How to Dry Flowers for a Greeting Card

Preserving flowers from your garden to use for craft projects, like handmade greeting cards, can extend the beauty of your garden. The flowers you choose to dry for greeting cards will need to be pressed in order to lie flat for slipping the card into an envelope. Harvesting your flowers for preserving when they are in full bloom and proper pressing will have them looking as if they came directly from your garden onto the greeting card.

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Fresh-cut flowers
• Blotting paper
• Newspaper
• Cookie sheet
• Heavy books or phonebooks
• Paper towels
• Glass microwave-safe pie pan
• Microwave

1. Book Drying

   • 1
     Place several sheets of newspaper on a cookie sheet.
   • 2
     Lay a sheet of blotting paper on top of the newspaper.
   • 3
     Arrange the flowers on top of the blotting paper in the position you want them for your card, like full face opened or from the side. Don't overlap any flowers or leaves.
   • 4
     Put another sheet of blotting paper on top of the arranged flowers, followed by several sheets of newspaper.
   • 5
     Stack several heavy books on top of the newspaper.
   • 6
     Set the cookie sheet with the flowers and books in a cool, dry location where the setup will not be disturbed.
   • 7
     Check the flowers after the first three or four days, then every week for three or four weeks. Carefully rearrange the position of the flowers on the blotting paper to prevent them from adhering to the blotting paper. Check the newspaper for moisture and, if it feels moist, replace it.
   • 8
     Remove and use the pressed, dried flowers when the stems and flowers are stiff and the blotting paper feels completely dry.

   Microwave Drying

   • 1
     Place several sheets of paper towels on the bottom of a microwave-safe pie pan or dinner plate.
   • 2
     Lay a sheet of blotting paper on top of the paper towels.
   • 3
     Arrange the fresh flowers on top of the blotting paper in the positions you want them after drying. Don't overlap any of the flowers.
   • 4
     Place another sheet of blotting paper on top of the arranged flowers, followed by several sheets of paper towel.
   • 5
     Put another microwave-safe pie pan or dinner plate on top of the stacked paper towels, blotting paper and flowers. Place the assemblage into your microwave.
   • 6
     Set your microwave on medium heat. Heat the prepared assemblage for three to four minutes, stopping the process every minute to check the dryness of the flowers and rearranging the flowers to prevent them from adhering to the blotting paper. When the flowers feel dry and the paper towels feel damp, the flowers are done.
   • 7
     Keep the assemblage in the powered-off microwave for several minutes afterward to continue drying and cooling.