When it comes to festive decor, homemade flower ornaments are a perfect choice. They not only look beautiful, imparting a stunning finish to a Christmas tree but are also super easy for anyone to make. In this post, we will take a look at how to go about drying, designing, and hanging flowers to make your decorations stand out!
No floral decoration can be called complete, without the inclusion of classic flowers like roses. Roses carry the incessant charm and when paired alongside other flowers like hydrangeas and baby’s breath or Lavender make way for a wonderful bouquet. Besides fresh flowers, you can also opt for dried flowers, like sola balls which are a fantastic decor element for any floral based decoration. Many prefer keeping their Christmas tree plastic-free, except for things like the string lights. For the majority of us, we don’t like to take them off even when the festive month is over. It’s easier to remove the lights and then move on the whole thing and leave it out for the kids to pick the flowers as they play or walk by. Here are a few tips to get you started on your decorations for the holiday season.
Give Your Flowers Some Time
In order to dry the flowers, give them some amount of time, at least two weeks and keep them in a dark and cool place, like inside a closet. Keeping them too close to the sun will mar their colors, as they dry naturally. Just tie them with a string upside down and keep them hanged until it’s completely dry and can be put on the tree.
Using Flowers That Dry Fast
Flowers like lavender, roses, baby’s breath – all dry real quick. However, one can also choose from others like Pampas grass, Yarrow, Thistle, Hydrangea, Craspedia, Statice, and Amaranth. Just ensure that they are entirely dried before they can be used for decoration. Also, if you are looking to achieve a mix and match pattern, you might as well order dried flowers and use them alternately with fresh blooms that you dry later on. If you are planning to use them for a big Christmas tree, you will at least need 5-6 dozens of flowers to cover it up.
Will The Flowers Carry Their Scent After Drying?
The answer is no. Most flowers, like roses, for instance, quickly lose their scent when they are being dried, but there are a few exceptions as well. Eucalyptus and Lavender continue to smell great even after a couple of months after they have been dried.
Can One Keep Them For Reuse Purposes?
Surely, you can. Just make sure you are keeping them in a moisture-free place, and they will continue to remain the same even after 3-6 months. Albeit, they will shrink and fade away as all flowers do, but your preservation technique has a lot to do with it.
How to Go About Making Handmade Flower-Based Ornaments
- Start by carefully tying the stems of the flowers and proceed to hang them upside down for at least 10-15 days in a cool and dry place.
- After the flowers are completely dry, untie them and proceed to cut away the stems at least by 5 inches. Next, also cut a 15-inch string. Now, use the string to hold all the flowers together in one place, forming a bunch right below the base.
- Now wrap the string at least 2-3 times and form a knot. Check if the stems need to be cut further so that they aren’t long enough and can hold together in one place.
- As a final step, tie the bunch to the bough of your Christmas tree. You can create multiple such bunches and tie them around. Once the bouquets are all tied, forward and snip those strings and now sit back and admire the fine work that you have put in to make your Christmas tree stand out from the rest!
If you want to keep the Christmas vibe alive all along the holiday season, you will have to put in a bit of effort to keep your Christmas tree afresh and last longer. Here are a handful of tips to keep in mind:
- Before you choose to buy a tree, always run your fingers across the branches and check for flexible yet soft needles, and they should be dark hues of green. Often, trees that have already dried out gives way for a pale appearance and olive hues, which indicates that it’s not freshly cut.
- After you have brought the tree home and not decorating it anytime soon, it would probably be a good idea to keep it in water and in an area that doesn’t get a lot of heat. Trees can absorb as much as one gallon of water in a single day, so hydrating it is always a good idea.
When choosing to decorate your Christmas tree with lights, go for LED. The neo age lights are built in such a way that they emit less amount of heat, which is beneficial for the tree otherwise drying too quickly. Also, LEDs are energy efficient, which means it saves up on your electricity bills as well.
