Flower Crafts

By either drying or pressing flowers, you can spend many pleasant hours crafting the summer’s beauty into charming gifts and greeting cards. The late Princess Grace of Monaco arranged pressed flowers into dainty pictures, a craft that developed in the days of Queen Victoria and still finds expression today. Like any other craft, the beauty of the finished product depends on the taste and skill of the person creating it. Greeting cards decorated with pressed flower petals can be exquisite and all it takes are a few old phone books, a couple of bricks, a little white glue, and imagination.

Drying flowers is not the same as pressing them. When you press flowers they are just that; flat. Drying flowers involves carefully burying the flower head in some absorbent medium and letting it rest there until all the moisture has been absorbed by the medium. Follow the links to learn more detail. There are businesses that sell dried flower arrangements but be aware the process is extremely labor-intensive (expensive), which is a great reason to try it yourself!

Some flowers, herbs, and grasses dry beautifully naturally. Straw flowers have been used in dried arrangements for ages. But air-dried foliage tends to shatter and could use a spray fixative. Hairspray works if you don’t have anything else, but don’t expect your arrangement to be permanent unless you put it under glass.

One technique that works well with fall foliage is glycerin. Dilute glycerin in water using about an equal amount of each. Lay in your leaves, making sure all surfaces are exposed to the liquid. Leave for about a week or two. Take the leaves out, dry them off, and use them in your autumn décor. They will retain their colors indefinitely and will be useable for several years, and they won’t shatter.

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