper. Gently press on the flowers to eliminate any trapped air bubbles.
- Add any extra special touches to the bookmark. Paper cut-outs, glitter (small amount), other paper-thin decorations can make your bookmark unique and personalized. However, these are not necessary. Lightly press these decorations into the laminate sheets.
- Lay the other laminate sheet sticky side down over the laminated sheet with the flowers and other decorations (if any). Slowly and carefully press the two sheets together to deflate any air bubbles as you adhere the sheets to each other. You cannot undo the laminate sheets once they are stuck together, so make sure they are properly aligned.
- Rub your hands over the bookmark to smooth out any additional air bubbles. Punch a hole near the top-center of the bookmark using a hole punch.
- Fold a thin, 8-inch ribbon in half, and then insert the folded section first through the hole in the bookmark to form a loop. Once the folded ribbon is halfway through the hole, slip the two loose ends of the ribbon through the loop. Pull the ends until the ribbon is securely fastened on the bookmark.
