How to Preserve Flower Petals

Do you have a specific flower that you really love, but you hate the fact that its beauty is so fleeting? Flower petal preservation lets you keep your favorite flowers and turn them into potpourri, perfumed sachets, and other decorations that you can use around the house. Flower petals can also be used in crafts such as personalized stationery. You can also mix different colors of petals together to match your decorating color scheme.

Things You'll Need

• Heavy book
• Flower(s)
• Wax paper

Instructions

1. Choose flowers that are at the peak of their blooming period making sure that the flowers don't have any brown spots.

2. Remove the flowers from the plants by pulling them gently.

3. Open the heavy book a few pages from the back and place a piece of wax paper over the page.

4. Place the flower petals onto the wax paper so that they aren't touching each other. After the page has been filled, cover the petals with another piece of wax paper.

5. Continue placing the flowers in the book, about an inch worth of pages apart until you reach the middle of the book.

6. Keep the book in a warm and dry spot for two to four weeks. Make sure that it is in a place that no one will accidentally knock it over or bother the flowers.

7. Check the petals after about two weeks. If they still feel a bit moist, leave them in the book for another week or so and check them again.

8. Remove the petals when they are completely dry.

Tips & Warnings

• Roses, carnations, irises, tulips and lilies all make great dried flower petals.

References

• Flower Preservation
• How to Preserve Flower Petals