Drying and framing Valentine’s Day flowers

When you receive a beautiful bouquet for Valentine’s Day, it’s so beautiful that you want it to last forever. Fresh flowers will perish at some point but this does not mean that you cannot enjoy them for months or years to come. All you will need is your beautiful bouquet, some decorative paper, a box frame, and a glue gun.

The first thing you will need to do is dry your bouquet. You can enjoy your fresh flowers for a day or two first but you will need to start drying them before they start to perish. The best way to do this is by hanging them upside down. This helps them dry without wilting or falling apart. Your flowers will usually take at least a week to dry and it’s important that they are not hung in the sun or in a windy or damp environment.

Once your bouquet is completely dry, you will need to prepare your frame. Open the box frame and measure the backing. Cut some decorative paper to size and, if possible, use the paper frame insert as a guide. You can even glue the paper to this frame insert to make sure that it stays perfectly flat.

Now take your bouquet apart very carefully and start arranging some of your flowers on the paper you cut out. Plan your design with all the elements in the bouquet including focal flowers, filler flowers, and foliage. You might not be able to fit all of your flowers in a single frame which means that you can use the rest of your dried flowers for potpourri or another great design.

When you have your design ready and planned out, you should trim the stems so that they aren’t too long for the frame. Use a glue gun to secure each stem in place. Your flowers and leaves will overlap so make sure that you apply your foliage first and then a few fillers, focal flowers, and finally a filler flower or two.

Once your flowers are all in place, you can apply double-sided tape to the border of your cardboard or wood frame backing and stick your flower design to the backing. Pay close attentionand make sure that you do not stick your flowers upside down! Place the backing in the frame and enjoy!