From Sherri Osborn,
Your Guide to Family Crafts.
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You can creatively save your summer blooms! Dry or press your flowers to make fun crafts, gifts, and decorations.

Drying your Flowers:

The simplest way I know of is hanging your flowers. Quite simply, you remove unwanted leaves, divide the flowers into small bunches, and tie them together with string, yarn, or rubber bands. Hang the flowers upside down in a warm, dry, dark place. It must be dry so the flowers won't rot, and it should be as dark as possible because too much light might make the flowers fade.

This method usually takes a couple of weeks. The length of time will vary depending on the kind of flowers you are drying, the humidity, and the temperature. Check on your flowers every 2 - 3 days. You want them dry to the touch.

      Make a Dried Flower Sachet

A few Tips:

• Whether you are drying or pressing your flowers, it is best to pick or cut the flowers on a dry day. Try to do it in the morning, as soon as any dew has dried.

• Try to pick your flowers just before they reach the full bloom stage. Some flowers do open more as they dry.

Pressing your Flowers:

1. Gather the flowers you want to press, along with some newspaper, tissue paper, a heavy book (a phone book works well), and a large brick or rock.

2. First set out a piece of cardboard that is almost the same size as your book, lay a piece of newspaper (about the same size of your cardboard piece) on top of that, followed by a piece of tissue paper (also about the same size as your cardboard piece).

3. Place the flowers on the tissue paper. Make sure none of them touch each other or hang over the side of the tissue paper.

4. Cover the flowers with another piece of tissue paper, then newspaper, and then cardboard.

5. You can continue this process, one on top of the other, until all your flowers are prepared.

Once your stack is done, top it off with your heavy book and the brick or stone. This method usually takes 2 - 4 weeks.

      Make a Pressed Flower Picture

A few tips:

• Thin out the petals of thicker flowers before pressing; otherwise, your pressed flower might look more like a smashed flower!

• Some flowers will darken as they dry in the press.

• You can store your flowers in the press until ready to use!

• You can also store your dried flowers in a dark, sealed container until ready to use.

Check out my other pages for more garden- and flower- related crafts, then read my related article titled How Does Your Garden Grow?