14 Creative Things to Do With Dried Flowers

Everyone wants to find an inexpensive and simple way to decorate their home. What if I told you you must look no further than your backyard? Outside, you can find some of the most beautiful things nature offers. Explicitly, flowers and outside foliage. As a result, I have found some enjoyable crafts you can do with the dry vegetation you can find in your backyard. Here is my list of 14 creative things to do with dried flowers.

Don’t Forget to Dry Them

After venturing out and collecting your basket of nature’s finest, it is best to dry them out before you can use them in any craft. Comparatively, you will find several different ways to dry out your flowers. Your choice depends on you. Being that, there is no right or wrong way to do it. There is just your way. I have listed the different methods used for drying out flowers. You can choose which one you prefer to use.

• Flower Press — two pieces of wood (square or rectangle) that you can put together and screw closed at all four corners, placing your flower in the middle.
• Microwave — will work by using two heavy flat items to sandwich your flowers between (microwave safe) and cook in increments of 30 seconds.
• Hanging — flowers upside down in a dark area until fully dry
• Books — put your flowers between the pages of a book, close it, and weigh it down
• Oven Baking — use a foil line cookie sheet and place your oven on the warm to low heat setting. Just make sure to check them every couple of minutes.

Except for the microwaving option, most of these methods will take approximately 2-3 weeks before you find your flower completely dry.

Create Your Craft

Now that your flowers and foliage are dry and ready to use, you are ready for the fun part! You can use your flowery finds to create the perfect piece! I cannot express how many things you can make with dry flowers. The opportunities are almost endless.

So many different mediums can blend or even mask flowers. Depending on the look you are going for depends on what it is you would create. I am sure you will be able to find something you like.

1. Craft a Crown

If you are looking for a fun and easy craft, something the kids can do, making a flower crown is just the thing for you! By braiding, knotting, and tying the flowers and stems together, you can create a ring to place on your head. In any case, this is one of the first flowery projects little girls seem to learn.

Subsequently, this is not the only version of this craft. There are several others! Each one contains its list of items needed. Not all versions of this craft involve needing wire. To summarize, if you are looking for other versions of this craft, Pinterest or YouTube are great places to start!

2. Build a Wreath

You can also create your dried flower wreath using the same principles you would for the crown. This can be used to hang in your home or even on your front door. Get creative and make one for every season!

3. Make a Bracelet

In addition to the wreath and crown, you can make a flower bracelet. The most important is to measure your wrist to know the length you need to shape your ring and start crafting!

For a beginner, these ideas would be the best to start with. Seeing that these simple jewelry designs are easy to craft, like bracelets, crowns, and even a ring. Without a doubt, the wreath falls into this category as well.

4. Frame It

Every crafter LOVES Mod Podge. It is versatile and can be used in many different ways. What’s more, dried flower crafting is an excellent place for it!

Get yourself a picture frame of your choice, then lay your dried leaves on it. You are staging them on the backing to the edge. Once you have your decoration set, use Mod Podge to paint over your floral design. This will help secure your flowers in place. You then put the frame back together, and just like that, you have a new art piece to hang on your wall!

5. Showcase a Shadow Box

Shadow boxes are GREAT statement pieces for a floral arrangement. To further explain, they are bold and stand out without reservation, calling attention to the flowers. I find them very stunning. As if the words beauty and sheek tried to fit within the same box.

This is another simple craft. To point out, it requires just a basic level of just 3 items to complete:

• Dried flowers
• Shadow Box
• Hot glue

With these items, you can build your very own shadow box bouquet! Adding in extras at your convenience things, such as:

• Pictures
• LED fairy lights
• Knick Knacks

6. Build Herbarium Bottles

I have to say this craft is one of my favorites! Make sure to clarify that these can vary in size, depending on your heart’s desires. They also can come in any shape, depending on what you want and what you find to use!

In like fashion, you will take a glass or plastic container (make sure to have the lid) and fill it with your choice of dried flowers. I have seen people break the flowers down into bigger chunks, and I have also seen people leave them whole. Again, I want to mention that this part is based on preference.

Once your container has its “flowers,” fill the jar with baby oil. It must be remembered to make sure you pour the baby oil in slowly to avoid disturbing your floral arrangement inside the container. Finally, securing the lid, and presto! Your herbarium bottle is complete.

7. Flex Your Floral Air Freshener

If you look in your crafting stores, you can find clear ornament balls. To illustrate, these are the ornaments where you can remove the lid and fill them. I have provided an Amazon link for them here.

As a result, an easy craft is filling these with dried flowers. Add drops of your favorite essential oil fragrance to hang them around your home. Elegant, and it smells lovely!

Not only can they be used as ornaments for the Christmas tree, but for anywhere you want a Floral Air Freshener.

8. DIY Potpourri

Even though everyone knows that dried flowers are used in potpourri, coincidentally, everyone does not know that it is not that hard to make. It requires a few different things; therefore, it might be one of those crafts you must prepare for.

TheSpruce has an excellent recipe for the making of Rose Petal Potpourri. Click the link to view the full recipe. Some of the items they list are:

• Dried rosemary
• Dried Lavender
• Ground Cloves
• Cinnamon
• An orange peel
• Essential Oil
• A fixative (orris root)

Henceforth, the process is crushing all ingredients together, sprinkling them with oil, and bagging them into mesh baggies. Then, of course, sitting it somewhere to release its fantastic scent.

9. Put in Candles

Dried flowers go great with candles! You can crush or mix them into the candle wax itself. This will give you their sweet scent once the candle melts and the heat from the flame hits them.

Otherwise, you can use them whole to decorate your candle. This is called “candle flower pressing.”

Both ideas are a great way to showcase your dried flowers and get in their sweet scents!

10. Soak Them in Soap

Another excellent medium for dried flowers is soap. Soap is made with fat, lye, water, and fragrant oils. It is the most straightforward concoction, not taking much to create such a fantastic product.

According to WebMD, a baseline recipe to make around 9 ounces of soap is:

• 8 ounces of fat
• 1.1 ounces of lye
• 3.4 ounces of distilled water

For this particular mixture, you only need to add one or two drops of essential oil for fragrance.

You might be wondering, aside from water, how is this even made? Well, it’s actually simpler than it sounds. The fat can be any type of oil, like coconut oil or even vegetable oil. Lye is a chemical that transforms fat into soap when mixed with water. There are two main types of lye, and depending on the kind of soap you want to make, you will choose accordingly.

Once your soap mixture is ready, that’s when you add your assortment of dried and crumbled flowers. After incorporating all the ingredients and thoroughly mixing, pour the mixture into a mold and let it set.

Soap making is a truly enjoyable craft. If you haven’t tried it yet, I highly recommend giving it a go.

11. Build a Bath Bomb

Bath bombs are great places for you to put your dried flowers. Dried flowers give your bath bomb a look of elegance while offering a minimalistic style while giving your bath water a light fragrance of beauty.

Good Housekeeping has a great recipe for making your bath bombs. Click on the link provided to check it out.

12. Bookmark Ideas

Making bookmarks with pressed or dried flowers is super easy! You only need 3 items for this craft.

• Flowers
• Contact Paper
• Scissors

You pull the backing off of a piece of contact paper and lay it out on a table. Make sure the sticky side is up because then you will take your flowers and arrange them on the contact paper. In any design you choose, they should stick right to the paper. After creating your design, you will lay another piece of contact paper on top — sticky side down. You are making a flower sandwich! Lastly, you will cut your bookmark. Either into rectangular stripes, the average bookmark shape. Or around your flower, creating your shape. There are no rules!

If you feel super creative, you can add your artistic spin, like using a colored piece of paper as a “backing” or adding glitter or a picture of someone special. Make your bookmark something that you are excited to carry around.

13. Use Resin

This project can take you anywhere you want to go! You can create almost anything your heart desires with a suitable mold using resin.

I have found so many things incorporating dried flowers such as:

• Home Decor
• Coasters
• Bookmarks
• Keychains

None other than Martha Stweart herself would have a great instructional piece on how to make resin masterpieces with dried flowers.

14. Wax Melts

Wrapping up our list of 14 creative things to do with dried flowers, you have the option to incorporate the flowers directly into your wax before crafting your wax melts, similar to a technique used in candle-making. For instance, you can crush the petals and blend them into your wax, or you can artfully arrange them on the exterior of the wax cubes once they’ve solidified, creating a charming floral pattern.

The highlight of our list is to inspire you to see the potential in those faded blooms that have been idly sitting on your table for the past week. Don’t be quick to assume they’ve outlived their usefulness just because they’ve wilted. There’s a world of possibilities beyond composting; they can be transformed into a variety of crafts! This article alone presents 14 different ways to repurpose them.

You can craft nearly anything by employing various mediums, ranging from wax and resin to glue. The end result is limited only by your imagination. And remember, this list is just the beginning. There are likely thousands more ideas out there, some of which might not have even been discovered yet.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © New Africa/Shutterstock.com