Picking Daisies
The Best Daisies for Pressing
Daises are a great flower for pressing! They're quite common, but very beautiful.
When picking daisies for pressing, there are a couple of things to look out for. The older a daisy is, the thicker and tougher it becomes, making pressing more difficult. Fresher blooms are still quite thin and soft, and are therefore much easier to press. Older daisies are also more likely to brown in the press, so the fresher the flower, the more likely they'll stay white once pressed! You want to be on the lookout for daises with thinner, smaller centers. If the centers are too much thicker than the petals, the flower won't press evenly, and could even over-process and burn in the microwave.
If you're wanting smaller daises, I've got a hack for you... If you have daisies growing in your yard, cutting them can cause them to come back smaller. Anytime you find a daisy that is past its prime, you can simply cut it, and it will grow back and give you another chance for a smaller, fresher flower!
If you do want to press a daisy that already has a thicker center, you can always do a short burst in the microwave, then leave the Microfleur in a warm place, like a sunny window. The press will continue to wick moisture away from the center, without the risk of burning the petals. You can also skip the microwave step altogether and still get wonderful results. It may take a day or two as opposed to a few minutes, but it's still much faster than traditional pressing methods!
Happy Picking and Pressing!
-Microfleur
