How To Make A Pressed Herb Collage

Michelle Meyer

5 years ago

After experimenting on how to make a pressed herb collage, I think I’ve got it. I’m not going to call the process of making pressed herbs a trial and error necessarily. Both ways that I used will work, so I’ll just leave it up to you to decide which one you like best.

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Every spring when my husband and I head to the local nursery, I think how wonderful it would be to keep a log or journal of plants. I imagine we could record all the flowers that work best in our yard year after year. Then we get home, get everything planted and I forget all about recording what we bought.

This year since we have a few herbs that survived the winter, I thought of making collages with them. Then make another collage of the new herbs we just bought. In a way, it’s like a journal but one that I can enjoy on display instead.

In This Post

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Supplies

herbs
scissors or clippers
old books
acid free stock paper or mix media art paper
washi tape
pen or pencil
tweezers
frame

Old Fashion Pressed Herb Collage

In our container garden, we have thyme, rosemary and flat leaf parsley, so I decided to start with those. The second collage is a combination of two lavender varieties.

The herbs in both collages were dried using the old fashion method but instead of using a flower press, I placed them between the pages of an old book. Drying time takes about a week and a half to two weeks.

Only the rosemary looks a bit drab, but I kept it for its unwavering character. The rest of the herbs look great. After arranging the herbs on mixed media art paper, I used colored washi tape to secure the stems in place. I love the random fun colors of the tape, because it adds a lively contrast to the dark green herbs.

With the herbs in place I wrote the common and scientific names of the herbs and numbered the specimens. The numbers actually don’t mean anything but I thought it gave it a vintage feel. If needed, use a ruler or straight edge for lettering.

Microwave Pressed Herbs

I decided to try the microwave method on the new batch of herbs and flowers I just bought.

There are several ways to microwave flowers and herbs, but I’ve only experimented with the book method. I placed the herbs between the pages of two old books. Then I put the books in the microwave one stacked on top of the other. I set the microwave for 30 seconds, check it, and then for another 30 seconds.

I removed the herbs from the book and carefully placed them on heavy paper to cool and finish drying. The herbs will be very delicate and may need to be handled with tweezers.

When I try this again I think I’ll place the herbs on heavy paper inside the book and see how it works.

The microwave will certainly pull out the moisture and it’s a little better at preserving that vibrant color of the herbs and flowers. You can imagine after seeing how well the flowers work that I can’t wait to experiment more!

I’m just starting on the dill, basil and cilantro collage and will share more as I get them into frames.

Framing A Pressed Herb Collage

For framing I like the floating glass with a chain for hanging to display the collage. It’s so easy to place inside and secure with a piece of double-sided tape. For one similar to mine see this frame.