Use fresh flowers to create a festive floral wreath.
You don't have to throw out your latest bouquet of fresh flowers. Use the flowers to create a fun craft that will last much longer than a week or so. For best results, use flowers that are not yet wilted to create flower crafts, and choose flowers with bright, vibrant blooms that won't fade during preservation.
Pressed Flower Crafts
Pressed flowers are an attractive addition to stationery, scrapbooks, gift tags or even picture frames. To press flowers, select clean, dry flowers from your garden or a floral bouquet. Put the flowers between two pieces of acid-free paper, weight the paper down with a heavy object such as a book, and wait about two weeks. Once the flowers are dry, you can attach them to the desired surface with clear stickers. For a more advanced project, apply dried flowers to a wooden jewelry box or candle holders with decoupage glue such as modge podge or white glue.
Homemade Potpourri
Combine dried fresh flowers with herbs and essential oils to create fragrant potpourri for your home or to give as a gift. Collect about three times as many flowers as you think you will need for the potpourri, since they will shrink when dried. Use fragrant flowers that will retain their scent, such as roses, lavender, lilac, sweet pea and violet. Dry flowers by hanging them upside down in a dry, warm location. Once the flowers have dried out, combine them with spices, herbs and wood shavings like cinnamon, clove, coriander, bay leaf, rosemary, cedar, juniper and cypress. Combine the dry ingredients with a bit of essential oil and a fixative such as orris root or gum bezoin, then allow it to sit in a sealed container for about a month. Place potpourri in bowls or satchels throughout the home.
Floral Wreath
A fresh floral wreath is an impressive way to welcome guests to your home. Use a foam floral wreath base, available at most craft stores, and saturate completely with water to provide longer-lasting flowers. Insert flowers and stems until the foam is completely covered, then hang the wreath from a door or wall with ribbon or florist's wire. If you place the wreath in a shallow container of cool, clean water every day, it should last about a week. Keep the flower petals dry in order to prevent mold and wilting.
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