How to Make Pressed Flower Bookmarks

If you’ve already made a batch (or ten… oops) of pressed flowers and are wondering what to actually do with all those pretty little blooms, these pressed flower bookmarks are one of the easiest and cutest projects to start with.

They’re simple, inexpensive, and genuinely pretty when they’re finished. All you really need are your pressed flowers, laminating sheets, and a laminator. Arrange the flowers inside the laminating pouch, run it through the laminator, and trim everything down into a bookmark –  that’s the sparknotes edition!

And while you can absolutely make a bookmark using nothing but flowers, this is also a fun project to customize. Add little pieces of old book pages, favorite passages, printed quotes, names, dates, or other flat paper elements to make each bookmark completely different. Think of it as a bit of scrapbooking project without the overwhelming idea of starting a scrapbook (anyone else have boxes of photos and supplies that they just keep telling themselves they’re going to get started on but then getting so overwhelmed at the sight of it they put it all away??).

These make a very cute handmade gift, a fun craft for kids, or just a practical way to turn the flowers you pressed earlier in the season into something you can actually use. My oldest is just starting to get into chapter books and the fact that he could use his own bookmark in his book was a type of joy I was not prepared for in my mom heart.

Start With Fully Pressed Flowers

Before making your bookmarks, you’ll need flowers that have been completely pressed and dried.

We used the flowers from our pressed flower tutorial, where I walk through a couple of how to’s in order to choose, arrange, and press flowers so they’re ready to use for crafts like this one. If you haven’t checked that out yet, start with this post and then come back here when your flowers are ready!

The important thing here is that the flowers need to be completely dry before you laminate them. Any moisture trapped inside the laminating pouch can affect how well it seals and may cause the flowers to discolor or deteriorate over time.

Flowers that are relatively flat and thin work especially well for bookmarks. Small blooms, individual petals, delicate leaves, ferns, and little sprigs are all easy to arrange without making the finished bookmark too bulky.

Supplies for Pressed Flower Bookmarks

That’s it!

One of the nice things about this project is that a single laminating pouch can usually hold several bookmarks at once, depending on the size you want to make.

Optional Things to Add to Your Bookmarks

The flowers can definitely stand on their own, but adding some other fun elements is an easy way to make these even more interesting.

If you’re using book pages, I love the look of torn edges rather than perfectly straight cuts. The combination of aged paper and delicate pressed flowers gives the bookmarks a really pretty vintage feel. I also love the vintage coloring of using a simple coffee dye on my pages. Once you get over the anxiety of dipping a torn book page in coffee, it really does turn out cute!

Just make sure anything you add is flat and thin enough to safely go through your laminator.

How to Make Pressed Flower Bookmarks

1. Plan Your Bookmark Designs

Before putting anything into the laminating pouch, play around with your flowers and decide how you want your bookmarks to look.

You don’t have to measure everything perfectly. You can make traditional long rectangular bookmarks, smaller bookmarks, rounded bookmarks, or even more organic shapes.

If you’re making several bookmarks in one laminating pouch, leave plenty of space between each design so you’ll have room to cut them apart later.

2. Arrange the Pressed Flowers

Open your laminating pouch and carefully arrange the pressed flowers inside.

This is probably my favorite part because every bookmark ends up looking completely different.

Try arranging a single flower with a stem for a really simple look, layering a few coordinating flowers together, or creating a little collection of tiny blooms and leaves.

Just remember that less can sometimes be more here. Leaving some clear space around the flowers really lets you see all those tiny details once the bookmark is laminated.

3. Add Any Paper Elements

If you’re including an old book passage, quote, or another paper element, arrange it along with your flowers.

You can place flowers beside the text, slightly overlap the edge of the paper, or use the paper as the main background for the bookmark.

Before closing the pouch, double-check that everything is facing the direction you want it to face.

4. Carefully Close the Laminating Pouch

Once you’re happy with the arrangement, gently close the top half of the laminating pouch over your design.

Pressed flowers can shift pretty easily, so do this slowly.

If something moves, carefully reopen the pouch and adjust it before laminating. Once it goes through the machine, you’re committed!

If you’re doing this with kids, I usually make this the adult step… there is nothing worse than the sadness of them bumping something while putting it through the laminator and having their bookmark ruined at the last second.

5. Laminate the Flowers

Run the pouch through your laminator according to your machine’s instructions. Ta-da! It’s that easy.

Let the laminated sheet cool and flatten before cutting it.

The flowers will be completely enclosed inside the clear laminate, which protects the delicate petals and makes them sturdy enough to slide in and out of books without falling apart.

6. Cut Out the Bookmarks

Once everything has cooled, use scissors or a paper cutter to cut each bookmark from the larger sheet.

Don’t cut directly against the flowers or paper. Leave a clear laminated border around the entire design so the layers of laminate stay sealed together.

You can keep the bookmarks as traditional rectangles or get creative with the shape.

If you want to attach a ribbon or cord to the top, use a whole punch and create a whole in the laminate, then attach the ribbon or cord.

Tips for the Best Laminated Flower Bookmarks

A few things make this project much easier:

Use completely dry flowers. This is the most important part. Don’t laminate flowers that still feel damp or flexible from moisture.

Keep your designs fairly flat. Thick flower centers can make it harder for the laminating pouch to seal properly.

Leave room between designs. If you’re making multiple bookmarks in one pouch, give yourself enough clear laminate to cut around each one.

Leave a sealed edge. Don’t trim all the way up to the flower or paper. That clear border is what keeps your bookmark sealed.

Can Kids Make Pressed Flower Bookmarks?

Yes! This can be a really fun flower craft for kids, especially if they helped collect and press the flowers in the first place.

Younger kids can choose their flowers and arrange their bookmark designs while an adult handles the laminator and cutting.

It’s also a neat way to extend a nature walk or flower-pressing activity. Instead of collecting flowers, pressing them, and then forgetting about them, kids get to turn their collection into something useful.

They could even make bookmarks using flowers from a special trip, their own backyard, Grandma’s garden, or a summer nature walk.

Make Them as Handmade Gifts

Pressed flower bookmarks also make really easy, really cute homemade gifts.

Slip one inside a favorite book, add it to a teacher gift, tuck it into a card, or make a small collection of bookmarks for someone who loves to read.

You could even pair a particular flower with a meaningful quote or book passage to make the bookmark more personal.

And because you’re making several designs in one laminating sheet, it’s easy to make a whole batch at once.

What Flowers Work Best for Pressed Flower Bookmarks?

Generally, flowers that press relatively thin will be easiest to laminate.

That doesn’t mean you can’t experiment with other flowers though. If a bloom is too thick, you may be able to separate the petals and press those individually instead.

How Long Do Pressed Flower Bookmarks Last?

Laminating helps protect pressed flowers from handling, bending, and moisture, so these bookmarks can last quite a while when they’re stored and used normally.

Keep in mind that pressed flowers are still natural materials. Their colors may gradually change or fade over time, especially if they’re regularly exposed to direct sunlight.

That’s part of what I like about using real flowers, though—no two bookmarks look exactly alike, and the natural variations are what make them interesting.

A Simple Way to Use Your Pressed Flowers

I love a craft that doesn’t require buying fifteen new supplies, and these bookmarks definitely fall into that category.

Once your flowers are pressed, the rest of the project takes just a few minutes. Arrange them, add a favorite quote or bit of an old book page if you’d like, laminate everything, and cut out your bookmarks.

It’s such a simple way to preserve flowers from your garden, a nature walk, or a special memory—and turn them into something you’ll actually get to see every time you open a book.