Reusing Dried Flowers
You’ve enjoyed your flowers for days, and now they’re starting to look a little tired. Do you really have to toss your beautiful bouquet in the trash? No, you don’t. Your flowers will last another year or longer if dried and properly cared for. We’d like to share some ways to help you extend the joy natural flowers bring to your space!
Dried flowers have made a huge comeback, and there are so many innovative ways to put them to use. Whether it’s for décor or something a bit more functional, The Bouqs Co. wants to let you in on all the wonderful things preserved flowers have to offer! Before we go on with making the most out of any dried arrangement, you can also check out our guide on how to preserve your blooms and other ways to repurpose them.
How to Dry Flowers
Drying flowers is easier than you might think. You can preserve them as is or press them flat. Choose the method based on how you want to use them.
To dry a bouquet or bloom, you just need some twine and a warm, dark, dry space to hang them. Strip the lower foliage and hang with bloom side down for a few weeks.
Just make sure flowers are dried through before taking them down to use.
To press blooms flat, you’ll need a large book, parchment or wax paper, and something heavy to use as a weight.
- Line a few of the pages of the book with parchment or wax paper.
- Place the flowers face down on the parchment or wax paper. Close them into the book.
- Place a weight on top of the closed book and let the dead flowers dry for 7-10 days inside the book undisturbed. Check to be sure that the flower is completely dried out and has a papery consistency.
Now your flowers are ready to be repurposed. We’ve got a few ideas to help you make a new splash with your old bouquet!
Dried Bouquet Vase
A bouquet doesn’t have to be fresh for it to beautifully decorate your home. A bouquet dried intact can be placed in a decorative vase or basket. Or place a stem or two each into small vases to decorate a large dinner table or occasional tables.
Small arrangements can also be placed in bathrooms or on bedroom dressers. Tie a small bouquet together and adorn a wreath to breathe new life into it!
Dried Flower Potpourri
Potpourri has been a decor staple for so long, it’s often overlooked. But what a great way to use dried flower petals and buds! Potpourri is simple to make, and you can personalize it by adding herbs, spices, dried fruits, nuts, and essential oils.
By designing the look and fragrance of your potpourri, you can enhance the feel of the space it’s made for, be it an entryway, a bedroom or bath, or a large gathering space!
Dried Flower Candles
Candles are popular as gifts and for personal decorating. It happens that dried flowers and candles go hand in hand! Use some dried petals or small blooms, or some of your potpourri, to make a dried flower candle. To really up your repurposing game, make candles using surplus jars and other containers from around the house. Each candle will be one of a kind!
Dried Flower Wall Art
What better way to fill up a blank, boring wall with a backdrop of dried flowers? There’s so many ways you can get creative with this, but our personal favorite is having them hang from twine down the length of your wall. To accent a room’s decor, make a wall hanging by tying several strands of twine with dried flowers to a rod or piece of driftwood. Maybe you can add some string lights for a more magical touch!
Pressed Flower Cards
For a great way to put an extra personal touch on the cards you give, make pressed flower cards. Creating a unique design from the beautiful flowers you press will motivate many birthday wishes and “just because” cards. Imagine a cheerful, personally crafted, dried flower “get well soon” card! Card stock of any size, decorated with pressed flowers, can be framed and showcased in the home, making a unique gift, or a nice addition to your own decor!
Dried Flower Manicure
Dried flower petals or filler flowers can make the perfect accessory for your nails if you were thinking about getting a manicure. Just dip them lightly into some nail resin, lock them in place with a few layers of top coating and you should be set!
Clothes Freshening Sachet
If you happen to have an old rose bouquet that you want to make the most out of, dry the petals and put them into small mesh satchels. And that’s pretty much all there is to it – just place in your sock drawer or closet space to keep your garments smelling fresh and rosy!
Dried Flower Bath Bombs
Everyone needs a spa day every now and again! Whether you are looking to make homemade gifts for your friends or you want to enjoy your dried flower arrangements for weeks to come, a bath bomb filled with dried flowers is a luxurious way to do that. Before you know it, you will be in your own at-home spa!
Materials Needed
- 1/2 Cup Citric Acid
- 1 Cup baking soda
1/4 cup oats - 1/4 teaspoons Lavender Essential Oil
- 1/8 Teaspoons Rose Essential Oil
- Dried flower petals
- Witch Hazel in a spray bottle
- Bath Bomb Molds
- Steps
- First, you will need to sift the citric acid and baking soda into a bowl. This will make sure there are no clumps in your bath bomb mixture and you’ll start with a smooth and even consistency.
- Next, mix in the essential oils. Using your hands is the easiest way to get the essential oil evenly distributed and make sure no clumps form. Once it’s mixed, pour in the oats and stir them in.
- The next step is to wet the mixture. Spray the witch hazel into the bath bomb mixture and mix it in. Spray a little bit at a time and then mix until it’s even and continue that process until the bath bomb mixture is just damp enough that it will hold a mold. Think of the level of moisture you would want in a sandcastle. If it gets too wet, it will just slosh around. If it’s too dry, it won’t stick together.
- Next, you need your bath bomb molds. You will fill one half of the mold at a time. Sprinkle some of the dried flowers in the bottom of one half for decoration on the outside of the bath bomb. Sprinkle some bath bomb mixture on top of the dried flowers, then pat it in with your thumb. Sprinkle more flowers on top of that, then more bath bomb mix, then flowers, then bath bomb mix until half of the bath bomb mold is filled.
- Fill the other half of the mold with just the bath bomb mixture. Carefully take both halves of the mold and press them together firmly so both halves of the bath bomb compress together.
- Lift one half of the mold off and gently slide the bath bomb out. Placing something soft like a towel or a folded sheet under a piece of cling wrap is a good surface to remove the bath bombs onto. This will prevent them from shattering.
- Let the bath bombs dry for 24-48 hours. After that, they will be ready to use! If you aren’t going to use them right away, keep them in an airtight container so they keep moisture out of them.
Pressed Flower Lanterns
Pressed flower lanterns are a great way to turn a dried flower arrangement into a fun backyard decoration that can light up any late summer night, backyard BBQ, or outdoor shindig. They’re easy to make, but they look really fancy so you’re sure to impress your friends with your newfound craftiness.
Materials Needed
- Flowers and greenery
- Wax paper
- Ruler
- Craft knife
- Cutting board or self-healing cutting mat
- Iron
- Ironing board or cloth for pressing
- Washi tape
- Steps
- Once you have dried flowers, measure and cut four 4 1/2x 9 inch rectangles of wax paper. You can adjust the measurements to make them bigger or smaller if you want, but if you follow these measurements you will get a nice cubed lantern.
- Fold one of the rectangles of wax paper you cut out in half. Place some of your dried flowers in between each side of wax paper.
- Set your iron to medium and iron over the wax paper with the dead flowers inside of them. Ironing them will fuse both sides of the wax paper together. Repeat until you have all four sides of the panels.
- Lay the two panels next to each other. Make sure the side that you want to show on the outside of the lantern is facing you. Cut a piece of washi tape an inch longer than one of your panels. Center the tape over where the panels meet and press in place.
- Flip the panels over and press the excess tape onto the inside of the lantern. Create a crease by folding at the tape. Continue this process until you have taped all four sides together.
- Put an LED candle or tea light in a glass holder in the lanterns, light them up, and enjoy!
- When in doubt, repurposing is the plan! Not only is it eco-friendly because you are preventing more waste, but you can also bring out a bit of your creative side by making something wonderful.
Keep Blooming with Flowers from The Bouqs Co.
If you want your home to keep blooming year-round, then The Bouqs Co. is definitely here to help! Our farm-fresh flowers not only brighten up any indoor space but they are also grown sustainably to ensure that you only have the freshest blooms you can find. And our dried flower bouquets give you lasting blooms to provide seamless blooming from season to season! For some more ideas, check out our tips on how to reuse your bouquet for self-care. Bring home some of that flower power today!
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