I can already feel summer beginning to fade away even though I’m positive it just arrived. One of the things I miss most about this time of year is fresh blooms. Which makes it the perfect time to do some flower crafts! In the midst of bleak winter, a colorful, fragrant bouquet fresh-picked from the garden would be just the thing.
If you’re like me and want to plan ahead, now is the perfect time to harvest some pretty blooms! Flower crafts are the perfect way to preserve a little bit of summer to enjoy year-round. You can make them now or press the flowers and save them for later! That way you have them at your disposal throughout the year and can make these flower crafts at any time.
I remember several occasions last winter and early spring when I stumbled across beautiful flower craft ideas, but we were still months away from anything blooming. Sure, I could have just gone to the grocery store and purchased a bouquet. But flowers are expensive, and with just a little bit of planning ahead, you can have what you need for these crafts for absolutely free!
Here are 5 gorgeous flower crafts to help you preserve summer in your home all year long!
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1. Flower Pounding Art.
This is an idea I’ve been wanting to try for some time! It’s probably the most unique of all the flower crafts I found. With this one, you’re not actually saving the flowers themselves, but rather transferring their pigment onto paper. Plus, I thought my little guy would really enjoy the pounding aspect of it all.
Gather your materials.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Fresh flowers and greenery
- Wax paper
- Tape
- Water color paper
- Hammer or mallet
Prepare the flowers for pounding.
Arrange your flowers face down onto the paper in whatever pattern suits your fancy. Then, carefully place a piece of wax paper over them and tape it to the edges of the water color paper.
Pound the flowers.
Using the hammer or mallet, start pounding the flowers through the wax paper. Try to make sure you hit every bit of each flower in order to get maximum pigment transfer! You can also play around with different amounts of pressure as you pound.
My little guy went pretty hard at first (cause that’s what you do when you hammer!) and we could actually see splatters of color under the wax paper. If you want to actually be able to see the outline or shape of your flowers once the pigment is on the paper, you’ll probably want to be a little more gentle.
We found that our dark purple, pink, and yellowish orange flowers transferred their colors onto the paper really well. Don’t forget to add in some greenery too!
2. Pressed Flower Lanterns.
This is one of my absolute favorite flower crafts! These lanterns are so incredibly gorgeous, and they create a wonderful ambiance wherever you choose to hang them! Not to mention the materials are inexpensive, the process is pretty straightforward, and the result looks like something you could have bought at the store!
Follow these simple steps to create your own beautiful floral paper lantern!
3. Floral Necklaces.
One great way to preserve flowers is to create jewelry with them! Not only is the process of making these necklaces super fun, but it’s also very rewarding to be able to wear your creation around afterwards! Here’s how.
4. Floral Sun Catcher.
These sun catchers are great flower crafts to have in your house year-round! Sunshine and a little bit of color can do so much to boost your mood! They’re also super easy for you and the kiddos to make. Here’s how:
5. Pressed Flower Coasters.
This is one of the more versatile flower crafts. I’ve seen these made a couple different ways, and both are gorgeous!
The first method utilizes glass tiles with pressed flowers in between. The second involves painting a clear layer of modge podge or epoxy over pressed flowers onto round wood slices. Either way, these would be a great way to brighten up your home or give as a gift!
Bonus: How to Press Flowers.
Technically, this should have been step #1. The majority of these flower crafts require pressed flowers, which can be a time consuming process. In theory, you’re supposed to wait around two weeks for the flowers to actually dry completely.
To be honest, I’ve definitely not had that kind of patience or planned enough ahead in the past. I’ve gone ahead with a project the same day I picked the flowers after pressing them in a book for half an hour. And those projects turned out fine and have even lasted quite some time (a year and counting at this point).
Buuuut…if you want to do it the right way or prepare flowers now for crafts later in the year, here are a few different ways to press flowers.
The book method.
This is a great go-to method if you’re looking for a quick and easy way to press flowers with materials you already have. All you need is a heavy duty book and some parchment paper. (A telephone book would be perfect….but are those even still a thing?) Whatever book you choose, make sure it’s one you don’t mind getting damaged just in case some moisture seeps through.
Line two pages in the book with some parchment paper (you may need to tape it down for it to lay flat), then arrange your flowers over it. Carefully close the book on top of the flowers. Place even more weight on top of that book, especially if some of your flowers were thicker. Now the hard part: Let them sit for approximately two weeks to dry out properly. After that, you’re ready for some flower crafts!
DIY flower press.
If you want to make your own press to reuse for flower crafts over and over again, this diy cardboard press looks great! It’s super kid friendly to use and create, and can be made with materials you already have around the house! It would also be easy to carry around and use on the go or during a hike.
Invest in an actual flower press!
If flower pressing is something you think you might do frequently, maybe it’s worth investing in a nice flower press! Or if, you’re in an absolute pinch, I just found out you can actually order pre-dried flowers from Amazon!
Feeling inspired to create some beautiful flower crafts yet? 😀
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