Scented Crafts: How to Dry and Preserve Flowers
Receiving flowers as a gift is often a touching experience. If you want to save your flowers so you can remember an occasion or a gift for years, you can preserve them quite easily. You have a few options for preserving flowers, and each can result in a stunning keepsake. Follow directions carefully to ensure that your flowers stay beautiful for many years.
How to Dry Flowers
Drying flowers is popular when you want to keep a floral arrangement to enjoy for an extended time. You can display dried flowers in a vase on an end table or as a centerpiece on the dining table. Before you begin a flower-drying project, assess the flowers to make sure that they're suitable. Also, be ready to keep dried flowers out of sunlight and extreme heat.
- Air-dry bouquets of fresh and robust flowers such as roses or smaller blossoms such as lavender.
- Select the microwave drying process if you are working with large and colorful individual flowers such as gerbera daisies and chrysanthemums.
- Dry flowers while they're still fresh or petals may fall during the drying process.
How to Air-Dry Flowers
Air-drying is the traditional method for drying flowers, but it does take time. When you air-dry flowers, you allow them to dry out as they would naturally. Air-dry bouquets and large floral arrangements. Large blossoms like sunflowers are ideal for air-drying.
- Remove excess foliage from the blossoms. Cut stems to your desired length, no less than six inches. Keep flowers out of sunlight after cutting them.
- Group several stems together, fastening them with rubber bands, or dry them individually.
- Tie the groups or single flowers upside down to a rod or hooks. Unflavored dental floss is ideal for tying. You'll need to place them in a dark area with good air circulation.
- Allow flowers to hang undisturbed for two to three weeks until they are fully dry.
- Remove the flowers and spray them with unscented hair spray to preserve them.
How to Dry Flowers in a Microwave
Drying flowers in the microwave is faster than air-drying. You'll need silica gel for microwave drying, which is easily found in craft stores. Silica helps preserve flowers' shape, and you can reuse it repeatedly.
- Use a microwave-safe container that will fit in the microwave and is large enough to hold the flowers. Don't use this container for cooking again.
- Trim away the stems from the flowers to leave the blossoms and about one inch of stem.
- Add one to two inches of silica gel to the bottom of the container. Place flowers into the silica gel with the blossoms facing up. Pour more silica gel over the flowers to cover them fully, pouring carefully so you don't flatten the petals.
- Place the uncovered container into the microwave. Microwave the flowers on a low setting (one or two levels above defrost) for two to five minutes. The microwaving time will vary depending on the size of the flowers, so start with less time and check them frequently.
- Continue microwaving and checking the progress every 30 seconds. Stop when the flowers are dry, then remove the container from the microwave and cover it.
- Let the container sit for a few minutes, then open it just a crack. Allow the container to sit undisturbed for 24 hours.
- Brush away the silica gel from the flower petals with a fine-tipped brush. Spray the flowers with an acrylic spray to preserve them.
- Attach faux stems to the dried blossoms to display the flowers in a vase.
How to Preserve Flowers
There are other ways to preserve flowers as well, especially when you want to use dried flowers for craft projects. Preserving flowers in resin is a popular process. Many people like the simplicity of pressing blossoms into the pages of a heavy book, too. Explore different flower-preserving methods to see which you prefer.
How to Preserve Dried Flowers
Although preserved flowers will last longer than fresh flowers, you still need to take care of preserved flowers carefully or they may fade or crumble. Preserving flowers in resin results in very sturdy flowers that you can use in jewelry or as home decor. Follow these tips to ensure that your preserved flowers stay beautiful for as long as possible:
- Wait to preserve flowers until the blooms open partially or fully, depending on the look you desire.
- Use robust flowers or whole bouquets for drying. Choose pressing for smaller and more delicate flowers.
- Dried flowers tend to have a long life, regardless of the preservation technique you use. Always keep dried flowers out of direct sunlight and away from extreme heat so they maintain their color.
- Spray dried flowers with acrylic sealant or wax to keep them strong.
How to Preserve Flowers in Resin
Preserve flowers in epoxy resin to keep them beautiful. Resin is a potent chemical with a strong smell, so always wear a mask when mixing, pouring, and working with resin. Generally, it's best to preserve already-dried flowers in resin. Virtually any dried flower can be preserved in resin. Keep resin flowers out of direct sunlight because sunlight will make the resin opaque instead of clear.
Resin Flower Materials
- Start with dried flowers in a size that fits the purpose. Use smaller flowers for jewelry and larger flowers for other crafting purposes.
- Include other fillings such as beads and glitter with the flowers.
- Use a high-quality resin to create a solid base.
- Use a silicone mold, since silicone is flexible.
- A hair dryer is necessary for blowing out air bubbles from the resin while it cures.
- Buy new mixing cups that you won't use for any other purpose.
- Use craft sticks to stir the materials.
- A plastic plate can protect your work area from drips.
- Wear rubber gloves to protect your hands, and wear a mask to protect yourself from chemical odors.
- Use fine sandpaper to sand away sharp edges on the hardened resin.
- Toothpicks are ideal for arranging flowers into position in the mold.
The Resin Preservation Process
- Mix the hardener with the resin, following the manufacturer's instructions.
- Pour the resin base into a dust-free silicone mold. Pour the resin to the desired thickness, ensuring that the resin is level.
- Blow warm air with the hair dryer to remove air bubbles from the resin.
- Add flowers face-down into the mold. Add other materials if desired. Arrange everything with a toothpick.
- Allow the resin to cure for five hours.
- Pour a second layer of resin into the mold, and use the blow dryer to remove air bubbles.
- Allow the second layer of resin to cure for five hours.
- Remove the resin from the silicone mold. It's OK if it's flexible, but be careful not to break it.
- Leave the resin on a paper towel until it's completely hard. Sand any sharp edges.
Additional Ideas for How to Preserve Flowers
Preserving flowers is so easy that you may decide that you want to preserve them in other ways, too. Try some of these ideas for preserved flowers.
- Make an infinity bouquet for a wedding or anniversary.
- Make potpourri with dried flowers and essential oils.
- Choose flowers from sentimental arrangements to make a memory shadow box.
- Press a single flower with a glass bead and preserve it in resin to make a necklace.
- Make holiday ornaments out of resin-preserved flowers.
- Fill decorative jars with dried flowers.
- Make a seasonal wreath out of dried flowers.
- Press flowers and frame them to display on the wall.
- Dip dried flowers in wax to make a centerpiece.