Dried Flower Bookmark

One simple project you can do with dried flowers is to make a bookmark. Let’s give it a try! 

If you plan to press your own flowers, go outside and look for blooming flowers to collect. Be sure to take only what you need and leave plenty of flowers on each plant.  

Here at the Garden, we found brittlebush, chuparosa and desert marigolds. We even collected some tomato flowers from the garden beds in the Cactus Clubhouse.  

Follow these instructions for pressing your plants. Alternatively, you can use pre-pressed flowers for this project. 

Dried Flower Bookmarks 

What you need: 

• Dried and pressed flowers 

• Heavy paper, such as watercolor paper or thin cardboard 

• Liquid School Glue 

• Scissors 

• Clear packing tape 

Assembly: 

1. Cut a rectangle shape from the heavy paper. You can make your bookmark a different shape if preferred.
2. Use small dabs of liquid glue to attach the pressed flowers to the paper. You get to decide how you want the flowers arranged.  
3. Now, the bookmark needs to be sealed. Cut off some pieces of clear packing tape that are longer than the length of the bookmark.  
4. Lay down tape over the top and make sure the bookmark is fully covered.  
5. Flip the bookmark over and lay down more tape to the backside, sealing the bookmark in a tape sandwich. 

6. Trim off the extra tape from the edges using the scissors.

What’s Going On: 

Plant materials can be preserved with a few key ingredients: dryness, pressure and time. The goal of pressing is to remove as much moisture from the plant as quickly as possible, leaving behind a dry and colorful plant specimen. At the Garden, scientists work hard to preserve as many plant specimens as possible for storage in the Herbarium. Researchers from around the world can use our Herbarium specimens for science.  

If you want to experience the Herbarium yourself, join us at a Desert Discovery Camp this June. Campers get special behind the scenes tours of the Herbarium and get to make their own herbarium sample to take home! 

Learn more about Desert Discovery Camps.