Summer Craft: Botanical Pressed Flowers Garland DIY

Do you want a seasonal decor craft that doesn’t break the bank, but yet looks fantastic? Well, this botanical pressed flower garland DIY checks all the boxes. It’s affordable, it’s adorable and it can be easily adapted to your own personal style. The fresh botanicals mirror all the summer lushness outdoors. Join me as I walk you through the step by step on how you can create this botanical banner with all the organic goodness of the season.

Garlands, swags & banners are great accent decor pieces, which can come out and play for a bit and then can be easily tucked away until the next time. They are a great versatile piece, which can accent vignettes, drape over the mantel, frame a doorway or sweep across a cabinet.

Key Takeaways

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Inspiration for the Botanical Pressed Flower Garland

Botanicals on a bookprint page background in a distressed gilded frame… need I say more? It’s totally MaryJo coded. I combined many of my decor loves- organics, the color green, gilding, frames and created a botanical garland. I had these pressed florals left over from this project and fit perfectly into the frames. Although I’m creating this as a summer craft, it can be used in the Spring and early Fall as well. Plus the project can easily be adapted for any season or holiday with personal style. Make it yours!

Use colors and patterns that speak to you following the technique I’m sharing today and you’ll have a lovely piece for your home. Banners and garlands can be draped across room openings, mirrors, cabinets, which immediately create a festive and jovial tone in your home.

How to Create a Summer Botanical Pressed Flower Garland

I used elements that appeal to me to create this garland, including the aged book pages and botanical elements plus frames with a touch of gilding. Feel free to adapt it for your style. Other recommendations can be found in the tips section below.

pressed flowers | wood frames | decorative card stock

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

Tips & Recommendations to Keep In Mind

Smart Sourcing

I sourced some of my main components from the Dollar Tree, including the book and the wooden frames. I’ve had these frames for awhile now, which I simply grabbed on instinct since I liked their shape and knew I could create a project with them eventually; and here we are. I have seen them pretty regularly at DT but if you can’t find them I included other options in the shopping section below for your convenience. I always have a book in my craft stash to use for altered projects like this, which you can easily find at dollar stores, garage sales or thrifts.

These are the pressed flowers I used, but you could always press your own (on my list to do some day). The pressed flowers I used come in various color selections, allowing for personalization.

Customization Options

You can make this project with so many different looks. If book pages aren’t your thing, use decorative papers instead. Just make sure to use a neutral design so it doesn’t compete with the pressed botanicals. I considered using sheet music as the background since it’s also a craft project staple for me, but I ended up opting for the book pages instead since I believe they are less distracting.

The frames can be painted any desired color. Green is a go to color for me, but use your favorite color instead. Neutral options like white, cream or tan are also a great way to go. The frames can also be left unpainted with the natural wood for a truly rustic, nature vibe. You do you.

Distressing is Optional

I chose to antique the pages to give them an aged look. Plus I sanded the paint to distress the frame and added the gold gilding edges for an old world feel. All of these techniques are purely preferences and optional. I like the crusty, grunge look but if you prefer a more modern sleek look, you can skip these steps.

You can also age the pages with ink pads instead of a tea stain for a quicker and easier technique. Or you can use the ink pads to age around the frames instead of the gold accent. The options are really limitless, opening the opportunity to lean into your own creativity.

A Gentle Hand Goes a Long Way

The pressed botanicals are extremely delicate and need to be handled gently. A crafting tweezer is a must! Take your time and be very deliberate when choosing and placing your pressed specimen. The pieces can easily fall apart, but the good news is they can be glued back together without it being noticeable. The top coat of decoupage medium is critical to seal the project, but needs to be applied with a gentle hand. A soft brush works best to apply the decoupage medium.

Double Sided for the Win

I opted to create a decorative backside for two main reasons. The finished backside provides a cleaner and more professional look, but beyond that it serves double duty. You can use the garland showing the decorative paper for a very different look, basically creating two garlands for the price of one.

If you hang the garland anywhere where the backside is visible it creates a pretty look on the back. For example, if the banner is draped in an opening like a doorway or room header it will still look pretty from the other side. Also, if the garland is hung on a reflective surface like a mirror or glass, the reflection will add a special touch. I tend to hang many garlands on mirrors, which prompted this detail.

We are always striving to master the art of joie de vivre around here. If you enjoy the good life and want a reflection of this in your home, please consider joining the Masterpiece community. Sign up you won’t miss any new content, receiving all new posts directly into your in-box.

Closing Thoughts ~ Botanical Summer Garland DIY

I hope you enjoyed this botanical garland DIY. It’s a pretty way to bring the outside in with a festive and jovial tone. Who doesn’t want pretty blooms hanging around? I’ll be sharing how I style the botanical banner for the season next week.

Thanks for dropping by today and hope to see you again soon.

Au Revoir!

Shop the Pressed Botanical Summer Garland DIY Look

• Dried Pressed Flowers
• Unfinished Wood Photo Frames Hollow Oval Rectangle Cutouts
• Vintage Green 6×6 Double-Sided Patterned Cardstock Pad
• Rust-Oleum Satin Moss Green Spray Paint
• Gold Dual-Tip Acrylic Paint Pens
• Sand-It Multi-Surface Sanding Block
• Mod Podge Decoupage Starter Kit, Gloss and Matte Medium
• Natural Jute Twine

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If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.”

Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

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sharing @ between naps on the porch