How do you preserve leaves and flowers?

Is it okay to freeze them? Will that work? I want them to last until the end of January and most of them are not fully dried out yet. If freezing them is a good idea, then what do I do about the placement of the leaves? I just want to preserve the colors and the texture of the leaves without it drying out and turning into a black color. So waxing them is not an option. I want to use them in an art booklet.

How do you preserve leaves and flowers?
Freezing will not give you what you want, think frost damage. If you are going to use them in a book any way, they should be pressed while at their freshest and finest. Special non acid blotter type paper is sold for this as well as special flower presses. People also will press them in a large heavy book. Pick something like an almanac or large dictionary and open it to the middle. Leave it flat. Lacking any thing better, use wax paper or parchment paper. Put a sheet on the page. Arrange your flowers and hope they aren't already so dry that they crush. Place another sheet of paper on top and carefully fold the book closed. Put 2 or 3 more books on top of that and leave them alone for a few days, then check to see if the are molding because without the right paper, that could happen. If all is well, close it back up for a few more days, and check again. They should be ready for your project soon.


You should be able to Google up a craft site on preserving flowers which would explain it better and give you more options.
Reply:Hang them up side down! For a day or two then they should dry out!
Reply:For flowers, go to a Hobby store and ask for Silica powder, not the gel..


I believe that is the name, it is a mixture resembling very fine sand. You place the flower on a layer of the "mixture", than pour enough to cover the flower. This will dry the flower out and preserve its color and shape.


Leaves can be done this way I guess, however I simply press them in between paper (like a phone book), and "press them",


oh yes, you can do "flat" flowers this way to, The Silica is for FULL flowers that cannot be pressed, like Marigolds for example. Good luck and have fun! You will be an artist in no time.
Reply:I heard that hair spray will preserve flowers and leaves. I think I heard this on Martha Stewart. Worth a try....Good Luck

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Flowers found. Not hers?

A friend of mine found some old dried flowers in the bottom of a closet in her home. The flowers were in the wrapping and she says werent hers. She has been married 4 years. She said her husband gave her flowers already this year for her birthday. %26amp; anniversary. What would you think if you were her and found them?And Men, why do you think they were in the closet.

Flowers found. Not hers?
Maybe the flowers belong to a couple that lived there in the past.
Reply:Thank You!! Report It

Reply:BUY him a mop and a dust pan for his birthday and tell him dont leave old flowers in the closet! EWH!


No seriously, just ask him. DOnt listen to much to what he says but just watch his actions. Is he unconfortable when he answers? There could be a perfectly reasonable explanation and you owe it to him to find out FROM HIM! If the answer sounds like bullshyt or if you think his body language is saying something different. BE ON ALERT, check the cellphone and do some investigating on your own. Any man who would be stupid enough to 'hide' dead flowers and not throw them away will make plenty of other mistakes
Reply:THINK NOTHING THROW THEM AWAY DON'T MAKE IT HARD FOR YOURSELF SOMETIMES YOU CAN ACTUALLY THINK A THING SO THINK ABOUT IT!!!!!! DON'T MAKE SOMETHING OUT OF NOTHING WE SOMETIMES THINK TOO MUCH!!!!!
Reply:if he gave her flower's before then they must be for someone else. other wise why would they be in there
Reply:I would ask my husband and anyone else who lives in the house where they came from...
Reply:Hmmm don't know. Maybe he got them for her and forgot. My husband is pretty forgetful. He forgot to give me all my christmas presents so I got my last one today ... because he hid it and forgot. LOL Maybe its no biggie.
Reply:maybe he was going to surpise her and forgot about it.
Reply:I would ask my husband what the flowers were from.
Reply:Keep your nose out of her business.
Reply:who knows, usually if a man buys flowers for someone other than his wife then he doesn't take them home, he just gets then delivered to the other woman





maybe he bought them and meant to give them to her for something and then just slipped his mind





who really knows
Reply:Hubby probably forgot to give them to her before they wilted and shriveled up. Or he left them there purposely for her to find when they were fresh and she just overlooked them. I wouldn't make a mountain out of nothing.
Reply:I think your "friend" already knows the obvious, but I'll put it out there in case your "friend" isn't sure. If she knows that the flowers aren't hers and she didn't put them there, and she doesn't have a teenager who they could possibly belong to then the obvious answer is they are her husbands. All women know what it takes to give flowers to a man. So if her husband received flowers from someone and shoved them into the closet to hide them....it isn't good. Tell your "friend" I hope she gets the answers she needs, but if he hid them, chances are he won't come clean.
Reply:Maybe he was keeping them as a reminder of someone from the past.
Reply:She needs to ask her husband.
Reply:If they were dead flowers, I would like worry about it one way or the other, must have been a while in the closet. If some one gave them to him, he must not have cared enough about it to display the flowers, might have put them in there because he knew it would start some un-necessary problems and bs. Bottom line is, why does your friend not ask her husband about them? How are we to know why there are there, only one of them really knows.
Reply:Only way to find out would be to ask the husband...maybe someone gave HIM flowers.
Reply:Just ask. Heck they could be from a funeral and kept for sentimental reasons. There are lot of rational reasons they were there. I bet she will feel alot better once she asks.

How do I preserve flowers from my wedding?

The wedding was June 17. They have been hanging upside down since then and are dried out. Do I spray them with hairspray to keep them from falling apart? I would just like to keep them as nice as possible. I realize this is not a professional job. Any help to keep them looking the way they are and not fall apart would be appreciated.

How do I preserve flowers from my wedding?
You can go to a professional who will dip the flowers in this liquid that will crystalize them and they will stay that way forever with a glossy touch!
Reply:You should have sprayed them with hair spray while they were drying, but you can try spraying them now to see if they'll hold together. Aquanet is a particurlarly good hair spray for preserving flowers.
Reply:Congratulations





I think this web site will help





http://www.flowersandcalligraphy.com/





Cheers





Steve





PS. I have been happily married for 2 years, its my 25 th wedding aniversary tomrrow!!
Reply:Yes spray your flowers with hair spray and they will stay forever as I have two bundles from my sons wedding from 5 yr ago and still looking good.After they died out is when I sprayed them then hung upside down.

I like to dry Flowers but I don't have any information . I will be glad if you tell me or send article name?

I buy flowers and cut them from my garden. I hang them upside down to dry, There is this stuff that you can buy to spray on them it's suppose to make them last longer. This year i'm going to dry bee balm- I don't know the name i found these articles





http://www.ext.nodak.edu/extpubs/alt-ag/...


http://www.driedflowersdirect.com/how_to...

I like to dry Flowers but I don't have any information . I will be glad if you tell me or send article name?
Go to a good sized crafts store and find silica sand, the intructions come with it, but wear a good mask because the sand is so fine it will get in your lungs and that ain't gooood.
Reply:dry flowers in a dry dark location by tying them upside down on a nail or a hanger. leave them there for a few weeks. when dry you can make potpourri by adding a mixture of various dried flowers, essential oils and orris root to bind the scent. i bottle my dried flowers and use them for bath sachets, potpourri,soaps, etc.

What kind of flowers can you hang upside down to dry?

Besides roses and lavender....

What kind of flowers can you hang upside down to dry?
Try purchasing some flowers that are already upside down, they are a little more expensive than right side up flowers but being raised to grow upside down they are much more comfortable in the upside down position because they are actually "to them" right side up, than the normal right side up flowers that have been turned upside down. Also you will find that they bark a lot less than right side up flowers turned upside down. Please ignore the last sentence as I am on medication.
Reply:tulips
Reply:All of them
Reply:You can try just about anything. I was going to mention roses because I do those


all the time. The best thing to do is to experiment with some that you like and see what happens. It can't hurt and who knows you may wind up with some


unique dried flower arrangements. Good luck.
Reply:Statice dries really well and the colours last for ages.
Reply:Roses,Carnations,Babies Breathe,Cosmos,Sweet Williams,any of them really can be upside down to dry,


My son past away from still birth and I dried all of his and keeped them.But they dried really nicely.
Reply:think that if it is upside down it promblem die and if might just fall down
Reply:Sunfolwer; Zinnia; daisy

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How do I prepare lilacs for winter also rhubarb. Winters are harsh?

I transplanted them from my mother's garden - warned them if they didn't bloom I would hack down - this was in 5th year. They bloomed this year. I have cut off the dried flowers -- now what? Fertilize, work around base? I don't recall what Mom did but she was able to make anything bloom. I jus watered them til they finally bloomed. The same question applies for rhubarb -- do I fertilize, cut back wilted brown looking stalks? I have been unable to find answers to this dilemma in all my books!!! Thanks

How do I prepare lilacs for winter also rhubarb. Winters are harsh?
Lilacs are pretty hardy - not much you need to do there - it is good to fertilize lightly in the spring - wood ash or check out Miracid (it's like Miracle Gro, but it's for flowering plants and shrubs).





Rhubarb likes a rich soil that is loose and not compacted and drains fairly well. What happens with rhubarb is that, at the base, it forms a crown. After a few seasons or so it is good to dig up the crowns, roots and all, in the spring, loosen up the soil really good and deep and add lots of fresh soil, like "composted" cow manure (not fresh, since that burns the plants) and split the crowns in half, thirds or quarters and replant, spreading out your rhubarb patch or row as you go. You can wait until the rhubarb "sprouts" in the spring, before you dig them up, so you can create strong new plants for replanting, but you shouldn't wait too long, so the new plants won't experience too much shock when replanted.
Reply:Lilacs are very hardy %26amp; will bloom at a mature date as you've found out. Wood ashes are all that is needed for fertilizer,%26amp; a light mulch. Rubarb is a bit more delicate, so mulch them pretty deep for winter. Cut back for stalks to eat, as they grow. Small stalks are best but you don't need to cut anything back on them at seasons end. Just remove dead leaves in the fall, when they turn brown. Rubarb %26amp; strawberries are ready at the same time, mix them to eat or can or freeze! yummmm lol
Reply:The wood ashes is good. Also you only prune or trim them immediately after blooming. Otherwise you are cutting off the bloom for next year if you trim or prune them at any other time. And yes they are hardy.
Reply:I do not do anything to my lilacs other than cut off the dead blooms and cut of the largest trunk I see every year. This keeps the rejuvanated and prevents the lilac from becoming a tree keeping them bushy. Also rip out some of the suckers that come up every year. They have the best bloom the following year after I do this. I never took care of rhubarb before.

How to paint dry flowers?

I'm assuming you want to paint actual dried flowers...gently misting them with spray paint would probably do the trick, if you don't have access to an airbrush.

How to paint dry flowers?
u want to draw and paint a flower or paint a original dried flower?