Just received a lush bouquet of beautiful fresh flowers for your birthday? Don’t just pop them in a vase and forget about them for a week. Enjoy their beauty for longer by drying them!
You may be asking, "Why on earth would I dry my flowers? What can I do with them?" Well, while fresh flowers are undoubtedly beautiful, it's sadly true that they usually don't last as long as we wish they would. If you dry out your flowers, there are plenty of ways you can then repurpose them into beautiful, long-lasting decorative items for your home.
We've listed a few of our top dried flower craft ideas and decoration tips below to help inspire you. And if you don’t know how to dry flowers, fret not. We’ve got a handy guide here at The Floraly Journal to help you, so be sure to check it out!
Create your own dried flower bouquets
Fresh bouquets sure look gorgeous, but dried flower arrangements have their own unique charm, too. They last much longer than fresh blooms, plus they don’t change in colour or shape, nor do they require any watering or pruning. That's not to say they don't need any care - read our guide to learn how to keep your dried flowers in good condition.
If you've received a fresh flower bouquet and want to turn it into a dried floral bouquet, we'd recommend air drying the blooms. You can read all about that process here. It's true that some flowers dry more easily and more beautifully than others, so don't be too disappointed if you lose a few stems here and there.
Of course, if you're not interested in drying your own blooms but love the look of dried flower arrangements, you can always buy some instead! Here at Floraly, we’ve got a whole range of dried flowers for you to choose from. For minimalist lovers, we recommend The Margot, a sweet dried flower posy with a lovely mix of creamy, natural tones. If you’re looking for something more bright and colourful, The Serena will take your breath away with its burst of pink tones.
Needless to say, dried flower arrangements make wonderful additions to your home decor, and you can go big and bold or small and cute — the choice is entirely up to you. Display them on top of a sideboard, console table or other surface anywhere in your home to liven up the space with natural texture and beauty.
Make potpourri
An understated decor idea, potpourri not only smells incredible, but also adds a pop of colour and delicate fragrance to your home.
We were most inspired by this guide from PopSugar.
Place individual flower petals or full flower heads on a baking tray lined with wax paper. Roses, with their classic fragrance and beautiful colours, are perfect for making potpourri. We also love lavender, geraniums and marigolds, but pretty much any flower with small individual petals or nice flower heads will work.
Add sprigs of rosemary, thyme, or lavender for that extra fragrance kick. Thin slices of citrus fruits work wonders too, as do cinnamon sticks and cloves.
Mix approximately fifteen drops of your essential oil of choice (rose or lavender oil both work well) with one tablespoon of water in a spray bottle, then spritz it all over the ingredients on the tray. Pop the tray into the oven and dry the flowers out using the baking method — with the oven on the lowest heat setting and the door left slightly ajar. Remove them from the oven once dry. It should take about two hours, but keep an eye on the flowers to make sure they don't burn.
Once the tray has cooled, add a few extra spritzes of your chosen essential oil and gently mix the ingredients all together in a small bowl. And that's it!
You can display your homemade potpourri in small mason jars or large decorative bowls around the house, or package them in little organza sachets, as they are thin enough to release the fragrance. Homemade potpourri also makes a lovely and thoughtful gift for friends and family.
Make dried flower wreaths
A dried flower wreath will add a beautiful, textural and unique element to your home decor. You can hang dried flower wreaths on walls, doors, and even over fireplaces in hallways, bedrooms, living rooms — pretty much anywhere around the home!
To start, you’ll need a rattan wreath or some kind of hoop to act as the base. Using a glue gun, fix your dried flowers (either ones you've dried yourself, or ones you may have purchased or received) around the bottom section of your rattan wreath. Slowly work upwards and outwards, layering different textures and colours together.
You can opt for either a symmetrical or asymmetrical design, and use materials like eucalyptus leaves, ruscus and bunny tails to add extra detail. You can go all the way around the ring, or stop part of the way up so the flowers are concentrated along one section. Don't be afraid to get creative!
Use pressed flowers for decoupage
Decoupage is a form of paper art, where you glue paper cut-outs onto objects. You can create similarly beautiful art using the same method, but with pressed and dried flowers in place of paper. You can decoupage phone cases, bookmarks, photo frames, gift boxes, canvasses and more using pressed flowers.
We especially love this simple method by Garden Guides.
Firstly, press your flowers using a heavy book until they're properly flattened and dried. Ensure the surface of the object you'll be decorating is dust-free and clean. Arrange the pressed and dried flowers how you like, then apply the decoupage medium (glue) to the back of the bloom and press it onto the surface. Next, apply the medium to the top of the pressed flower to coat it. Repeat with all the blooms you're using, and then apply the decoupage glue to the entire surface, and allow to dry for at least 24 hours. Afterwards, apply another coat or as many as needed to create a nice shine.
Add to your homemade candles
Candle-making is all the rage these days, and here’s how you can take it up a notch: by adding dried flowers! Upcycle your flowers in a fun and exciting way by pressing them to dry, then DIY your very own dried flower candle.
We love this dried flower candle-making method by Hello Nest.
The best way is to arrange the dried flowers along the sides of a glass candle jar. You can also sprinkle them over the top of the candle once the wax is settled to create a nice decorative layer.
Here’s a tip: if you can’t be bothered creating a dried flower candle from scratch, you can always purchase cheap, ready-made pillar candles and then add your own dried flowers to the exterior of the candle with some liquid wax to hold them in place, then leave them to dry.
Create a dried flower artwork
All you need for this is a white canvas or paper backing, and your favourite dried and pressed flowers. Arrange them as you like and stick them down using glue, then frame your artwork if you wish, and hang it up at home. The best part is being able to customise the size and style you want. If you have a large bouquet of flowers to dry, you could even create two to three pieces of wall art.
You can also create a shadow box artwork with your dried flowers. This will allow you to keep the shape of your flowers, as they don't need to be pressed first in order to be stuck down. Simply dry them using the silica gel method or air drying method, then arrange them on to the backing and glue them down in a way you like. A shadow box frame has greater depth to accommodate flower heads, and the plastic or glass casing over the front of your frame will protect the blooms inside.
Cast pressed flowers in resin
You can use resin to create a whole host of different decorative pieces, from trinket trays to coasters to jewellery. Casting your pressed flowers in resin will allow you to create beautiful, one-of-a-kind pieces, and also to preserve them forever!
Check out this handy guide from Martha Stewart.
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Blown away by all the decoration ideas you can do with dried flowers? We sure are! We hope you've been inspired to try drying your own flowers at home. Have a go at these great dried flower decoration ideas — we promise you, it’ll be worth it!
