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We love encouraging others to go outside and embrace nature however it can be tough to get your little ones excited about what the outdoors has to offer. One fun activity is preserving flowers you find out on your adventures into various items around your house to preserve your fun memories.
In this blog we will be sharing the best ways you can preserve your flowers and how to repurpose them into some really fun crafts for the whole family.
Choosing your flowers
So you know you would like to preserve your flower finds from your adventures but which flowers are going to work best? Well this depends on the technique you wish to use. Let’s take a close look:
Hydrangeas, Lavender and baby’s breath
Tulips, Roses and chrysanthemums
Daises and Pansies
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Air Drying
When considering Air drying flowers, you want to find sturdy flowers which have minimal water content. Why? Because they will hold up a lot stronger after the water content has been removed.
We always recommend starting with more flowers than you need when using the Air Dry method as you will lose quite a few during this process.
Start by removing all leaves and foliage that may be on your stem and tie no more than three stems together. If you have particularly large flowers we recommend separating them on their own.
Once your flowers are prepped hang them upside down in the open air. Be aware this process can take a number of weeks and you must be patient depending on the size of your flowers.
You will know when they are ready as their petals will feel crisp to touch.
Microwaving
This method of drying flowers is a great alternative as it does not require weeks of waiting. We need to choose the flower for this method very carefully as it’s a more aggressive form of drying we need to ensure the majority will survive.
We suggest choosing large flowers with layers of petals. This will allow them to withstand the heat from this extreme drying method.
We begin again by stripping the flowers of any extra foliage such as leaves and snipping the steam to an appropriate length to fit in the microwave.
Now this is where you need to be prepared. We start by filling a container with a layer of Silica ( this is a moisture absorbing desiccant) Then place your flower on top and then continue to fill the continue with more silica.
Place your container in the microwave alongside a cup of water.
Then set your microwave to 30 seconds increments and continue to check each time on your progress. Once the flowers are dry leave to sit over the next 24 hours before removing and cleaning the flower ready to display.
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Flower Pressing
This is most likely the method the majority of us are familiar with. Its a great method that all ages can do with little supervision and create stunning results. No particular flower is required for this method so choose whichever you like, smaller flatter flowers will be quicker in this method.
Grab two pieces or parchment paper and. Lay your flowers in between like a sandwich and arrange with space between each flower for best results. Next you will need to apply pressure. You can use a specific flower press or household items such as a heavy book will do the job.
Now leave your flowers for roughly a week, once this time has passed you will need to change the paper the flowers are sat between. This is the most delicate part of the process so take your time and be gentle. Once you have replaced the paper reapply the pressure and repeat for the following weeks for as long as necessary until the flowers are completely dry.
What’s next!
After you have dried all your flowers out then it’s time to display them.
Here are a few ideas:
Scrapbooks
Wall Art
Potpourri
And so much more!
Make sure to show us your crafts on instagram and let your imagination run wild.
