When I was a flower girl at the age of three, I was presented with a basket of baby blue fabric petals and instructed to drop them as I processed down the aisle. I innocently inquired what would happen to the petals after I dropped them. “Someone will throw them away, honey,” some unsuspecting bridesmaid replied. Oh heck no!, I thought. Why would anyone take beautiful flower petals and throw them away? My three-year-old mind balked. I would not throw the petals! To this day I still have that basket of soft blue petals, not a one dropped! So I can totally understand my cousin Dawn’s impulse to save her bridesmaid bouquets. Here, a tutorial for preserving those gorgeous petals in a keepsake for yourself and the bride.
Bouquet Frames
a project by Dawn Jason
Bouquets are one of my favorite aspects of a wedding. From the choice of flowers to the style of ribbon wrapping the stems, every bouquet has its own flare and reflects the bride’s personality. Some beautiful bouquets are even created without real flowers—I have carried artificial flowers and bead bouquets and seen girls toting pinwheels, fans, clutches and brooch bouquets (which I have always admired).
Being sentimental, I have saved the bouquets from each wedding I have been in, hanging fresh flowers to dry. This means I have a nice, dust-attracting collection of six bouquets (seven counting the bridal bouquet I caught at one wedding).
Wanting to clear up the clutter and give my allergies a break, I decided to find a better way to preserve these memories. This simple project had been on my to-do list for months, but I don’t know why I waited so long—each frame took less than 30 minutes to complete.
What you’ll need:
Bouquet, dried
Picture frame with a wide mat (I choose a 5×7 frame with a 4×6 opening)
Double-stick tape
A picture from your friend’s wedding or of the two of you
Drying the flowers:
There are a variety of ways to dry flowers, including placing them in silicone gel, microwaving them in cat litter (I have not tried this one), pressing them or, my method of choice, hanging them upside down out of direct sunlight and just forgetting about them for a few weeks.
The bouquets I used for this project were between 9 months and 3.5 years old. Although I noticed that the petals from the older bouquets were more fragile, I was still able to make the frames regardless of how long it had been since the wedding.
Prep:
Once the bouquet has dried, remove the petals from the stems. Be careful not to break the petals, since the largest ones are the easiest to work with. Rose petals are especially nice since they are broad and lie flat. Daisies and other flowers with narrow petals require more work, while denser flowers like orchids should be dried flat or pressed for the best effect.
Next, apply double-stick tape to the front of the mat and place petals appropriately. Overlap petals throughout and do not worry about going over the edges, as you can always trim the petals. If you’re using a bouquet with a variety of flowers, plan ahead and try alternating colors to add dimension to your project.
The edges of the petals are bound to stick up where the petals overlap, but don’t worry about trying to press them down because a) double-stick tape does not really work petal to petal and b) the glass in the frame will solve all of your problems. It took me approximately three rose blooms to do one frame.
Add your decorated mat and chosen picture to the frame and adjust appropriately, cutting off any excess petals. Since the petals are fragile, the less you have to take the mat in and out of the frame the better, so be sure to clean the glass and affix your photo in the right location before placing the back on the frame.
I was able to make two frames from each bouquet with petals to spare. Making two allowed me to give one to the bride as a gift to memorialize their special day.
Oh, and it seems my sentimental bouquet streak is genetic; my mother still has petals from her bridal bouquet in a dish on her dresser.