There's nothing like the feeling of joy you get when you're gifted a beautiful bouquet of flowers, be it on Valentine's Day, your birthday, or any other special occasion. In fact, just having flowers around can brighten up a room and leave it smelling fragrant and fresh. There are a number of reasons to keep flowers in your home, especially if you happen to grow flowers in your garden or yard.
However, watching the flowers wilt and die, and then having to throw the bouquet away can be frustrating. For many, a few days of crazy colors and sweet scents don't always seem to be worth the effort. What many people don't realize, though, is that there are actually many ways you can turn these short-lived beauties into worthwhile long-term investments. Just as your flowers begin to wilt, give them a new life using any one of these interesting and easy recycling ideas!
Epsom salts are a great addition to any bath because they can detoxify the skin and help soothe and relax the muscles. With some fresh roses, you can make your next hot soak a rose-scented adventure that thoroughly nourishes your skin.
First things first, you need to clean the dirt off your petals gently with a paper towel and leave them to dry overnight. For a stronger fragrance, you can add a few drops of essential oil prior to leaving them to dry. One mason jar of this salt usually requires petals from 3-4 flowers.
Then, just mix ⅔ cup of powdered milk, ⅓ cup baking soda, and a cup of Epsom salts, making sure that there are no clumps. The first two ingredients work together to enhance the skin’s softness.
Finally, you need to add the salt mixture and the petals to your container in layers. Crush the dried petals before layering them over each layer of Epsom salts. Each container should have 3-4 layers. The longer you allow the salt to soak in the fragrant roses, the stronger the scent will be. Just add a generous spoonful into your next bath and soak in the goodness. This bath salt can also make an excellent gift, once you wrap it up nicely!
You can make your own potpourri using the flowers lying around in your home instead of tossing that bouquet in the trash can. It’s an extremely easy process, and you can do it with or without an oven (though the latter takes a lot longer). If you’re doing it the all-natural way, you’ll have to leave your ingredients (listed below) to dry somewhere safe for two weeks.
If you’re using an oven, preheat the over at 200°F and begin gathering the flowers you want to use. Ensure that most, if not all of them are fragrant (like roses). You can either tear off the petals and spread them across a baking tray or place the entire flower (without the stem) on the tray.
Then, as per your preference, add some thinly-sliced citrus fruit and other spices like cinnamon sticks, lavender, cloves, rosemary, and thyme. Spread these across the tray over the first layer of petals. Then mix 1 tablespoon of water with 10-15 drops of essential oil in a spray bottle, and give the ingredients a few spritzes.
Place your tray into the preheated oven and allow it to dry in the oven for around 2 hours. Check your potpourri every 20-30 minutes to check that your ingredients are not burnt. After they are done drying, allow them to cool down to room temperature, add another spritz of the essential oil spray, and place your potpourri into a bowl.
Having a problem with dry lips? Your old flowers can motivate you to make your own sweet-flavored and sweet-scented lip balm. You’ll need access to a microwave-safe bowl and a microwave to make this.
Add 2 tablespoons of coconut oil, 1 tablespoon of olive oil to ¼ cup of beeswax in a heatproof bowl. Heat the mixture slowly in the microwave until it’s melted and mixed. Remove the bowl from the heat and add the scented and dried flower petals of your choice to the mix. Then add a ¼ teaspoon of honey and ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract to be the mix. and give it all a quick stir. While still hot, pour your liquid into small containers and let it cool. Once it cools down, you’ll have a sweet-tasting lip balm with a nice flowery fragrance.
This is a really easy and fun way to keep all your colorful flowers. If you’re a fan of making your own cards for special occasions or just enjoy DIY crafts, then you should do this with every bouquet of flowers you get!
Collect your petals and flowers (with the stems removed) and give them a thorough but gentle cleaning. Find a large and heavy book in your home, ideally a phone book or something of similar thickness. Open it up to the middle and arrange your flowers on the page. Close your book and leave it to sit.
Let the petals flatten for at least 24 hours before using them. However, for the best results, you should leave them to sit for at least one to two weeks to allow them to dry fully. Once they’re dried, you can add them to cards or works of art. You can also use them in candles and the other crafts listed above.
There are two ways you can make flower candles, depending on your time and resource constraints (and also how much you enjoy being crafty). If you want to make your own candles, you can use any pre-existing method you’re familiar with and just add a few flowers worth of petals to the mix before leaving it to set.
Another easy way to create your dried-petal candles is by using a ready-made candle. This can be one you made or a store-bought one, but just ensure the wick of your candle is long and sturdy.
Using a strong craft adhesive, stick your dried petals onto the sides of your ready-made candle. Make sure the petals are flat on the side. Melt around 1 to 1½ pounds of paraffin wax in a dipping can (or any container large enough to dip your candle into). Hold your candle by the wick, carefully dip it into the melted wax and hold it for 5 seconds.
Remove the candle, while still holding it over the dipping container. Ensure again that the petals are flat on the side of the candle and dip the candle in once more for 5 seconds. Leave your candle to dry for at least 2 hours and then it’s ready to be lit, now with an added flowery scent.
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