For centuries, botanists pressed and preserved individual plant specimens for easier transport back from the field (and easier storage for long-term study). In the 19th century, Victorian women did it to decorate their drawing rooms—and to help pass those long, social media–free Victorian afternoons. Even a teenage Emily Dickinson mailed pressed flowers in letters to friends and collected some 400 specimen cuttings for her own personal herbarium (now digitized and searchable thanks to Harvard’s Houghton Library).
Today, the original inspiration behind the current botanical style trend is flourishing once again, with dried and pressed flowers appearing on wall hangings, inside tiny glass vessels worn as jewelry, and even lacquered onto translucent phone cases—an application Victorian ladies surely would have embraced, given the opportunity.
With these ideas to buy or DIY, you can get started on a pressed-flower project of your own, or purchase something pretty that was harvested in another time or place.
To hang
Six-piece framed herbarium set from Ferns And Friends, $407; Scotch broom print from Day Three Creations, $10; Mandala flower art from Glass House Collection, $35; pressed fern art from Ecobota, $55.
Buy: Mounted and labeled in the herbarium tradition or deconstructed down to petals and rearranged in a mandala, dried-flower art takes many forms. (Note: Prints made from original pressings, while lacking the authentic texture of an actual plant, are more resistant to fading and may be a better bet for spaces blessed with strong sunlight.)
Search terms to try: pressed flower art, dried flower art, herbarium, pressed flower mandala, specimen art
DIY: It doesn’t take much more than a few sheets of plain paper and some large, heavy books to get started pressing fresh-picked flowers (those with petals of medium thickness and relatively flat faces work best). Read detailed steps for drying, pressing, and framing your own over at Biophilia magazine.
To wear

Dried fern and heather pendant from Bustani, $35; fern earrings from Eight Acorns, $40; daisy ring from Sincere Workshop, $17; moss and bark ring from VyTvir, $25.
Buy: Because what’s more romantic than dangling a rosy-hued heather pendant around your neck? Jewelry designers have a range of options at their fingertips for turning nature’s ephemeral gems into permanent, wearable ones. There’s resin casting, where flowers and plants appear as if frozen in ice; Tiffany-glass techniques, which hold blooms between two glass pieces that are fused together at the edges; looser, free-floating, terrarium-like designs; and even simple lockets. Which one is more your style?
Search terms to try: terrarium jewelry, dried flower jewelry, resin jewelry, Tiffany method flower jewelry
DIY: Using a ready-made glass locket and a few dabs of clear nail polish, turning a pressed posy into a pendant takes mere minutes. If you’re up for something a little more advanced, you can follow Lana Red Studio‘s advice for soldering your own glass flower frame using copper tape, or order silicone molds and resin kits for casting your own rings and bracelets.
To carry

Floral Neverland phone case, $27; Ampris Loves phone case, $20; House of Blings phone case, $17.95; Meadow Press phone case, $19.92.
Buy: Consider it your daily reminder to stop and smell the roses (and to call your mother, while you’re at it). From abstract arrangements of petals to orderly monochrome compositions (and everything in between), makers on Etsy and beyond are reimagining floral art for this portable and practical presentation.
Search terms to try: dried flower phone case, pressed flower phone case
DIY: Crafting your own flower-adorned phone case puts all the design decisions in your hands—and you don’t need any super-specialized skills to do the job. Discover how in our exclusive tutorial and then browse supplies on Etsy.
50 comments
Kashuen Collectibles from Kashuen said 4 years ago
Beautiful idea. I am going to try it. Thanks for sharing.
renee and gerardo from GTDesigns said 4 years ago
wow...this bril idea is really beyond beautiful...it's miraculous too! a sweet way to capture moments of nature!! this feature is definitely one of my most favs! Love it!! TFS!
adoreneko from AdoreNeko said 4 years ago
I have a pressed flower phone cover and it's so attention catching. When I tell people the flowers are real - people love it more. It's awesome that I can make my own phone case with the tutorial. Thanks!
Valerie from valeriestitchery said 4 years ago
A perfect pop of spring!
Tim and Brigita Cornwell from jacobswoodentoys said 4 years ago
So pretty! Love the jewelry. Thanks for sharing!
Nicole from KarmaCodeOne said 4 years ago
So beautiful ! Ha, home ec class 1978, our final grade hung on a plastic wildflower bracelet ~ Love the pendant from Bustani !!
Gillian Northcott from Esani said 4 years ago
Brilliant idea.
Flair Nouri from FlairPaintings said 4 years ago
Thank you for sharing. It is so beautiful :)
Abby from SweetBloomCA said 4 years ago
So many beautiful ideas! Thanks so much for sharing. :)
小草 胡 said 4 years ago
good job~
Niki from JandEdoodles said 4 years ago
Love the flower phone cases and the jewelry!
Cathy from msbijouxbeads said 4 years ago
Lovely way to bring nature into your life, love the phone case, great feature story
Katrina Dzerkale from Dominna said 4 years ago
So many ''must haves''
DeUno from DeUno said 4 years ago
Beautiful!
Renee from RandMhandmade said 4 years ago
Thank you for sharing!!
mike lang said 4 years ago
Thanks for sharing!
Keith Wagner from WagnersWoodworkingPA said 4 years ago
Very nice! I may try to cast some wood materials to make a few rustic items! :)
LOVEnLAVISH from LOVEnLAVISH said 4 years ago
Beautiful! I'm always inspired by nature.
Sujata from TreasuredMemoryLane said 4 years ago
Beautiful creations! It reminds of the days when used to press dry flowers. I have 2 wall hanging in my home that I created with all sorts of dried flowers from my backyard. I used to dry them in "yellow pages" back then:). Congratulations on the feature!
Priscilla from Gardenmis said 4 years ago
Dried flowers are gorgeous and my personal favorite is to scent my drawers, home, and car with dried flowers, herbs, and botanicals! It's wonderful to see it coming back around. :)
Hilla Lande from HLcollection said 4 years ago
Beautiful idea for spring.
Sharon from YearsAfter said 4 years ago
So very pretty and romantic!
Jen Frisch from TimetheftEmpire said 4 years ago
Amazing!
TropicalGarden from TropicalGarden said 4 years ago
Amazing selections! Thanks for sharing:)
juliana from FoxberryHill said 4 years ago
An ancient art form with a new idea! LOve it
Vintage Gypsy Studios from BohemianGypsyCaravan said 4 years ago
LOVE this !
Paulo Correia from BareFlower said 4 years ago
At http://BareFlower.etsy.com we have dried flower artwork and we are having our Spring Sale going on now. Take 20% off with coupon code: SPRING20
Dig Deep Vintage from digdeepvintage said 4 years ago
I love all of these beautiful colorful ideas-so nice to be able to wear nature
Laura from PetalAlley said 4 years ago
I'm obsessed with dried flowers! Although I'm not a big jewelry wearer, I absolutely love the dried flower rings and necklaces. Something so whimsical about them. :)
Georgia from JewelMeShop said 4 years ago
Great idea! I love the jewelry!
aressa from OriginalBridalHanger said 4 years ago
Awesome! I love the flowers being used in different pieces....So pretty!
R. Anne from LnRworks said 4 years ago
This is a great idea, I've got to try it soon
Lilly Agar from LillyAgar said 4 years ago
Love it!
BioMed DB Design LLC from BiomedDesign said 4 years ago
Beautiful design from nature! Congrats on the featuring. Keep up with the wonderful work.
irina434 said 4 years ago
wow. its so pretty i love this its so simple but elegant in its own way! i love it. thanks for sharing
Renee from RandMhandmade said 4 years ago
Thank you for sharing so many nice items!!
Vintage Willard from VintageWillard said 4 years ago
I Love everything about this article
Maja Zirovcic. from WeddingShuz said 4 years ago
woow :)
Cat Encio Dolls from CatEncioDolls said 4 years ago
Lovey Jewelry ! Congratulations ! Cat ><
foofoogal54 from GracefulVtgClothing said 4 years ago
Love it. I went to a Wedding recently that used alot of botanicals in lovely ways. This reminds me of a 1970s craze at the time as well. Very nice.
Olivia Ewing Obercian from OliviaEwingJewelry said 4 years ago
I LOVE the little pansy necklace! So sweet :)
Charlotte and Randall Randall Johnson from SpiceExpressions said 4 years ago
So many cool ideas. Definitely going to try some today! Thank you :)
Kim Cole from BeachDaisyJewelry said 3 years ago
Beautiful flowers, love them! Thank you for sharing these nature inspired items and projects to try!
Sonja from LapCatYarnCo said 3 years ago
Sooo pretty!
Roma Tailor from WoodenLook said 3 years ago
very nice and creative!!!
Mazania Aris from IVArtStudios said 3 years ago
Absolutely love it! Very inspiring I would also like to give it a try, thank you.
Melanie McNitt from MelsMinerals said 3 years ago
Truly original. The jewelry created from resin is just gorgeous and makes me want to go straight to the craft store.
Katrina Dzerkale from Dominna said 3 years ago
in love with ''to wear'' section.
Terri from SweetwaterFarmsTrade said 3 years ago
Nice work!
Lira Allayarova from LiraAllayarova said 1 year ago
Oh, very good! I am too designer. Let goo to me!