Now that Spring has arrived, we’re excited to create beautiful DIY projects using flowers. Our to-do list this season is full of ideas to turn flowers into lovely items like t-shirts, dresses, napkins, and tea towels.
And with this simple flower-pounding technique, we can easily transform any fresh flower from our garden or any old bouquet into a unique and timeless piece that we’ll treasure for a long time.
Related: Wow Guests With These Floral Ice Cubes
What’s Flower Pounding Art?
Flower pounding art is a craft that has been around for centuries. It involves pressing flowers and leaves onto fabric or paper to create a colourful design. Flower pounding is a form of botanical printing that transfers natural pigments from the plants onto the surface to produce intricate patterns. Essentially, it’s an eco-friendly art form that uses natural materials and does not require synthetic dyes or inks, making it a sustainable choice for artists and nature lovers.
Here’s how to get started with flowering pounding this spring.
Materials Required:
- Hammer
- Flowers
- Cotton tea towel
- Sponge
- Cardboard or piece of wood
Related: How to Make These Beautiful (and Easy!) Dried Flower Wreaths
Step One: Cut Flowers
First, we’ll arrange the flowers on the wood or cardboard, keeping the base intact for the next step. We recommend using flowers with thin petals and vibrant colours for the best printing effect. Daisies, roses, cosmos, violets and poppies are great for flower-pounding art. Cut each flower carefully, keeping the base intact for the next step and arrange them on your wood piece that will fit the tea towel size.
Related: Add More Hygge to Your Home With These DIY Pressed Flower Candles
Step Two: Let’s Pound Flowers!
Add a bit of water to any sponge and clean the top surface of your cotton tea towel just before you start pounding. Add a piece of parchment paper to protect the cotton. You also can pound directly into the material.
Use a hammer and start pounding! Pound until your tea towel becomes wet with the natural flower pigment, and yes, you will need to pound way harder than you actually thought.
Repeat this process across the tea towel surface, adding more flowers and leafy greenery to pound if necessary until you are happy with the design.
Related: The Best Flowers to Cut For Dried Floral Arrangements
Step Three: Let Your Masterpiece Dry
After letting the design dry for 15 minutes, we’ll have a beautiful pounded flower art piece that we can use or display. This technique is an enjoyable way to turn flowers into magical pieces that we can cherish for years to come. We hope you’ll try it out soon – perhaps as a Mother’s Day gift?
We can’t wait for you to join us in our next DIY adventure!
Images courtesy of Maca Atencio
