If you are in an area that has greenery I have a great crafty idea for you. Have you ever admired a flower and wished you could save it? Well, you can! It is so easy to press and dry flowers for use in all kinds of great projects. The flowers don’t have to be fancy at all! Use whatever you have near you.
There is a trail behind my house that I often walk to get to my mailbox. It is covered with these pretty wildflowers.
Grab some paper towels and arrange your flowers on them. You will be pressing them flat so arrange them in a way that you think may look pretty flat. Once you have arranged your flowers, grab a few more paper towels and cover them. Next, place the paper towels with the flowers sandwiched inside between some heavy books.
The paper towels will absorb the moisture as they dry out. It takes about 2-3 weeks for them to fully dry depending on the climate you live in and the thickness of your flowers.
Be careful when checking on your flowers. They are very fragile and can stick to the towel so handle with care.
Here they are about one week after being pressed. Still need a little time to dry.
Last year I sprinkled some wildflowers in one of my garden beds and it gave me months of pleasure. Fresh bouquets all summer, flowers to paint and then dry.
There are so many things you can make with dries flowers! You can glue them on candles, paper and even combine them with embroidery.
I took some of my cosmos from last year and arranged them on some cotton muslin fabric. I knew I was going to frame it in a square shadow box so I used that as my guide in arranging my flowers. I left a space in the middle for some embroidery.
I decided to paint and embroider a cosmos flower in the space I left in the middle. I used a mechanical pencil to sketch the the cosmos flower then began embroidering the middle with some french knots.
I painted the flower and planned on adding some embroidered highlights but I ended up embroidering almost all of it. Just couldn’t stop myself.
I carefully added the dried flowers and used tacky glue to adhere them to the fabric. This is a very delicate procedure. Tweezers are a great tool to use. A toothpick is helpful to gently dab little drops of glue to the back of the the flowers. I used a very small paintbrush to apply the glue to the back of the flower and the fabric surface where I would be laying the flowers.
Once the flowers were dry and secure, I backed the fabric with a piece of felt and added some cosmos stems and a cosmos label.
I framed it in a shadow box.
I had so much fun making this and am looking forward to doing some more experimenting with this!
Thanks for stopping by! If you are interested in this piece, it will be available in my etsy shop!
Stay well out there!
Warmly,
Pam