Everyone appreciates the time and effort that goes into a home-made gift. These delightful cards are easy to make and could also be framed by the recipient. The secrets of success are to press the flowers carefully and to use textured, hand-made papers for the background. As well as using flowers, also press a variety of herb leaves as these either make good backgrounds or are attractive enough in their own right to be used.

You will need:

Fresh herb flowers and leaves
White blotting paper
Flower press
Hand-made paper
Rubber-based glue
Card

1- Gather a good selection of fresh herb flowers and leaves. Place them in single layers between sheets of clean, white blotting paper and press tightly in a flower press for several weeks. The blotting paper will absorb any moisture as the herbs gradually dry. use white blotting paper as the dye can "bleed" from colored papers. If you do not have a flower press, place the herbs and blotting paper between the pages of a heavy book and weight down.

2- When the herbs have dried, carefully remove the sheets of blotting paper. The herbs will now be very fragile so take care not to tear the delicate petals. You may find it easier to use a pair of tweezers or forceps to position the herbs.

3- Arrange the herbs in your chosen design on a rectangle of hand-made paper. Carefully glue in position using a rubber-based glue. If you wish, you can write a greeting on the front using an ink pen.

4- Stick the decorated rectangle onto a slightly larger folded card. If you are sending these cards through the mail, use fairly thick envelopes to make sure the cares are not damaged in transit.