Whenever one receives a bouquet of their favourite flowers bunched up in a very attractive and elaborate way, one would automatically think, “If only these flowers can last forever!” What if we told you that can happen? It’s only natural that you would want them to stay with you forever. After all, they’re very beautiful, pleasing to the eyes, and hold so much sentiment especially if they mark a certain memorable occasion or if they’re generally from someone close to your heart.
Keep them forever to serve as a reminder for the great moment that they once celebrated by drying and displaying them for you and everyone else to see. Curious how you can do them on your own? We’ve compiled some of the best ways you can dry flowers the easy way…
Put them in the microwave
Drying your flowers naturally under the sun can take a week or two to fully accomplish depending on the amount of sunshine, weather, and humidity in your area. Because of this, it’s good to try drying them using your microwave especially if you’re on a schedule. Start by adding the flowers in a microwave-safe container. Then, create a mixture of cornmeal and borax. If you don’t have either of those, you can use a silica sand mixture instead. Place either mixtures on top of the flowers before putting the container into the microwave. Remember not to put on the lid. Set the microwave for a minute on a high temperature setting. Once done, do test runs until the flowers are completely dry. Your flowers won’t turn out complete dry, so it’s best to leave them in the container for a whole day and check on them after that.
Air dry them
If you don’t have a microwave oven or you’re in no hurry at all, you can go traditional and air dry your flowers instead. First, bunch them in small bundles. Then, tie them all together with a piece of stem or string. If the flower stems are delicate or fragile, it’s best to tie them with dental floss instead. Then, hang them upside down in well-ventilated places such as the living room, the kitchen, or inside an empty closet. Unlike drying under the sun or spinning it inside a microwave oven, drying them with natural air will take even longer. As the days go by, you’ll notice that the petals will eventually start shrinking and changing colours. Wait for a few more weeks and wait until all of them are displaying elegant and vintage-hued colours before finally removing the stems and using the naturally-dried petals for any project you may have.
Make use of wax
We understand that not everyone will have the ability to perform professional ways of drying and preserving flowers. But for those who are interested in DIY-ing beautiful dried flowers the professional way, there’s always the option of using paraffin or soy wax. Most professionals have been using paraffin wax before, but people have long sought for a more eco-friendly version, making soy wax another option for preserving flowers. As a safe reminder, please remember to only preserve your flowers with either of these waxes when the flowers are about a week old and they’re in full bloom. Once you’ve gotten past the point of a week, purchase either of those waxes, place it in a pot, melt the wax in the lowest heat setting, and be cautious about exposing the wax to open fire as certain waxes can be flammable (especially paraffin wav). Then, hold the stem and dip your flowers into the melted wax mixture, twirl it around, and take a moment to wait for it to harden. Make sure to dip the part of the stem connecting it to the flower heads to secure its hold.
Put them in the boot of the car
Another way to dry your flowers naturally is to place them inside of your boot. This is especially effective during hot, sunny days when you’re simply staying at home or somewhere else for a given amount of time. Do this by wrapping the flowers like a bouquet using parchment paper. Then, you’re ready to place them inside the car. Give it a whole day before returning and checking how dried they’ve been until sundown.
Dry them out with silica gel
If you thought the silica gels you got from different food items you’ve bought were for throwing away, think again. You can use the gel balls inside the silica gel packets to dry your flowers. If you don’t have any around, you may also visit craft stores and purchase them. Once you have the silica gels you need, place the flowers inside a container and bury it using the silica gel balls. Check them from time to time, but the standard time for drying them out completely is from a few days to a week.