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If you know me, you know that I’m an absolute romantic. As my significant other says, I like to keep the small things. And I can say that he’s not wrong, not by a long mile. That being said, when he gave me a beautiful bouquet of roses for Valentine’s Day, I knew that I wanted to find a way to preserve this bouquet, even if in just a small amount. So, for all of those other hopeless romantics out there who have a love for preserving their own love through the small things, here are three ways to keep your bouquet forever.
- Resin molds:
If you’re super crafty and even if you’re not, preserving your flowers in resin is a great way to make something that is everlasting. Resin is a unique compound of chemicals that when brought together and hardened can create a durable material that closely resembles something like acrylic. Over the last two years, resin has become increasingly more and more popular amongst young artists. With that being said, buying beginners resin is extremely easy even if it’s not always super cheap. A great beginner’s resin kit can be found at Michaels here. In order to preserve flowers in resin, you’ll want to ensure that your flowers have successfully dried out. If your flowers have not been completely dried out prior to placing them in resin, there is a high chance that even though your flowers are secured in the resin, they will still turn brown and rot. If this method of preservation is appealing to you, you can learn about preserving flowers in resin super in-depth here at Acrylgiessen.com!
- Shadowbox:
This one may be my favorite by far. With a shadow box, there are multiple ways to add your flowers to the frame, my favorite way is lining my flowers upright in rows to create a graph-type image of them. However, you can always get creative! When researching the best ways to arrange my bouquet into the shadow box, I noticed a lot of people liked the idea of shaping their flowers into a heart in their box or into other shapes. Shadow boxes are super easy to come by in craft stores such as Michael’s or Hobby Lobby. As always, before adding your photos to the frame, you’ll want to properly dry your flowers in order to prevent rotting.
- Mason Jar:
This idea is for all of our rustic babes out there. Saving part of your bouquet in a mason jar is a great way to save a bouquet without taking up a ton of space. For this project, you’ll only be keeping the petals of the flower itself rather than keeping the full flower. To create this chic rustic look, you’ll only need a few supplies: a mason jar, flower petals, and any other decoration you choose to add to your jar.
One of my own dislikes of this project is the matter of remembering to dismantle your flowers before they have dried out entirely, but you also don’t want to add fresh flower petals to the jar as that can cause mold to grow (and I don’t think is the goal of this project, but if it is, pop off). The best way to achieve a beautiful flower jar is to ensure that before your flowers have started wilting, make sure to hang your flowers upside down in a cool dark place. By hanging them upside down you’re allowing the coloring in the flowers to stay fresh and vibrant (gravity is a real thing people).
These are just a few ways to preserve your beautiful bouquet, whether it’s from a significant other or simply just a flower you bought for yourself. I hope these projects turn out wonderfully, and if you’re proud of your work, tag Her Campus South Carolina on Instagram!