Dried Flower Crafts – three ways to preserve your gardens beauty

It has long been decided by my lot that my epitaph shall read “Oh I love that song!” It’s a phrase I apparently declare every time a favourite tune can be heard on the radio or television. And so too with our changing seasons. “This is definitely my favourite season” I cry depending on where we are in the calendar year. Yet it’s true, when our four seasons are truly defined, I do believe I love them all equally. And so it was I was heard to say just the other day “I do love summer; I just love autumn a bit more.” I truly enjoy a good forage. Be it for free food or delicate seed heads, there’s a tremendous thrill to taking home deep purple berries for crumbles and jams and spent weeds and wildflowers for wreaths and home decor. Equally I enjoy preserving summers pretties from my own garden to use later in dried flower crafts and gifts and in today’s post I thought I would show you three dried flower crafts I’ve tried this summer using both my own garden pretties and natures offerings…

In a few short months our newly planted wildflower garden afforded us such beauty this summer. Situated directly in front of Belle, I was able to watch the space flourish with its kaleidoscope of colours whilst writing my weekly stories. And I was determined I would use as much of this natural beauty as I could, creating dried flower crafts and gifts to share with friends and family and of course to fill corners of our own home. I am astounded by just how many dried flowers we achieved from such a small space…

I have enjoyed turning some of these delicate flowers and petals into keepsakes and gifts. Here is a peak at three ways I have preserved their natural beauty…

Summers End Posy – dried flower crafts

You have already seen a few of the wreaths I’ve created in this post for my home and recently I was asked to make a wreath for a dear friends birthday. To add to her present, I made this pretty dried flower posy too. In doing so, I hoped to add interest to a small pile of books or dressing table maybe. I called the posy Summers End since this seemed to capture its mood and I simply bound together a selection of dried flowers from my garden with rustic string and added a small parcel gift tag with a typewritten label. A few essential oils were dripped onto the roses and the lavender in the hope of extending the wonderful summer fragrance.

Summers Pot Pourri – dried flower crafts

My second dried flower craft is perhaps the simplest of them all, pot pourri. Once colourful petals and flower heads had dried out, I was left with a wide range of both pastel and vibrant hues. My pot pourri won’t last as long as some of the commercial products out there since there are no additives or preservatives included. If you try this idea yourself and seek longevity from your pot pourri, you could use orris root powder which acts as a preservative. To add fragrance to mine, I’ve used strong-smelling lavender harvested from my kitchen garden and added a few extra drops of this lavender essential oil. My two Carefree Days small rose plants produced endless flower heads this summer and I simply collected petals before they fell, dried them in the greenhouse quickly so as to preserve their colour as much as possible and stored them in a dark cupboard in paper bags. I added a few drops of this essential oil which has a gorgeous tea rose type smell and is a fraction of the price of the more expensive rose essential oils available. Each bag of pot pourri contained a handful or two of both, together with a selection of the many other dried flower heads from our pretty and productive patch. The deep purple dahlia heads with their gorgeous crinkled petals added another level of interest in the see through bags and an appropriate gift label seals the gift. And finally a typewritten name and the sweet smell of summer is ready to gift as you please.

And of course it’s only fair if my own home has a few bowls to brighten and freshen up each room…

Beautiful displays for your home – dried flower crafts

Of all my dried flower crafts these arrangements are perhaps my personal favourites. To me they are each beautiful in their simplicity. We have enjoyed both natures wild finds and our own gardens offerings in our home in these various dried flower displays for months now. Each has organically evolved over the spring and summer leaving both Little Miss and Master M to convey fairly frequently their concern over what might have taken up residence inside each display. Neither one of my children is too comfortable with our eight legged friends.

These displays sit only for a while in their natural dried state before winter sets in and they are replaced with Christmas magic. No effort at all was put into these dried flower crafts; I simply added the odd stem as and when I passed by. An effective and inexpensive win for all our homes perhaps.

I am not at all sure it is an attractive quality to feel smug with oneself when you observe your own preservation efforts. I am however feeling just that way. And I haven’t finished yet. More of summers dried flower crafts have still yet to shine in coming weeks on the blog. Next week though, we take a break from homemade crafts and we visit a recent furniture up-cycle that wasn’t at all as it first seemed. Well what else have you come to expect from me by now? I hope to see you here again next week as usual x

Coming Soon

Just before I go, I thought now might be a good time to share with you a fun and informative mini series I will be running for the five Thursdays which make up November. My hand made gifts for friends will offer a step by step guide to five beautiful and simple gifts you can create for your loved one in time for Christmas. No fancy expensive equipment will be necessary and no ideas are labour intensive. I know you are busy and I know too you like simplicity, so each gift will suit my quick win mantra perfectly. My hope is that you may be inspired to try one (or maybe even all) of these ideas to create a gift of your own for that special someone x