Books are ideal for pressing leaves, leaving them perfectly flat although they' re not so suited for small flowers which need a more evenly placed and concentrated pressure to press them perfectly. Flower presses can either be store bought or made at home. A threaded bolt is then pushed through the bottom of each of these with a washer and wing nut securing the other piece at the top. In between these you create a sandwich of corrugated cardboard and blotting paper with extra layers of paper if you wish. There is some difference of opinion as to how long you should leave your flowers in the press.
Some people think a few days, others several weeks.
This can depend on the climate with flowers drying much more quickly in a drier atmosphere. For this reason you can speed up the process by placing your presses in a warm place such as an airing cupboard. There is also a move towards drying flowers in the microwave oven. On removing the flowers from the blotting paper, you can place them in plastic bags to be stored flatly in a drawer or more ideally, replace the blotting paper and then store them in old telephone books. These can contain quite a large amount of flowers and also keep your stock protected and in good condition.