How do you?

dry flowers yourself without them losing their colour? I want to dry daisies, buttercups and fern.....

How do you?
I've seen freeze dry kits you can buy at craft stores that are awesome. They look so perfect. I've heard they aren't to difficult to use. A lot of brides do it with their bridal bouquets.



Hope this helps, good luck!
Reply:if you want them to be flat, put them between two sheets of wax paper in a book and let them sit for ~2 weeks

if you want them to look like flowers for a vase or something, hang them upside down in a dry, cool place (like a garage) and leave them alone until they are dry
Reply:All flowers will lose a little bit when dried. The best way to dry items is to tie them upside down with paper bags over them (you can put them in small bundles). Don't use plastic bags, or you'll end up with mildew. Not all flowers take well to drying, but you'll learn by experimentation.
Reply:Wax paper
Reply:Long after the season for cut flowers has passed, dried versions of summer's bounty let you continue to enjoy color from your garden. Flowers that dry well are typically colorful, compact, strong-stemmed, and relatively low in moisture content.



Harvesting. Harvest stems just as the first flowers reach maturity. Don't wait too long. Flowers at the top of the stem may be partially closed, but that's okay. Midmorning, after the dew has dried but well before any flowers wilt, is the best time to cut flowers for drying. Dampness slows drying and can lead to mold. When cutting, take as much stem as possible.



Air-drying. This is the simplest and most popular way to preserve flowers. Cool, dry air is a requisite, so the first step is to choose a drying room. A spare bedroom or large closet works well; avoid humid rooms like kitchens and bathrooms or attics and cellars. Low light is fine in the drying room, but direct light will drain the color from your flowers.



Hanging Bunches. Most flowers dry best hung upside down in bunches. Make the bunches no thicker than 1-1/2 inches at the stems, and secure them with a tight rubber band. To hang the bunches, suspend a 1/2 inch-diameter horizontal pole or pipe from the ceiling. If fastening hooks into your ceiling or walls is not an option, support the pole on tripods or two high-backed chairs. Bent paper clips make perfect hangers for your bunches. Place newspaper or a dropcloth under the bunches to catch fallen leaves, seeds, and petals. Allow enough space between bunches to provide good circulation.



Using Silica Gel. To preserve fragile and moist blooms such as anemones, daisies, pansies, and zinnias, use silica gel, available from florist and craft suppliers. In a shallow, airtight plastic or glass container, spread the flowers on a 1-inch layer of silica. Carefully spoon more on top until you've covered the flowers with at least another inch of silica. Seal the container and leave it for three to four days. Or microwave the flowers, sealed in a plastic container, for about 3 minutes. Allow at least 15 minutes to cool. With either method, remove the blossoms carefully when they are finished drying and shake or brush off the crystals lightly.



Tools and Materials

Cut flowers

Rubber bands

Pole or pipe 1/2 inch in diameter; chairs or tripods for support

Paper clips

Newspaper or dropcloth

Silica gel

Airtight plastic or glass container

Tips

You don't need a field full of flowers to have enough for drying. Just three or four plants of each type will yield enough stems for several dried arrangements.



Harvest more flowers than you need. Many preserved flowers are fragile, and you will undoubtably lose a few in the drying process.



Air-drying flowers takes 10 to 20 days, depending on the plant. When dried, the stems should snap easily. Good choices for air-drying include yarrow (Achillea), anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum), larkspur (Consolida ambigua), globe amaranth (Gomphrena), pink paper daisy (Helipterum roseum), statice (Limonium), and starflower (Scabiosa stellata).
Reply:You definitely hang them upside down until they are dry. This will keep their shape (for the most part) and their color may fade a little bit. But this is the best way...
Reply:get a hard bound book you have no use for and put the flowers in there. The many pages will pull away the moisture and the color will remain.
Reply:Try leaving them in a cool and dry area till they are dried but not til they crackle.
Reply:not sure
Reply:Hang them upside down in a dry dark place. Make sure its a dark place to hold as much as the color as you can. Unfortunatly they all change color a little. The good thing is that sometimes they even change to a cooler color. Good luck. You might go onto MarthaStewart.com and see if you can find an answer there. Good luck. I'd love to see a dried daisy!
Reply:If you want them dried and to maintain their color and shape then you hang them in a room, that is dry and stays at steady temp, upside down. I usually tie a ribbon on the stems then pin them to the ceiling.

Good luck.
Reply:I hear that you should hang them upside down.
Reply:I hang my flowers upside down.