Make Dried Flower Arrangements With Your Kids

Make Dried Flower Arrangements With Your Kids

Flower preservation is not just a fun hobby—it is also a profitable business. Because of their longevity, availability and flexibility as ornaments, there is no denying that dried flowers have invaded the art of decorating today. But, then again, whoever said that dried flowers are just for professionals? Whoever said that projects with dried flowers are for adults only? Indeed, preparing dried flowers come in such flexibility that drying flowers is a pleasurable project for all ages—especially for children.

Here is a project with dried flowers that your kids will surely enjoy doing:

• Gather wildflowers and other plant materials. It doesn’t really matter if you do this while going on a nature walk or buy them. Collect at least 4 different kinds of flowers which have 6-8 blooms, stems and leaves.
• Spread newspaper sheets on your work area. Then, cautiously segregate the flowers you’ve collected into several bunches/bouquets.
• Prepare several 8-inch strings for each bouquet. Tie a string around the stem per bouquet. Be sure that the string is sufficiently tight that it can hold the bunch together but, at the same time, not too tight that the string cuts through the stems.
• In a warm, dry place, hang the bouquets with the blossom side down. You may use clothes rods, and it’s very important that the place be somewhere where the bouquets won’t be disturbed excessively. Also, the bouquets should be spaced enough that they are not touching each other.
• And probably the “hard” part: allow four weeks to dry the bouquets.
• When the blossoms are dried, untie the bouquets and cautiously spread them on newspaper sheets. Handle the flowers as gently as possible because you might shatter the blossoms.
• Finally, arrange the flowers according to your creative juices. You may opt to place the dried flowers arrangements in small vases or you may give them as personalized gifts. Take a step further by using these dried flowers as decorations for frames, hats, botanical plates and even greeting cards.

Whether you’re celebrating an occasion or it’s just an ordinary day, preparing dried flowers is an activity that’s easy but definitely worthwhile to do. You can add more fun by collecting flowers from your nature walks. And, if you can’t, you can always visit flower shops and flower farms to buy fresh flowers for the drying process.