Dry flowers are gladly used by florists and needlewomen to compose paintings, panels, collages or miniatures. They can be used to decorate handmade cards or complement the decor of gift wrapping. In order for paintings of dried flowers to retain their decorative effect for a long time, the plants must be properly dried.
Instructions
Step 1
Classic drying. Many plants are dried in this way: herbs, cereals, small flowers. Plants can be cut at varying degrees of maturity. This is especially true for cereals. To draw pictures from dried flowers, it is recommended to cut oats or wheat at different ripening periods. So you can get plants of various colors: from pale green to yellow. All herbs are harvested in dry weather. The collected material is tied into small bundles and dried horizontally or vertically. Plants are hung on a specially stretched wire or laid out on a newspaper. If the plant has a rather large inflorescence (yarrow or tansy), hang it up one copy at a time. The room temperature should not be lower than 10-15 degrees. The dried flowers are then placed in signed boxes with small holes for ventilation.
Step 2
Some plants are dried to shape. For example, you can twist willow stalks around a pencil. If you need a blank for a wreath, twist the shoots into rings. This drying method is suitable for branches of honeysuckle, grapes, clematis. Such blanks are valuable for creating various floristic compositions.
Step 3
If the plant has a thin stem but a large flower head, proceed as follows. Cut the flower from the stem and replace the stem with wire. Then pierce the flower and bend the wire in the opposite direction. Such dried flowers can be used for painting or composition.
Step 4
Lichens, moss have a very fragile base, so they must be dried in boxes. As an interesting decorative element, plant roots are often used in flower paintings. They are pre-soaked in a salt water solution to get rid of pests. Ornamental onion heads, corn, poppy pods are dried in an upright position.
Step 5
Some plants may suffer from rapid drying. Therefore, such a valuable plant for florists as hydrangea is dried in the following way. In early autumn, the flower is cut along with the stem. They are dipped in water by 2.5 cm, and the plant dries up naturally. The same drying method is also suitable for a rose.
