On Feb. 20, the Student Sustainability Cooperative and Vandal Entertainment hosted a flower pressing event for students to learn how to preserve their Valentine’s Day bouquets. This workshop gave individuals the opportunity to turn their flowers into lasting keepsakes instead of throwing them into the garbage once they wilted.
“Flower Press” was a new event this year, inspired by “Bouquet for your Boo,” which was held the week before.
“This year, we thought we should do something for the flowers from [Bouquet for your Boo],” Zoha Aqeel, the event planner for the SSC, said. “There are thousands of flowers that we give out, and we don’t want them to just die. We thought that we can create jewelry, frames or decorations with them, and that way people can save flowers their loved ones gave them.”
Students were able to create their own flower pressing tools with wood, screws and paper. They learned the technique of sandwiching the flowers between paper and then tightening them between the provided wood slabs to allow the moisture to drain out while preserving the shape and color.
It can take up to three weeks the flowers to fully dry, depending on how old the bouquet is and what flowers are being preserved. As the process will take a while, students were able to take the flower pressing tools home and can reuse them to preserve more flowers in the future.
“I really want to see creativity,” Aqeel said. “I love ‘Bouquet for your Boo’ and all of the flowers, colors and the vibe going on, and I want the same here.”
Once the flowers are fully dry, there are many crafty options to choose from. You can frame them, stick them in resin, make jewelry, ornaments, bookmarks or even decorate your phone case with them. They can be used to decorate candles or crushed up to be confetti as well.
Flower pressing also aligns with sustainability practices that the SSC is committed to. Preserving them decreases the amount of waste going into the trash, repurposing them and giving them a new life. They can replace synthetic decorations in certain crafts as well, adding a unique touch and reducing waste in the long run. Even small activities like this can have a lasting impact, preserving both memories and the planet.
Layla Phillis can be reached at [email protected]