How to make earrings from pressed flowers
On a recent trip to Spain, some beautifully delicate floral earrings caught our eye. On close inspection we saw they were made from real pressed flowers from the seller's own garden. This is our version, which we think is equally as beautiful and easy to make, too.
What you will need...
1. Pressed flowers
2. Laminating machine or service
3. Punch for making small holes
4. Earring hooks
5. Sharp craft knife
6. Cutting board
A few pics followed by the write-up
These earrings are made with pressed flowers. First you must prepare your pressed flowers, or purchase from your local craft store. View our tutorial on how to press flowers for more information. e.g. methods such as using a microwave for quick results, or pressing in a book, which can take from two to three weeks.
Step 1. Press your flowers
In our case we tried a number of flowers picked from our garden and used both pressing methods. Some worked wonderfully, while others turned brown or shriveled. Experimenting is key. As we are making earrings, be sure to pick pairs of flowers of equal sizes. If you can find many of the same size that is best, since with the microwave method, one sometimes may shrink more than another. You can then choose the closest pair once all the flowers are pressed.
Step 2. Laminate your flowers
Your chosen pressed flowers then need to be laminated. We used our local copy center where they laid out numerous flowers on one A4 sheet. This was very cheap to have done. If you have your own laminating machine then use that, as it will be just as good. We discovered the finer the flower, the better it laminated. Thicker flowers sometimes caused creases in the sheet.
Step 3. Cut out your earrings
Before you begin cutting out your flowers, please remember that you must also be sure to cut an extra shape which will accommodate the earring hook. This shape must be big enough so that you can punch a small hole where the earring hook will be fed through. (Refer to our photograph on the left.) Cut out the flowers on a cutting board using a sharp craft knife. Cut close to the natural edges of the flower, taking care not to cut into the flower itself and loose the seal.
Step 4. Adding the earring hook
Use a hammer and a small punch to create the hole for the hook. Feed the hook though and there you have it!
Note: some flowers' colors might fade after a month or two when exposed to sunlight. However, when original earrings are this special and easy to make, even having them for a short time is worth it!