With so many beautiful spring and summer flowers in the garden and in the shops, it makes me sad when they wilt and die. I have become a little obsessed with drying flowers of late and have put together an easy tutorial to show them off at their best. It’s a really simple craft to try and doesn’t take much to get you started.

What you will Need 

A heavy book

Grease proof paper

Flowers

Frame

Paper Doilies

How to Make 

You will need a little bit of time with this craft as it isn’t an instant process from start to finish. The flowers need at least a few weeks to dry out so don’t expect anything instant.

 

Take your flowers, most flowers will press quite well, try and choose ones that will have some detail once dried. Leaves can also be dried and larger leaves like ferns make great backdrops in your frames when layered with flowers. Flower drying can be hit and miss and not all turn out as you expect, the one below got ruined during the drying process but I will probably still use it by cutting it in half.

Take a strong hard back book, I like to use cook books as they work really well through trial and error. Cut two pieces of greaseproof paper to cover the page, open your book in the middle and pop one sheet down on the righthand side of the page. Carefully place your flower on top.

Cover with the second sheet of greaseproof paper and gently press down on top of the flower, this helps if your flower is a little bulky. Close the book, be careful not to displace the flower at this point as it will effect how it will dry.

Place the book on the bottom of the pile, try and put a few heavy books on top to weigh it down, leave for a couple of weeks at least, try and resist the urge to check. After a few weeks you can carefully check if the dry is dried by peeling back the greaseproof paper.

When you have all your flowers ready, a great way to display them is in a metal edged glass frame, layer the flowers with doilies or just leave plain if the flower has plenty of detail. If you get bored with your display you can change it up regularly by using seasonal flowers.

Remember If you make these pretty floral frames, don’t forget to show me, I always like to see your creations, tag @i_heart_maggie  for Instagram or @IHeart_Maggie on twitter. If you haven’t seen my dried flower card making tutorial you can also check that out here.

Love

Claire X