Create beautiful dry flowers to decorate your home

Adding dry flowers among the decorations in your home can create a cozy feel in any room. Here are a few methods to try.

• Hang freshly-cut flowers (tied together in small bouquets) upside-down in a dry, well-ventilated room. The stems will thin as they dry, so you may have to tighten the strings holding the bouquets together. After about three weeks, you can use the flowers for a wreath or other arrangement.
• Dry flowers with glycerin (available at any craft shop) to preserve their shape and suppleness, although most of the time their colour will change. Berries, periwinkle, roses and anemones are good candidates. Pour one part glycerin and two parts boiling water into a tall, narrow container. Cut the flowers on an angle and place them in eight to 10 centimetres (three to four inches) deep in the hot solution. Store the container in a cool place until you notice little glycerin drops appearing on the leaves.
• Dry flowers such as French marigolds, peonies and carnations with silica gel crystals from a craft store. Shorten the stems to about five centimetres (two inches) and stick them onto a blunt wire. Then spread the silica gel on the bottom of an airtight container of appropriate size. Lay the blossoms on top and cover them with about two to three centimetres (one inch) of silica gel crystals. Place the closed container in a warm place for two days.
• Use quartz sand to preserve the shape and colour of pansies, larkspur, forget-me-nots and orchids. Place the flowers in a tightly-sealed container with a five-centimetre (two-inch) layer of quartz sand. Take care that the flowers don't touch each other — once dry, they can't be separated. Close the container tightly, taping it shut and set it aside for about 10 days. You can reuse the quartz sand as long as you let it dry at moderate heat (about 100–120°C/210–250°F) in the oven.