BLOOM: Flower Pounding on Paper

Flower pounding seems to very trendy right now so I hopped on the trend train and make some cards out of flowers from my garden.

Depending on the type of flower you use and the amount of aggression you have when you pound, the outcome can be light and delicate or rather abstract. I went for heavy pounding and love the ink blot type results.

Want to pound some flowers? Here’s what you’ll need.

A rubber mallet, something sturdy to pound on, and paper. Arrange your flowers on a sheet of paper and lay another piece of paper on top. Gently start pounding to flatten the flowers. Then give them a good whack with the mallet to press out the moisture from the flowers.

Here are my sheets of paper right after the pounding. Pick off as much mashed flower as you can and let dry. If you’re in a hurry or impatient you can put the paper in the microwave for about 5-8 seconds. Check the paper and repeat if necessary. Once the paper is dry, use a soft paint brush to remove the remaining flower pieces.

Cut out interesting pieces of the paper and mount on cardstock to make pretty greeting cards and tags.