Preserving Cut Flowers (Making Wreaths)
I *LOVE* to teach ...especially when I am teaching something I know a woman can walk away with, and use in her own home.
I know you have probably received flowers at some point in your life. Have you ever considered trying to preserve them in a way that they would last longer?
Drying flowers is such a nice way to preserve them. You can create such beautiful, and meaningful decorations for your home, with very little money.
You may have received them from a special gentleman in your life, what about preserving a marriage bouquet(?), baby flowers and yes, even flowers from funerals all can be preserved to make special mementos of important events in our lives.
I was in a store in my area several years back.I found a wreath very similar to the one that I'm about to teach you to make, for right at $50.00! I couldn't believe it!
This is a skill, btw, that mastered, can become a nice income for a stay at home mom, or just be a way for her to minister to those around her.
Just a note, this is October 6, 2006, I just received the flowers that we're going to be learning with...you can expect this to take between 6 and 10 weeks, please check back for updates and when the project is finished, I'll better organize the photos and notes so that they will be easier to follow.
Day 1
These flowers were delivered to me, from a friend, who has had a death in her family. They had requested that I make this wreath from flowers sent to the funeral. (I know that for an event like this, many people have mixed feelings and that is O.K. To me, the person being honored doesn't care about the flowers anyway, and they can be a caring memento to those who are left behind.)
It's important that you begin the drying process as quickly as possible. With that said, I take time to enjoy flowers that my hubby gives me before I dry them out. When the petals begin to fade, but before they begin to fall off, is a perfect time to start drying them. If you have had a baby, the same should apply. Funerals are a little different. Obviously, you can't remove the flowers before the funeral. It's best to go and gather these the evening of the funeral service. You really don't want them to be in the moist, outside evening air, nor do you want them to be rained upon...though, it is possible to dry them out, it's also easy to have mold growth that will spoil all of the flowers, you are working so hard to preserve.
The first step is to gather the flowers. We lay all of them on trash bags on the kitchen table. Funeral flowers are usually attached to little green bud vases that need to come off and be discarded. They are also wrapped in wire that extends up into the flower head itself. You have to remove these, but be careful not to damage the flower heads.
As you remove the wires, sort the flowers into categories: roses, carnations, baby's breath, etc. Save the wires as you go along. You can use these to hang the flowers to dry.
*One quick note: I have seen flowers delivered to funeral homes on grapevine wreaths. Keep the wreath! You can use it as a base for the wreath that you are creating. Just be sure to clean it really good (take off flowers and foliage...do not try to clean it in water) and allow it to air.
Something else, you might not have access to the number of flowers given at a funeral, that is O.K.! You can make a wreath out of just one bouquet, you just fill in with baby's breath or you may be able to find dried flowers at your local hobby shop. My mom dried my wedding bouquet of white roses and they are surrounded with baby's breath. It's very monochromatic, but it is beautiful! (It's at her home, I'll try and get a picture to post here.)
Take the flowers by small bunches and wrap the floral wire around the stems about 1 1/2"-2" from the end. Wrap them tightly but leave a tail. Bend the tail to form a hook (I do have to double my wires sometimes to support the weight of the flowers).
I hang flowers over the curtain rod in my bedroom to dry. You can choose any place dry...avoid humidity at all costs: no bathrooms, no basements, etc.
Notice that the flowers are hanging upside down. which is why, once dry, they will hold their shape.
Leave the flowers, but check on them each day. As they begin the drying process, the stems will shrivel, and they will easily fall from the wires.
I hung all of these flowers to dry just yesterday and already this morning I had some roses falling from the wires. It will happen fast, just check on them and tighten the wires a little each day and you shouldn't have any problems.
Do expect they are going to shed. Little leaves and loose petals will fall in the floor pretty much every day during this process. Hang them where you can run a vacuum under them if necessary.
That's it for now. I'll post pictures next week so you can see progress! (Thank you, my sweet friend, for allowing me to use your flowers to teach this skill!)
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