{"id":11312,"date":"2024-03-05T22:17:26","date_gmt":"2024-03-06T03:17:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/?p=11312"},"modified":"2024-04-09T20:41:11","modified_gmt":"2024-04-10T00:41:11","slug":"cheap-pocket-plant-press","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/2024\/03\/cheap-pocket-plant-press\/","title":{"rendered":"Cheap pocket plant press"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IMG_3323-1024x768.jpeg\" alt=\"Photo of the materials listed, laid out on a work table.\" class=\"wp-image-11313\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IMG_3323-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IMG_3323-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IMG_3323-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IMG_3323-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IMG_3323-1200x900.jpeg 1200w, https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IMG_3323.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>(1) This pocket plant press is made from a stack of 3 x 5 index cards, salvaged corrugated cardboard, cheap watercolor paper, and rubber bands. Cut two pieces of corrugated cardboard to 3 x 5 inches. Cut two pieces of cheap watercolor paper to the same size. Find a flower, and blot it dry with paper towels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IMG_3324-1024x768.jpeg\" alt=\"A flower arranged on the open plant press\" class=\"wp-image-11314\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IMG_3324-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IMG_3324-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IMG_3324-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IMG_3324-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IMG_3324-1200x900.jpeg 1200w, https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IMG_3324.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>(2) Place one piece of corrugated cardboard down. Stack half the file cards on top of it. Place a piece of watercolor paper on top of that. Arrange the flower on this stack. Then make another stack of corrugated cardboard, file cards, and watercolor paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IMG_3325-1024x768.jpeg\" alt=\"The completed stack, the flower is in the middle with its stem sticking out.\" class=\"wp-image-11315\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IMG_3325-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IMG_3325-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IMG_3325-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IMG_3325-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IMG_3325-1200x900.jpeg 1200w, https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IMG_3325.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>(3) Assemble the stack with the corrugated cardboard on the outside. Wrap the assembly with the rubber bands. If the stem of the flower is sticking out, you can trim it off with scissors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IMG_3326-1024x768.jpeg\" alt=\"Side view of the assembled stack, showing the layers.\" class=\"wp-image-11316\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IMG_3326-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IMG_3326-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IMG_3326-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IMG_3326-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IMG_3326-1200x900.jpeg 1200w, https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IMG_3326.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Now let it dry for at least a week. Longer if the weather is humid, or the flower is especially moist. If you want the flower really flat, stack some heavy books on top of the plant press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The watercolor paper takes the place of blotter paper in a real plant press. In some cases, the pressed flower may leave a colored image on the watercolor paper, so with some experimentation you should be able to use this technique to make pressed flower monoprints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The stack of file cards makes the plant press stiffer, and helps spread the pressure of the rubber bands out evenly. You can also press several flowers in this plant press by using alternating layers of file cards, watercolor paper, and flowers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(This is a follow up to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/2024\/03\/plant-presses-and-nature-collage-art\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"11305\">this post<\/a>. And for the finished product, see <a href=\"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/2024\/04\/it-came-from-a-plant-press\/\">this post.<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(1) This pocket plant press is made from a stack of 3 x 5 index cards, salvaged corrugated cardboard, cheap watercolor paper, and rubber bands. Cut two pieces of corrugated cardboard to 3 x 5 inches. Cut two pieces of cheap watercolor paper to the same size. Find a flower, and blot it dry with &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/2024\/03\/cheap-pocket-plant-press\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Cheap pocket plant press&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[430,945],"tags":[129],"class_list":["post-11312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ecojustice","category-nature","tag-diy-chronicles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11312","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11312"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11312\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11390,"href":"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11312\/revisions\/11390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11312"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11312"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}