Written by Lindsey Schad
Everyone loves having their bouquet of flowers on the counter or table for a couple weeks, beautifying the room. But what can you do with them as they start to fade? Get creative!
How to dry cut flowers
There are a couple of methods you can use to dry cut flowers. One method that works well, (especially for smaller blooms), is to hang them. Simply tie the stems or wrap a rubber band around them a few times and hang them from your ceiling or wall using a thumbtack, tape, or command hook. Make sure they’re in a location that doesn’t have a lot of humidity—so don’t put it next to your stovetop or tea kettle. This will ensure they dry without molding. After 2-3 weeks, gently take down your dried flowers and put them in a vase or use the petals in crafts!
Another method that is ideal for bigger blooms like roses and sunflowers is to dry them in kitty litter or silica
sand. This preserves the shape of the petals while ensuring that moisture is drawn out of the densest part of the flower to prevent mold. Drying them in this way also helps to preserve a more vivid color. All you need is to take a box or glass Tupperware and add a layer of litter/silica sand, then add your flowers or petals, and cover with another layer of litter/silica sand. You can leave this for a week or two, or if you want to speed it up, pop it in the oven at 200 degrees for 2-3 hours.
Pressing cut flowers
Wanting to display your flowers in a glass frame, use them on wrapped presents, or in a scrapbooking project? Press your flowers! You’ll just need absorbent paper and a few heavy books. I prefer to use coffee filters instead of printer paper because they absorb more of the moisture, preventing mold. Take your flowers and if they’re really dense, cut them in half to be thinner or remove a few layers of petals. Then you
can lay them on a flat surface on a coffee filter or paper, add another piece on top, and then stack some heavy books. Swap out your paper or filter every couple of days, and after a week or two you’ll have nicely pressed flowers! You can always let them sit longer to be flatter. I pressed some flowers and arranged them in a glass float frame to hang on the wall.
Dyeing with flowers
Did you know…flowers can be used to dye fabric! The pigments in the petals can be transferred to fabric through either a bundle dye or ecoprinting process. Check out this youtube tutorial for more information on how to dye with flowers, and be sure to follow @wild_fire_water_ on instagram for dye inspiration!
Painting with flowers
Making watercolors from wilting cut flowers is super easy, just add hot water! Take a small dish with one type of flower and pour hot water directly on top of the petals, seeing all of the different color pigments created by different kinds of flowers. Then grab a paintbrush and create!
