This article is the third in a three-part series on collecting flowers, pressing them, and making dried-flower crafts. Click here to go to Step 1.
Step 3: Make dried-flower crafts
You and the kids should know that dried flowers are very fragile, but if you handle them with care, there are many projects you can decorate with them.
Customize cards
Cut a sheet of paper to the size you want your card to be, instructs Tricia Paoluccio, a New York City crafter who sells pressed-flower greeting cards on etsy.com. Paint the paper so that the background enhances the bright colors of the flowers — pale pinks and yellows work best. Put the flowers upside-down on a sheet of newspaper and gently paint them with rubber cement, starting from the center of the flower working your way out. It doesn’t take a lot of glue, just enough to cover each petal. "Next, take your finger and softly touch the center of the flower — not the petals because that will break it — this will lift the flower onto your finger so you can work with it." Affix the flower to the card. Paoluccio suggests layering the flowers and letting some petal edges hang off the perimeter of the paper. After you arrange each flower, place a piece of waxed paper on top and smooth the flower down. Remove the paper and repeat until you’re satisfied with the design. When the glue is dry, cut the flower parts that extend off the paper and rub your finger over the excess glue to remove it.
Decorate candles
To enhance the look of a plain candle, simply glue on a few pressed flowers. Apply rubber cement to the flowers — the way you would to make a greeting card. Then affix the flowers to the candle. Securely press the edges of the flowers to the curves of the candle to avoid their lifting off over time. Then (you should do this part) light a tea-light candle; when it melts down, dip a paintbrush into the melted wax and paint over the pressed flower to act as an additional form of glue.
Make simple jewelry
"This project is very simple and great for young children," Sherry Bloom, a crafter and vendor on etsy.com, says. Cut two pieces of packing tape, making sure they’re bigger than the flower you wish to use. Gently place a flower in the middle of one of the pieces of tape. Sandwich it inside by laying the other piece of tape smoothly on top. Trim the excess tape and cut a circle, heart, star or any other shape you desire. "Attach a pretty cord, ribbon, or yarn to turn it into a charm and make it a bracelet or necklace," Bloom suggests.
Other ideas
- Personalize a jewelry box
- Make a bookmark
- Decorate a photo album or journal
- Make a sun catcher
- Frame pressed flowers as their own work of art
- Make decorative soap the same way you made decorative candles
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