Drying Flowers As An Entertaining Personal Hobby
September 6th, 2009
Knowing how to dry your own flowers allows you to create interesting decorations for friends and family members at little cost. You will certainly save money from not having to buy the decorations at flower shops- where prices are marked up dramatically. The process of drying flowers can also be fun as well!
When you receive the flower that you want to dry out, first make certain that there is no dew or condensation on the plant. Leaving the flower out in the open air for a few hours should do the trick if the flower has a bit of morning mist on it. Hanging the flower upside down by means of string is the best method, as it also preserves the flower structure.
When dealing with the flower head only, you can simply put the flower head between a book. Using a newspaper and applying a moderate paper weight to it will keep the flower crisp. It is best to store the flower in a dry, dark, area at this point. That way moisture won’t hinder the process of drying out the flower properly.
You can speed up the drying process by using different materials. Sand, for instance, can be used to encase the flower in the same manner previously described. You can also use silica gel, which is what you find in many commercial-grade products, although it is toxic and should be handled with care. Keep silica gel in a safe place where others won’t unintentionally come into contact with it.
It is possible to dry out a flower via a microwave. This process is much quicker, but it is also not considered as professional as the book technique. The end result may not be as crisp or ideal looking, but you will only need to spend minutes in configuring and operating your microwave as compared to spending several days or weeks drying out the flower otherwise.
After you do get the desired result, you can keep your dried flowers looking their best by warding off insects. Mothballs are a popular product for this if you plan on storing the dried flowers. If you keep the flowers in something such as a scrapbook, that should be sufficient enough to ward off any insects so long as the scrapbook is well kept. If the flower means a lot to you, also consider keeping the flower in a common area where insects won’t inhabit.
Final Thoughts
There are so many applications in which you can used dried flowers. Learning how to properly dry flowers and attach them to your decorations will prove to be a useful skill soon enough. Practice makes perfect, so get out there and start drying your flowers!
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