Dried Flower Crafts

Dried flower crafts are a fun and easy idea for kids of all ages. Young children can make simple designs or more complex ones for older kids.

Thankfully, it’s also a low-cost craft, using flowers and leaves abundantly growing in your yard, garden, or the grocery aisle!

There are lots of options for using what you make: bookmarks, collages, or glue to some paper or frame them for longer-lasting displays.

Our aunt made miniature flower worlds, like the girl in the photo above and the bouquet below.

SUPPLIES

Flowers
Paper: use thick paper (like stationary, white paper, unprinted newspaper, or construction paper)
- TIP: Don’t use parchment paper though many sites recommend this, as the parchment paper doesn’t absorb the water from the flowers. You need paper that will absorb water (but not paper towels, as they leave little impressions on the flowers)
Old book you don’t mind destroying in a microwave
Extra heavy books for natural drying (non-microwave method)
Elastic band

Fast Microwave Drying

NOTE: Adult supervision may be needed for the microwave part

Pick the flowers you would like (be ready to press them soon so they don’t wilt, fresh is best)
Cut or use your fingers to pinch off the back to get it as flat as possible
Open the flower if needed and gently press it to open a little
- TIP: Pull the center out and maybe even a few petals from the inside circle for bulkier flowers.
- Some flowers work better when you pull them apart (like with roses, dry the individual petals)

Fold the paper in half and create a little ‘pocket’ to lay the flower in
Lay your flower on the paper, and push it down a little.
- TIP: the way it looks as you press it down is how it will dry, so if you need to arrange any petals, like into a picture or pattern, do it now (although for kids, it might not matter!)
Place the flowers in the paper sleeve in the middle of an old book, give it a little smash, and close it off with an elastic band.

Put the book into a microwave (ADULT SUPERVISION HERE) at 1-minute increments on a normal setting
Do this as many times as needed, as some flowers are thicker and contain more moisture, and others are thinner and need less time
- BE CAREFUL: the book might be hot! Maybe let it cool a little before taking it out of the microwave
- Note: if the book binding is glued, it might disintegrate when heated by the microwave

The flowers are fully dry when they feel completely papery and have no moisture in them
- TIP: if they feel still feel cool or damp to the touch, they need more time to dry
Once completely dry, you can spray with a little hairspray if you want

Natural Pressed Drying (7-30 days)

This requires more patience but yields a better, more long-lasting dried flower (likely less possibility of mold).

Pick the flowers you would like (be ready to press them soon so they don’t wilt, fresh is best)
Cut or use your fingers to pinch off the back to get it as flat as possible
Open the flower if needed and gently press it to open a little
- TIP: Pull the center out and maybe even a few petals from the inside circle for bulkier flowers.
- Some flowers work better when you pull them apart (like with roses, dry the individual petals)
Fold the paper in half and create a little ‘pocket’ to lay the flower in
Lay your flower on the paper, and push it down a little.
- TIP: the way it looks as you press it down is the way it will dry, so if you need to arrange any petals do it now (although for kids it might not matter!)
Put them in a heavy book, and then pile heavy books on top
Depending on the flower, it takes 7 days to 3 weeks (some even take a month)
- The flowers are fully dry when they feel completely papery and have no moisture in them
- TIP: if they feel cool or damp to the touch they need more time to dry
Spray with a little hairspray if you want once fully dried

Silica Drying

You can use this method, which is best for whole flowers and not pressed. Although the flowers are nice, they aren’t pressed so they won’t work well for bookmarks or pictures. Whole dried flowers can be used to make bouquets or 3D dried flower crafts like shadow boxes.

You would need to purchase silica. If you are interested, do a quick web search for DIY silica flower drying.

Framing & Mounting Dried Flower Crafts

You can glue the flowers to some paper with some kid’s craft glue to make pictures or bookmarks (since it’s ‘temporary,’ there aren’t the same concerns for yellowing or the glue releasing).

If older kids want to make a more permanent design (like our Aunt did in these photos), try spray glue or stickier craft glues and mats, or you can press between glass frames (or use old photo frames). Some glue options:

Aleene’s Original “Tacky” Glue (non-toxic, water cleanup)
Gorilla Glue repositionable spray (dries permanently, repositionable, non-yellowing, Photo safe) CAUTION: contents under pressure and does create vapors
Krylon Easy Tack: A repositionable adhesive is a non-wrinkling, low-odor adhesive that provides a repositionable bond on most lightweight materials. CAUTION: Contents are under pressure and do create vapors