The World of Cut Flowers

Dried flower wreaths can be wonderful additions if you are looking to enhance the elegance of a room. On doors and walls, and even on mirrors these wreaths can bring a touch of warmth and beauty to any room. Learn how to make a dried flower wreath with our handy guide.

 For the wreath base you can use a wire coat hanger if you intend to make a wreath the old fashioned way, or you could use a commercially available wreath base. Cut your trimming materials (foliage, vines, etc) into six inch lengths and bundle some together. Use a wire to attach this near the top of the base where the hook is and continue attaching more bundles until you have covered the whole circumference. The last stems should be put in under the first bundle. Now spray on some hair spray on this to act as preservative and hold the bundles in place. Add dried flowers as and where you feel on the bundle to make a flowing rhythmic pattern on the base.

A lamp decorated with dried flowers can be an excellent housewarming gift, or a personalized gift on any occasion. Read on to find out how you can make a dried flower lamp for that loved one, or even to enhance the look of your own rooms.

You will need:

·        A lamp shade and a wooden lamp base

·        Craft paint

·        Paintbrushes

·        Dried flowers

·        Transparent glue

·        Plain or tracing paper

·        Transparent tape

·        Raffia

Wrap the tracing paper around the lampshade to get a pencil outline of it. Remove the paper and flatten it to lay out your dried flowers and leaves.

Now begin at the center front of the lampshade opposite to the stem and use a brush to coat on transparent glue. Now transfer the flowers and leaves from the paper to the lampshade. The pieces that will be overlapped by others will go first. Once you finish with all the flowers, paint on another layer of transparent glue to seal the flowers in place. Let dry.

When it is dry, knot three strands of raffia at one end. Tape the knot somewhere and start braiding the three strands till you have reached a length enough to circle the lower rim of the lampshade. Repeat till you get enough length of raffia braid to circle the upper rim as well. Knot the ends. Use more raffia to tie bows.

Once you have chosen the position of the bows on the shade, paint a small line of transparent glue around the bottom rim of the lampshade. Lay the braided raffia on it one small portion at a time till the whole length is covered. Paint on some extra glue so that the raffia braid does not come undone. Place the bow at the end on the glue and attach with tape. Repeat this procedure on the top of the lampshade too. You can remove the tape when it is dry and the bow is held firmly in place.

 Use fine grit sandpaper to sand the wooden base slightly. Wipe clean. Use craft paint to draw patterns on it. Alternatively, se glue on the base and place more dried flowers on it to complement the lampshade

The beauty of a suncatcher is exquisite. The fact that suncatchers give one two kinds of pleasure: that of beholding a beautiful object and that of the effect of sunlight on it, makes a suncatcher a wonderful gift. Now learn how to make your own suncatcher with dried flower and cut pieces of glass.

For this you will need:

·        Dried flowers and plant materials

·        1/8 inch flat glass

·        1/8 inch beveled glass

·        Copper foil stripping

·        Scissors

·        A pencil

·        A small brass ring

·        High strength (preferably industrial strength) adhesive

Get both the glass pieces cut to the same size and clean them well. Place the flat glass down and lay out the dried flowers and foliage in the design you like within the frame of the beveled glass on the flat glass. When you are done, place the beveled glass from top without disturbing the design. There is no need to glue on the dried flowers, as the glass pieces will hold them together and in place.

Now peel off the backing of the copper foil and place it along the edge of the two pieces of glass along the center. Wrap it all along the outer dimension of the glass pieces and press hard, and cut away the extra just after the ends have slightly overlapped. Roll the pencil over it to smooth out any creases and to ensure that the foil is firmly held in place with the glasses.

Using industrial strength adhesive attach a small brass ring to the top of your suncatcher so that it can be hung at a place of your choice.

For a ‘different’ look to your workstation, try our trick for making dried flower paperweights. They look delicate, and are very easy to make.

You will need:

·        A piece of rock with a smooth surface. You can use a piece collected sometime in the past for its smoothness or color for this.

·        Decoupage solution

·        Brush

·        Dried Flowers

 Wash the rock thoroughly before making this. Coat a layer of decoupage solution with the brush over the rock and stick on the dried flowers. Coat another layer of decoupage solution and allow it to dry. Use a few more layers of the solution on the paperweight, and allow it to dry between each application.

Papier mache looks as delicate as dried flowers. Why not combine them to make a bowl that you can keep on the mantle to enhance the look of your room? Here’s how.

Things you will need:

·        A bowl covered with plastic food wrap or cling film

·        Torn tissues

·        A 1:1 ratio mix of PVA glue and water.

·        Dried flowers

 Glue on the tissue paper to the bowl and leave it to dry. Do not paint on it if you want a translucent effect, or you could use acrylic paint on it after it dries. Use another layer of glue on the inside of the bowl and stick on the pressed flowers. You can also use the dusty bits from dried flowers for a nicer look. Let it dry and then apply some more coats of glue both inside and outside the bowl.

Leaves are often as beautiful as flowers when dried. Using dried leaves to embellish a photo frame might just be the ideal way to put up your favorite pictures, or even as a gift to a loved one.

Things you will need:

·        A plain wood picture frame

·        Assortment of dried leaves

·        Gold paint and brush

·        Hot Glue

·        Scissors

·        Tiny gold stars

·        White craft glue

·        Spray glitter in green

To make this, first paint the wood frame in gold and let it dry. Meanwhile break the leaves from the stem and keep the bigger leaves and smaller ones separate. Use hot glue to paste the larger leaves around the frame in a random yet orderly manner. Use smaller leaves to fill in the gaps. Glue on the tiny stars on the leaves, and when done and dry, spray on the glitters lightly. Allow it to dry.

As a variation you can use dried flowers around the frame in a similar fashion.

 You can also use dried flowers and leaves on the blank space around a picture before you frame it for a very nice effect.

Remember the old charm of fairies and wishing you had a pretty fairy friend of your own? Even if you have grown up, fairies surely hold an old charm for you. Make your own dried flower fairy for your little loved one or even for yourself.

Things you will need:

·        Dried flower

·        Scissors

·        A 16 mm round wooden bead (drilled at the top and bottom)

·        Red and pink markers

·        A fine tip black marker

·        A pink pipe cleaner to be used for the body

·        About 4 feet of embroidery floss

·        Wire cutters

·        Two sprigs of similar dried flower for wings

·        Glue

Snip off the flowers from the stem with scissors to make the skirt for your fairy. Choose any number of petals for your fairy’s skirt. Hold the bloom upside down to see how it will fit your fairy. With the markers draw a face on the wooden bead that is drilled at the top. Fold the pipe cleaner (for the body) into thirds and with the wire cutter snip off a third of the cleaner. To make your fairy’s hair wind the embroidery floss to form a tiny skein around your fingers.

Now bend the cutaway two-thirds of the pipe cleaner and place the skein in the fold. Pass both ends of the pipe cleaner through the bead. Hold it tightly against the embroidery floss and with a scissor cut the loops of the floss. Glue on the hair on the sides and back of the bead-head.

Now wrap the remaining third of the pipe cleaner twice under the head to make the upper body and arms of the fairy. Pass the legs of the fairy through the dried flower petal skirt and slide it up below the arms. Twist the fairy’s legs to hold its position. To make hands and feet, simply fold in the ends of the pipe cleaners.

 To make wings for your fairy, glue on two similar sprigs of dried flower petals to the back of the fairy. If you want you can glue on a dried flower wand to the fairy’s hand and even make a tiny crown for your fairy.

Want to make your own personalized gift for your sister who loves books? Read our instructions to make a dried flower bookmark, which will be a perfect gift for your pageturning sister.

For this you will need:

·        Dried flower sprigs

·        Laminating sheets

·        Beads, tassel or a thin ribbon

First decide what size you want to make the bookmark, and when you are cutting the laminating sheets leave about half an inch on all four sides. Peel off the backing from one laminating sheet and place the sprigs of dried flowers on it. Now place the second laminating sheet on it and cut off the edges.

 Punch a hole on the top and pass the beads, tassels or ribbon through it. Your personalized bookmark is ready.

Dried flowers can be used in a variety of crafts. They look even more exquisite if you can use your dried flowers in making Christmas ornaments. Read on to learn how to make elegant ornaments for Christmas decorations.

For this you will need:

·        Glass ball ornaments

·        An assortment of dried flower sprigs

·        Scissors

·        Ribbon

·        A pencil or straw.

 To make this, first open the glass ornament. This is not as difficult as it seems. You simply have to squeeze the hanger and pull the top off gently. Now pinch off tiny sprigs of your dried flowers and push them through the opening in the ball. Use the pencil or straw to make way within the ball and stuff the flowers inside. Then once you are satisfied with the stuffing, replace the top. With the thin ribbon tie a bow at the top of the ornament.

Add a twist to your wedding invites by attaching dried flowers to them. These special handmade invites will add a special touch to your wedding, so read on to make your own unique wedding cards.

Using MS Word open a new document. On the top left, go to File>Page Setup> Paper Size, and set the size to A5, and the layout to landscape. Go back to the document and type in the words and details as you wish (Monotype Corsiva is a good choice). Now center justify the words to the middle of the page. Once you are done, again go to File> Page Setup> Margins, and increase the left margin space. This will make your text shift to the right. You can now print this directly on Indian Cotton. Sometimes due to deckle, the printer may feed the sheet in a crooked way in to itself. So have some extra sheets just in case this happens.

 Now put some glue on the left margin and stick the dried flowers on it. You can also print the invite in portrait style and stick dried flowers on its top and bottom. You can add small petals all over the invite if you wish. Only remember to add glue to the paper, and not the flower when you stick them on.