Dried flower embroidery allows you to preserve the beauty of your garden while also adding your own spin with hand stitches. This is just one of the many gorgeous dried flower art ideas you can do using an embroidery hoop. Let me show you how!
As a serial hobbyist and crafter, I love it when two worlds can combine. I’ve been spending the past two summers focusing on my dried flower garden, growing and testing out new flowers, specifically with the intention of drying them.
So you can imagine, I have quite the stash.
But during the winter, you can find me nestled up watching some TV while embroidering my latest project. My embroidery stash is another pride and joy.
Everyone in my life has both dried flowers and embroidery from me at this point. So, it was only natural that I combined the two into these beautiful, dried flower embroidery pieces. It may just become my next obsession this winter.
Here’s how you can make your own stunning dried flower art.
Use a combination of pressed flowers and dried flowers for more depth.
Dried Flowers for Art
Some flowers dry better than others. Test out which flowers in your garden hold their colour and structure. Since these are often small art pieces, I like to use smaller flowers or branching flowers that can break down into smaller bits.
Here are some of my favourite dried flowers to use in a dried flower hoop:
Strawflower, winged everlasting, and fern.
Other Materials to Include
You can also use pressed flowers for your embroidery, but just note that they will be extra delicate to work with. I like to apply them first, as they work best as a background. The 3D flowers on top give the piece depth.
Don’t be scared to explore and incorporate all kinds of natural materials. Here are some things you could forage for:
Don’t forget about seed pods! They’re also great decorating items.
Dried Flower Embroidery Art Tutorial
How many flowers you use and how long it will take you to complete your dried flower embroidery depends entirely on the size of the embroidery hoop you use. I recommend starting with a smaller-sized hoop and working your way up to larger pieces.
Materials
Don’t have an embroidery stash? I recommend getting white and green thread for this project.
Make It!
Use your flowers and your empty hoop to figure out your general design ahead of time so you know how to properly layer the flowers. Take a picture so you remember your design and can reference it while creating.
Lay out a general design ahead of time so you know where to thread/glue items.
Prepare your embroidery hoop by cutting a piece of tulle and placing it between the wooden hoops. Stretch it tight, but not so tight that the tulle looks warped. It should be taut.
Pro Tip: You can also try using chicken wire instead of tulle. This creates less of a delicate look and more of a rustic look, where you weave the stems in as opposed to sewing them. This works great for bigger pieces.
This is how tight the tulle should look.
To secure your flowers in place, you have a few options:
Embroidery. Using thread, this creates the most delicate look. It also takes some patience and handiwork to accomplish.
Weaving. If your flower has an intact stem and isn’t too thick, you can weave it through the tulle. While the easiest way to do dried flower embroidery, it isn’t as secure as the other methods.
Hot glue. This can be a little messy, and won’t work for the smaller flowers, but it is great for securing larger flowers in place without stems.
Start by adding your flatter, background pieces. For this piece, I used pressed ferns as the background. I used a simple stitch along the main vein to secure the fern in place.
I used green stitching to blend in, but you can also use thread and the stitches as a contrast.
Pro tip: Since we’re working with tulle, you have to keep your stitches fairly clean at the back, as they might be seen. I like to start my knot somewhere behind a flower where it won’t be seen. Start a new thread for each flower so there are no jumping stitches.
Add in your next layer of flowers. I usually like to incorporate my medium-sized and branching flowers at this point.
The last flowers I like to add are my larger flowers, which usually are my strawflowers. For these, I like to glue them in place, adding a large dollop to the back of the strawflowers and then holding it in place on the tulle for 30 seconds while the glue dries.
I glued in strawflower and gomphrena, and stitched the bunnytail.
To finish up your dried flower art, trim the excess tulle. Use hot glue all around the back of the hoop over the ends of the tulle to help secure and hold it in place against the embroidery hoop.
Glue the edges of the tool to the embroidery hoop to help secure it in place.
You can also add some embroidery stitching. Again, you have to be extra careful about how the back of your stitching looks through the tulle.
That’s it! These dried flower hoops make beautiful gifts and unique home décor. Hang it on the wall or in the window as a special, dried flower suncatcher.
More Dried Flower Art Ideas
From Vancouver, BC, Holly is Garden Therapy’s Content Manager. She has a BFA in Writing from the University of Victoria as well as a diploma in Floristry Design from Burnaby CCE. At home, she loves to grow cut flowers and dried flowers for her business, Dirty Daisy Florals, and is an avid houseplant collector and lover of bees. You can find her at @dirtydaisyflorals and @hollyheuversocial.
My secret to gorgeous, dried flowers? Silica gel, of course! I love using these dried flowers for my resin creations, but you can also use them for all kinds of décor, from shadow boxes to potpourri. With some delicate handling and these tips for drying flowers with silica gel, preserve the beauty of this season’s blooms.
Ranunculus bloom dried by silica gel
I’m excited to share yet another way to dry flowers that many aren’t as familiar with. Unlike hanging flowers to dry or dehydrating the petals, this method retains the shape and colour of the flowers extremely well. Sometimes they look identical to their original flower!
You know all those little packets you get in your food containers and shoeboxes that read do not eat? That’s silica gel. In another form, this silica is actually marvelous at drying flowers.
Silica gel is a desiccant, meaning it absorbs and holds moisture. For crafting purposes, they come in hard small beads that are a white or light blue colour. You can likely find silica gel at your local Michaels craft store and on Amazon.
Using silica gel for drying flowers is fairly easy, but there’s definitely a technique to it that helps you achieve the best-dried flowers possible. Let me show you my tips!
This button mum retained its structure perfectly when dried in silica.
What Flowers Can I Preserve in Silica Gel?
Most flowers dry very well in silica when done properly. But some are easier to dry than others! Bright and colourful blooms always dry best, as their colour remains fairly consistent throughout the drying process.
These silica-dried hawthorn flowers look nearly identical to their fresh counterparts.
Fresh, locally grown flowers are also ideal. You want your flowers to be hydrated and in tip-top condition, since they will dry exactly as they are.
Here are some flowers that are known to dry exceptionally well in silica:
Silica dried flowers, including cherry blossoms, ranunculus, butterfly ranunculus, gerbera daisy, button mums, hawthorn, grape hyacinth, and lady’s mantle.
Flowers to Avoid
Flowers with lots of delicate petals are very difficult to dry in silica, as their petals are likely to fall off due to the weight of the gel. This includes mums, cosmos, and anemones.
You may also want to curb your expectations when it comes to white flowers and other light colours, as they’re very prone to bruising, especially if you plan to preserve your flowers in resin afterward. They’re also very likely to change colour, turning more into cream and yellow than white.
Wearing gloves when handling the flowers at all times will help prevent your oils from bruising the petals down the line.
Tropical flowers and anything with fleshy petals are also likely to develop some bruising and browning down the line. Most will change their colour during preservation. This includes orchids, classic lilies, and canna lilies.
Even if the flowers are listed here, it doesn’t hurt to try! Experiment, practice, and be delicate with your blooms, and you just might have some success.
This white hydrangea turned cream and browned in the areas it wasn’t completely covered in silica gel.
Drying Flowers With Silica Gel: Step by Step
Drying flowers in silica is one of the best preservation methods, and it is fairly easy to do. Once you have the silica, you can use it multiple times to dry flowers all season long.
Materials
I’ve used Ashland and Activa brand silica gel.
Preparing Your Materials and Flowers
Choose a container that’s deep enough to hold your flowers. You can also layer flowers if the container allows it. 2-4 inches is usually deep enough, since silica can be expensive, and I avoid using too much. A rectangular container is what I prefer to use, since it can hold more flowers. Your container should not be used for food storage after holding silica.
Make sure your flowers aren’t wet and use a paper towel to dab off any remaining moisture. I allow my flowers to fully hydrate in a vase while the dew dries from the petals. And I snip the stems and moisture right off when I’m ready to dry them.
When snipping the flowers for drying, leave a little bit of the stem behind. This will give you something to grab and hold onto besides the petals when removing the flowers from the silica.
If you’re concerned about bruising, wear gloves when working with the flowers before, during, and after drying.
Make sure flower petals aren’t wet before drying them in silica gel.
Drying Flowers With Silica Gel
Before working with the silica, make sure to wear a mask. When pouring the silica, it creates a dust that you don’t want to breathe in. Gloves can also help prevent your hands from drying out and getting irritated.
Add a base layer of silica gel to your container. You need enough to support the base of your flower stem. About ½ to 1 inch is enough.
Nestle in your flower’s face up in the silica. The flowers can be close, but they should not be overlapping.
Make sure the flowers aren’t touching.
Carefully pour in the silica (a Mason jar or pitcher can help give you more control). Flowers will dry exactly as they are buried in the silica, so you want to avoid dumping silica right into them, as they will get crushed. The goal is to bury each flower while maintaining its exact original shape.
Pour around the edges of the flowers first to support the petals.
I like to pour around the outside, shaking the silica into place until the outside is fully supported before adding silica to the center. Shaking helps to get the silica into all the grooves and crevices.
Fill in the center and all the gaps, but be careful not to dump and lose the flower’s structure.
Make sure to fully cover your flowers with silica, or you may end up with browning (see the cream hydrangea photo earlier). You can layer as many flowers as your container fits, as long as the flowers aren’t touching. Put heavier blooms on the bottom and more delicate blooms on top.
Fully cover flowers in silica.
Cover with an airtight lid, and label what flowers are inside as well as the date.
Seal with an airtight lid.
Removing the Silica Gel
Most instructions that come with your silica gel will say you only need a few days to a week for your flowers to fully dry. This is not long enough in almost any case.
I leave my flowers in silica for a minimum of three weeks, or longer if I’m working with larger flowers (such as roses), since they contain a lot of moisture. It’s impossible to leave flowers in silica for too long. Longer is better than not enough.
If there is any soft texture, your flowers aren’t ready. They should feel like paper and be extremely light.
Carefully pour out the silica rather and avoid pulling out the flowers.
To remove your flowers, gently pour your silica into another bowl or container slowly. Do not dump it all at once. Gently catch the flowers as they fall out, holding onto the stem rather than the petals.
Hold the flower upside down and gently tap to help get rid of the remaining silica. Use a soft paint brush or makeup brush to remove any stubborn silica pieces.
Grab flowers from the base and the stem to keep the petals intact.
Using Your Silica Gel Flowers
I dry flowers in silica to use for resin. They must be fully dry, or they will rot in the resin. If I don’t use them right away after removing them from the silica, I’ll place them back in the container with a thin layer of fresh silica at the bottom. The flowers don’t need to be fully covered in silica once they’re fully dry.
Other than resin, you can also use them for many other projects (they don’t have to be stored in silica once dried. That’s only for resin projects.)
Here are some project ideas for silica gel flowers!
My preserved cherry blossom in a resin globe.
Silica Gel Flowers FAQ
How long do silica gel flowers last?
While I wouldn’t say these flowers last forever, they do last for a very long time when done right. If they begin to change shape shortly after being removed from the silica, then they were not in there long enough.
Your flowers should last you a minimum of a year, and can go onwards to last for a decade. Like any dried flower, their colour will begin to fade. To prolong their life, keep them away from sunlight, heat, and moist areas.
How do I preserve a rose with silica gel?
Roses dry extremely well in silica gel. They do contain a lot of moisture, especially the center, so you need to leave them in the silica for at least 3 weeks to ensure they fully dry.
Some people will remove the center petals to prevent the flower from browning or rotting. Personally, I skip this step and just make sure to carefully fill all the nooks and crannies of the rose to ensure the silica absorbs all the moisture.
Can I reuse silica?
Yes! Fresh silica is the strongest and can be used a few times before it needs to be recharged. While each brand varies, usually the colour will change when it’s no longer able to absorb any more moisture.
To recharge your silica, it should be placed on a baking tray and left in the oven at 250°F for a minimum of five hours. However, check the instructions of your silica gel to see their recommendations.
Silica should be recharged after every use for best results.
Silica gel dried flowers.
Get creative with your flowers, experiment, and have fun! Let me know if you have any questions about using silica gel for drying flowers in the comments below.
More Tips for Drying Flowers
From Vancouver, BC, Holly is Garden Therapy’s Content Manager. She has a BFA in Writing from the University of Victoria as well as a diploma in Floristry Design from Burnaby CCE. At home, she loves to grow cut flowers and dried flowers for her business, Dirty Daisy Florals, and is an avid houseplant collector and lover of bees. You can find her at @dirtydaisyflorals and @hollyheuversocial.
Everyone knows that ornamental gardens are gorgeous when they’re in full bloom, but you don’t normally think of how beautiful plants can be after their flowers are done. Learning how to dry and preserve flowers and seed pods allows you to have plenty of crafting materials for the cold season ahead.
At the end of blooming season, when plants have gone to seed, is one of the loveliest times. It’s this time of year when natural sculptures take shape in the garden in the form of seed heads, pods, and more. Seed heads come in so many different varieties, from the large sculptural spheres of alliums to tiny, delicate grasses, and they can be dried and preserved to use as attractive indoor decor.
As fall begins, I love to go out into the garden and collect as many seed heads, pods, stems, leaves, and flowers as I can to dry and display. Sometimes I make them into crafts, but often I simply pop a few seed heads as-is into a vase or glass jar and—presto!—I have an instant, artful arrangement.
Collecting flowers, leaves, stems, and pods from the garden now will give you a treasure trove of beautiful dried plants to craft with all year long. Read on to learn how to dry and preserve flowers as well as leaves, stems, and dried seed pods from your garden, plus some creative projects you can try with them. You’ll be pleasantly surprised when you see how much beauty is left behind once the blooms fade.
Dried allium heads remind me of fireworks.
Drying Seed Heads
As with everything I do, I prefer the most natural possible option, so when I’m drying seed heads and flowers from the garden, I avoid artificial preservative sprays and glues. If you harvest your plants at the right time and dry them properly, they will still last a long time and look beautiful, no chemicals or stinky adhesives needed!
The flowers leave behind interesting seed pods and dried stalks, which are wonderful for crafts and dried arrangements. Don’t be too hasty with the pruners, as many species just dry in the garden and can be picked in mid-fall.
It’s a good idea to shake out any seeds so they’re not falling all over the place inside.
Don’t wait too long, either. You want to harvest seed heads once they have dried on their own, but before they begin to decompose or get mushy.
For more fragile plants like delicate decorative grasses, it is best to pick a collection of stems when they look their best in the garden, then dry them indoors.
Some flower pods and grasses look even better in bunches.
Chive seed heads. Most members of the allium family produce interesting dried pods.
How to Dry and Preserve Flowers
Harvest flowers in the morning for best results, as this is when the plant is most hydrated.
Choose flowers that are not entirely openyet. Almost all flowers will open more as they dry. You can also dry flowers that are open, but they shouldn’t have any signs of wilt, browning, or age. Flowers that are already at peak bloom may not dry as nicely.
For stalks of flowers, such as delphinium or winged everlasting, harvest the stems once the first few flowers are open.
Hanging flowers upside down ensures the stem stays straight and firm.
Dry flowers by first removing the foliage and then grouping them into bunches and hanging them upside down in the open air, away from the rain or indoors. Some flowers hold their colour better if you dry them in a dark place and keep them away from windows to avoid sun bleaching.
Hydrangeas must be clipped when already beginning to dry on the shrub, then placed in water.
Good Flowers for Hang Drying
Pressing Leaves and Petals
To preserve tender leaves and colourful petals, harvest them at their peak of colour and place them on the pages of a thick book under weights. Telephone books are ideal (if you still have those!) as the paper in them is absorbent and provides lots of space to dry the flowers.
If you want to protect the pages of the book, slip some printer paper or watercolour paper (it’s extra absorbent) on top and below the flower.
I have tried plant presses, but store-bought ones only hold a small number, so if you like, you can make your own bigger one using this tutorial. As you can imagine, you can press many specimens in the pages of a phone book.
Avoid pressing thick, juicy flowers and foliage as it is more likely to mould than to press well.
To make cards for the winter holidays or for many other uses, such as thank-you notes, birthdays, and for craft fairs or gifts. This one is from my book Garden Made.
This card features ginkgo leaves.
To make herbal tea sachets or scented sachets from herbs and sweet scented flowers to tuck into drawers and cupboards.
Lavender buds are my favourite for providing a floral scent.
This fresh lavender is easy to work with and then dries beautifully.
Preserve pressed flowers in all kinds of resin moulds, such as these coasters.
Pressed flowers and foliage also work wonderfully in candles when pressed against the side. They’re a safe way to include dried flowers in candles.
And to make bouquets from dried flowers for winter use. They have the wonderful quality of not requiring watering when we head out for warmer climes in the winter. My mother taught me the trick to buy beautiful pottery vases and make long-lasting floral gifts for autumn and winter parties.
Now go grab some clippers and head out to the garden for a treasure hunt. In the colder winter months, when the garden has been put to bed, you will be glad that you did!
More Tips for Harvesting Flowers
A city girl who learned to garden and it changed everything. Author, artist, Master Gardener. Better living through plants.
The best way to preserve the beauty of the garden is with a flower press. With just a few materials and tools, you can make a handmade flower press that looks as beautiful as it is functional.
You can certainly preserve flowers and leaves in a book, a method that works well and is explained in this article. For those of you who want to take your crafting to a whole new level, a flower press will give you the most pristine and perfect dried flowers to create your artwork.
Last summer, I grew violas for the first time. They are such pretty flowers, I decided on a whim to press some between a few heavy books. Those pressings turned into a favourite summer activity, and I soon had quite the collection of pressed flowers and leaves from my garden.
This year, as I plan my garden planting, I’ve also decided to prep for more pressings by making my own handmade flower press. Let me take you along and show you how you can make one too!
Colourful flowers often press the best as they retain their colour well.
Handmade Flower Press
Luckily, my grandfather has a woodworking shop, so I stopped by one afternoon and we made this flower press together.
Materials
2 pieces of wood of equal size
4 bolts
4 washers
4 wing nuts
Cardboard (or thin wood)
Watercolour paper (or white paper)
Additional Tools
Saw (or have your wood cut to size at your local hardware store)
Drill
Sandpaper
You can easily use recycled or scrap wood for this project.
Make It!
First, cut your wood to size (you can make your flower press any size you want!). I made mine approximately 8″x 10″. Then, with the two pieces of wood stacked together, drill a hole through each corner (all the way through both pieces of wood). Use sandpaper to smooth off any rough edges.
Note: Make sure to choose a drill bit that is the same size as your bolt. I recommend drilling a test hole (using a scrap piece of wood) and making sure the bolt slides through the hole easily.
Use sandpaper to smooth the rough edges of your cut wood.
Next, cut your cardboard to size. My grandfather happened to have a piece of very thin wood on hand, so we decided to use that instead. Cut your cardboard/wood slightly smaller than your 2 boards. Then cut off each corner so that it will fit inside the bolts.
Use a piece of the cut cardboard/wood as a guide for cutting the watercolour paper (or white paper) to size.
Cardboard between your paper helps to absorb moisture and keep things straight.
How to Use a Wooden Flower Press
To assemble the press, insert a bolt into each corner of the bottom piece of the press. Layer alternate pieces of cardboard, paper, and flowers or leaves inside the press. The number of layers you use will depend on how many flowers you are pressing.
Note: I don’t recommend using paper towels (instead of white paper or watercolour paper) as the texture of the paper towel will be imprinted into your flowers while pressing.
The number of layers you can have depends on how tall your bolts are.
Place the top piece of wood onto the press by threading the bolts through the holes. Add a washer to each bolt, then top with a wing nut, screwing each one down tight, creating even pressure. Your flowers still need some air flow to properly, so make sure the press isn’t too, too tight.
Create pressure and make it flat, but still allow air flow.
Let Your Flowers Dry In The Press For One Month
This part requires some patience. Allow your flowers to press for a full 30 days. I highly recommend checking on the flowers every week to ensure there is no mould. The thicker and juicier the flower, the more likely it is to mould.
Just be extremely careful because checking them, as pulling the layers can result in tearing or wrinkling your flowers!
Let the flowers dry fully for one month before you remove them from the flower press.
Expert Tips for Flower Pressing
Harvest flowers for pressing on dry days. The best time to collect flowers is mid-morning after the morning dew has dried.
Get your picked flowers into the press as soon as possible, before they start to wilt, and keep them out of direct sunlight.
Sort your flowers by type and then place them face down into the press. Grouping like flowers together is best because they will dry at the same rate.
Make sure the flowers do not touch each other in the press. Otherwise, as they dry, they will become stuck together forever.
When pressed properly, flowers retain their shape and colour well.
Decorate Your Plant Press
After my flower press was assembled, I decided to decorate the top with a botanical illustration I found in an old book. I used an X-Acto knife to carefully cut out the flowers. Once cut out, I sprayed the back with adhesive and placed it onto the press. Next, I coated it with a few layers of Mod Podge and gave it a final spray of clear acrylic sealer to give it some extra protection.
Customize your wooden flower press by adding your own illustration, painting, or collage.
Flower Press FAQ
What layers do you need in a plant press?
Each layer of your flower press should consist of a piece of cardboard, the white or watercolour paper, your pressed flowers and leaves, the white paper again, and another piece of cardboard. Keep stacking layers until your flower press is full, and add the wooden piece on top to seal it all in.
How do I press small flowers?
One hack to help press small flowers is to put them between two cotton pads (like the cosmetic ones) instead of paper. This helps them to hold their shape better and prevent the small petals from shrivelling up. Just make sure to use smooth cotton pads so there is no imprint on the flower petals.
What flowers are not good for pressing?
Anything thick and juicy will be difficult to press as it retains too much moisture during the drying process. Unfortunately, this means that plants like dahlias, roses, tulips, mums, lilies, and more are difficult to press without the flower moulding. Many people suggest disassembling the flower petals and reconstructing the “flower” after all the petals have been pressed.
White flowers will also tend to turn yellow or brown in the press, but you can have success with them. Just make sure to press a few extras and see what turns out!
Use Your Pressed Flowers in These Crafts
Rachel Beyer is an artist, designer and creative maker living in Portland, Oregon. She spends her days working at Molly Muriel Apothecary and blogging at Adventures In Making. Her favorite hobbies include cooking, gardening, and crafting.
Learning how to dry flowers will open up a world of possibilities! Here’s everything you need to know about drying flowers and 14 different ways to use dried flower petals.
Dried flower petals are the best way to preserve the beauty of the garden well into the cold winter months when our plants hibernate. I always have dried flower petals on hand to use for my beauty recipes, soaps, and other crafts.
To ensure I have enough, I stock up on flowers each summer. I want to have an entire rainbow at my disposal for the coming months.
As different flowers bloom each week, I am out in my garden with a basket. I collect and snip the flowers until I have more than enough blooms. Since I like to experiment and give away handmade gifts, I can never have too many!
Here’s what you need to know about dying flowers, from how to dry them to what to do with them.
Sometimes, it’s best to just dry the petals of a flower rather than the whole head.
What Flowers Can You Dry?
While I wish every flower dried as lovely as it looks on the stem, not all flowers dry perfectly. When looking to dry flowers, you want ones that hold their colour and fragrance. A lot of it comes down to testing different flowers and seeing how they dry.
For instance, saliva flowers dry well and really hold their colour. However, the flowers shrink so much and become so tiny that it is not worth the trouble unless you have hundreds. Some of my favourite flowers to dry are:
Lavender bunches smell absolutely divine while they dry.
How to Dry Flower Petals
When it comes to drying flower petals, there are a few methods that can be used. However, some will work better than others for different kinds of flowers. Once again, it’s all about experimenting!
Store your dried flowers in airtight jars so they don’t rehydrate.
Hang Upside Down
You’ve probably seen quite a few photos of this first method because of its Instagram-worthy aesthetic. This popular method is to bundle the stems together and hang upside down. To dry flowers this way, you will want to hang them in a dark and cool room such as a closet that isn’t often used.
If you aren’t going to be using the leaves, strip the stems bare before making bunches. I like to use string, twine, or wire to wrap my stems together and attach them to a hanger (see it in this photo?).
Flowers that are good for this method include lavender, roses, centuarea, echinacea, hops, and more. Some larger flowers such as roses may be better to be hung individually rather than in a bunch.
One of my favourite tricks is to cover lavender bunches with a bag. This allows you to catch lavender buds as they fall, making gathering that much easier!
Dry Flowers in Water
I primarily use this method for hydrangea flowers as it helps to retain the bright pink and blue tones. Remove all the leaves and place the flowers in a vase with an inch or two of water.
Place the flowers in a dark and cool room and simply wait for the water to slowly evaporate. This allows the flowers to dry slowly, helping to preserve the petals’ colour.
Without this technique, the hydrangea flowers get floppy and don’t retain their shape.
Air Dry Flower Heads
Air drying flowers are great for flower heads that can easily pop off their stems, such as calendula and chamomile. To do this method, pop off the heads of the flowers and discard the stems. Then, spread them out on a dish, tray, or drying rack and wait.
Once again, be sure to place these flowers out of direct sunlight while drying. For easy gathering and clean up, be sure to have a tray below that picks up any flowers that fall through a drying rack.
Drying flowers on a tray can also work if you just want individual flower petals and not the whole head. This method works great for larger flowers such as roses, centaurea, sunflower, bee balm (monarda), and peonies.
Lay peony flowers on a tray to get the dried petals.
Use a Dehydrator
If you are strapped for time, you can even use your at-home dehydrator if you have one. The process is the same as drying flower heads and petals on a tray, but instead, you are going to place them in your dehydrator for 8-10 hours.
Be sure to place like flowers in the dehydrator so they all evenly dry or place larger flowers on the top rack as they will take the longest to completely dry. If all flowers are the same size, feel free to rotate the trays so the flowers evenly dry.
Press Flowers
The last method for drying flowers is an old favourite! Pressing flowers is a great method for making personalized cards, framed flowers, and other creative artwork. To make pressed flowers, you can use a flower press or a large book (phone books are great if you still have those kicking around!).
Place your flowers how you want them to dry between two pieces of newspaper or printer paper. This will prevent your flowers from sticking to the book pages and stamping them with colour. Squish them down, and if using a book, place some extra books on top as a weight.
Wait at least three weeks before you open up and check on your flowers. For perfectly pressed flowers, you can make a handmade flower press by following these steps.
Use blotting paper with your flower press to help absorb any moisture.
Where to Buy Dried Flowers
Whether it’s due to space limitations or climate issues, some of us don’t have the capability to grow our own supply of flowers. That doesn’t mean you aren’t allowed to enjoy the beauty of dried flowers! There are tons of places where you can buy dried flowers. Here’s a short list:
If you’re wondering where to get started when it comes to purchasing flowers online, consider what you want dried flowers for. This resource guide on how to create your own herbal home apothecary is a great place to start.
What to do With Dried Flowers: 14 Dried Flower Projects
Now that you know how to dry flowers and what to look for when choosing your plants for drying, let’s talk about what to do with them. Once you begin experimenting, you’ll find that the possibilities are endless with these colourful creations. Here are some of my favourite ideas to try.
Beautiful Soap Toppers
Homemade soaps make a wonderful, customized gift. To make my soaps a true showstopper, dried flower petals oftentimes take center stage as the final touch. They are one of the easiest ways to decorate, add colour, and even enhance the smell of soap. For my own soaps, I used dried wildflowers. Follow my steps and create your own wildflower soap.
These petals are for decoration only; they will come off the soap not long after you begin to lather up with it.
Melt And Pour Soaps
While dried flower petals sprinkled on top are lovely, you can also incorporate them directly into your soap. Melt-and-pour soaps are the easiest method for beginners, but that won’t stop your soaps from looking absolutely amazing. Check out how to make your own botanical soaps with flowers inside.
For these soaps, choose flowers you know will hold their colour well through the soap.
Lotion Bars
Calendula has a beautiful golden hue to it and also works as an anti-inflammatory for the skin. Experiment with the garden and treat your skin by making lotion bars with calendula.
Calendula is one of the best herbs for skincare.
Bath Bombs
Bath bombs can make a bath go from simple and relaxing to fun-filled aromatherapy. Dried flowers are one of the best natural ways to make a beautiful bath bomb. You can place a full flower on top or even sprinkle them on as a final decoration. Check out my full list of DIY bath bombs you can make yourself.
Shower Steamers
If baths aren’t your thing, shower steamers are the bath bomb made for shower lovers. If you haven’t tried it before, a shower steamer enhances your shower by filling it slowly with wonderful aromatherapy scents. You can find a complete tutorial here.
Shower steamers are just like bath bombs, but for those who prefer a shower.
Wax Melts
Ditch the plug-ins and aerosols and add fragrance to your home naturally with aromatherapy wax melts. These cute herbal infused melts make a cute gift or are lovely to have on hand when your home needs some freshening up.
Adding dried flowers to wax melts is safer than adding them to candles.
Tub Tea
If you don’t care for the aesthetic of flower petals and herbs floating in the bathtub, tub teas are a great alternative. You get the aromatherapy of the flowers without the cleanup. Here’s how you can make them yourself.
Bath Salts
Perfect for beginners, bath salts are a super quick and easy way to get creative with dried flower petals. This tutorial uses peony, but the flower options are endless!
Dark pink peony flowers hold their colour very well.
After a long day, my sore and tired feet are always the first thing on my mind. I like to give them a little bit of extra loving with a herbal foot soak, complete with dried flowers.
You can customize this project and many others based on the flowers you have on hand.
Rose Water
Did you know that rose is amazing for the skin? Coupled with its amazing scent, dried roses are definitely something you want to have on hand for skincare recipes. Here’s how I use mine to make rose water.
Framed Flowers
Some pressed flowers are just so lovely they need to be framed! Pressed flowers are extremely delicate and framing them definitely takes a careful hand. Follow these tips and steps and you’ll have beautifully framed flowers.
Thinner flowers dry best in a flower press, as large flowers can rot.
Dried Flower Arrangements
A flower arrangement is one of the best ways to brighten up your living space and bring nature indoors. While fresh flowers are beautiful, they only last for so long. Preserve the beauty of your garden inside your home and make it last by creating dried flower arrangements. See all the steps on how to preserve your ornamental flower garden.
You can also combine your dried flowers with fake flowers.
Wreaths
Using dried flowers to create a wreath makes a gorgeous and long-lasting decoration perfect for spring and summer. Follow my steps on how to make a lavender wreath or give my hydrangea wreath a try.
This lavender wreath can be made fresh, and will dry wonderfully to enjoy for years to come.
Echinacea Tincture
Flowers can be so much more than beauty. This echinacea tincture helps to boost immunity and reduce symptoms during cold and flu season. Make your own and learn how to use this incredible flower here.
Tinctures are typically made by soaking the plant in an alcohol base.
FAQ About Drying Flowers
How long will dried flowers last?
Most dried flowers are good for at least 2-3 years if kept in the right conditions. Avoid any sunlight and heat, as well as humidity. Once placed in sunlight, the colour from the blooms can fade quite quickly.
How do you keep dried flowers from rotting?
Rotting dried flowers have absorbed moisture. It’s essential to keep dried flowers away from moisture and humidity. For example, you might not want to keep a dried flower arrangement in the bathroom.
If storing your dried flowers in a container, consider including some silica gel packs to help absorb humidity.
Should I spray my dried flowers with hairspray?
Hairspray can really help to prolong the life of dried flowers. If you’re using dried flowers for display and arranging, spray a light layer of hairspray to help them retain colour and hold their shape. Don’t use hairspray on dried flowers you plan on using for crafts or beauty recipes; it should only be used on display dried flowers.
And there you have it! The gorgeous colours of dried flower petals are lovely to hand for beauty recipes, DIYs, and crafts, but they also stand out on their own in glass jars. If you’re like me, once you start drying flower petals, you won’t be able to stop!
Forget a perfectly stacked log cabin and helplessly blowing on your tiny flame. Spend time enjoying your summer nights, not getting frustrated trying to start a fire. These camping fire starters are one of the easiest ways to start a fire, whether that’s out in the woods or in your backyard.
Besides being out in the garden, you’ll also find me out in the woods come summertime. And just like gardening, I didn’t grow up as a camper.
It was always something I wanted to try out, and when I first saw my pop top camper van, it was love at first sight. I knew it would the perfect little home on wheels for kiddo and I. You can see it on my camping blog!
One of the most beloved parts of camping is the nights spent around the campfire under the stars. While I have a propane fire that I often use for ease, you can’t deny the magic that comes from the crackling wood and smell of a real campfire.
Starting a campfire can take some finessing (are you team teepee or log cabin?), and sometimes, no matter how much newspaper and kindling you have, the fire just doesn’t catch.
This is precisely why I like to use wax fire starters. They’re much more reliable and easier to use! Better yet, they don’t require you to have pounds of sawdust or go foraging for witch’s hair lichen to make them.
Here’s how to make fire starters to use for camping or your backyard!
Dried flowers are an easy way to dress up your wax fire starters and are perfect for the summer.
Homemade Camping Fire Starters
These camping fire starters are quite simple to make, especially if you’ve made candles before! While they can be simple and plain, I like to turn these campfire starters into a little bit of a craft project. Because who doesn’t love pretty things?
Equipment
Materials
Get creative with all the different decor items you add. Just make sure they’re fire-safe!
Melt the Wax
When making these wax fire starters, I use standard soy wax. It’s what I use for most of my candle-making projects. Soy burns quite clean and produces less soot. They’re also pretty affordable compared to beeswax.
That being said, you can use just about any wax for this project. Feel free to use the leftover wax from the bottom of old candles to give them a second life.
Melt your wax in a large pot over low heat. If needed, break up your wax into smaller chunks beforehand to help it melt faster.
You can also add a few drops of food colouring to the wax once fully melted if you want it to be a specific colour. I’ve also popped in an old crayon to change the colour.
You can also add fragrance oil for a delicious-smelling campfire! The right scent, like citronella, might even repel mosquitoes.
Melt on low and stir frequently so your wax doesn’t catch fire.
Prepare Your Liners
Line up your paper muffin liners in a muffin tin like you’re about to make a batch of cupcakes. This is the easiest way to make a shape for your DIY campfire starter.
Next, add in your cotton wick. You can use metal wick tabs as well as candle glue dots to hold your wick in place. Just know that the metal tab won’t burn, and you will have to remove this from the ashes when you’re cleaning up your fire.
If you’re okay with a wick that’s a little loosey-goosey rather than straight, it’s easiest to skip the metal wick tabs altogether.
Once you add your decorative elements, they will also help to keep your wicks upright.
Pour Your Wax
Pour your wax directly into the liners, filling them about 2/3 of the way full. To make this step a little easier, you can pour directly from the pot or use a ladle or smaller vessel with a pour spout.
Don’t worry about being exact with how much you pour into each vessel.
Add Your Decorative Elements
These wax fire starts can be as simple as just straight wax. But where’s the fun in that? In my summer themed camping fire starters, I used dried flowers such as hops, calendula, rose, and lavender to make them really pretty.
Don’t place your decorations all the way in. Otherwise, you won’t be able to see them.
Let The Camping Fire Starters Cool
Once you’re satisfied with all your decorative elements, let your wax fire starters completely cool before you remove them from the muffin tin.
And then they’re ready to use! Simply light the wick to ignite your camping fire starter.
These are my more winter or fall-themed wax fire starters.
Make These Wax Fire Starters as Gifts!
I make these wax fire starters year-round. While they’re perfect for camping, you can use them in the summer for backyard fires.
They also work wonderfully indoors during the winter. They’re pretty enough to be on display on the fire mantle or nearby in a stack. For a winter version, you can add different additions, such as pinecones or cinnamon sticks.
Wax fire starters are a wonderful hostess gift. If you know someone who has a wood-burning stove or fireplace in their home, these can be a unique handmade gift for the winter season.
I think these are just the best campfire starters because they’re easy to use and make. And they don’t cost much in materials at all! Let me know if you use these for a summer night under the stars in the comments below.
More Fun Crafty Projects to Try
Wax Camping Fire Starters
Use these simple and inexpensive camping fire starters to easily light up a campfire while out in the woods or in your backyard.
Melt wax in a large pot over low heat. If needed, break up wax into smaller chunks beforehand to lessen melting time.
Add in food colouring or a crayon to dye the wax if wanted.
Line up muffin liners in a muffin tin. Add in the cotton wick, using wick tabs and glue dots if wanted. These help to hold the wick in place, though the wick tab will not burn.
Pour melted wax into the liners until they’re about 2/3 full.
Add in decorative elements, allowing the tops of the decorations to stick out of the wax. Adjust the wick placement if needed.
Allow the wax to cool fully. Light the wick to use your fire starter!
