Flower Power
Dried leaves and flowers suspended in resin have that dreamy bohemian vibe that I love.
Unfortunately fresh plant material has too much moisture and will fade and turn brown inside of resin. Purchasing dried flowers and leaves online is the easiest way to get going. If you’re a DIY-er here is the method that has worked for me.
I like to use flattened plant material since most of the resin pieces I craft aren’t thick enough to cover the full 3D surface of some flowers. I first press my flowers/leaves in a book between absorbent paper. I found if I leave thicker/larger plant material in the book longer than a day or two the moisture will cause mold/mildew. I press for a short period of time just to get the plant material flat and I finish the drying process with silica sand.
Using a tupperware container, fill the bottom with some silica sand, then place flattened plant material on the sand surface and cover with silica sand. I layer plants in the container with silica sand separating. Most flowers/leaves wont take very long to dry out in the silica sand - about 2 days. If I left them in the silica sand longer the plant material got too brittle and just crumbled apart when touched. Denser flowers like roses will take longer to dry than a simple pansy. This will take some trial and error. Once flattened and dried the flowers/leaves will still have some color but are faded from the original brightness. I then store them on a thick paper card in a ziploc bag until they are ready to use.
There are many other ways to dry flowers and a quick internet search will pull up options to try. In the future, I plan on experimenting with a microwave flower press - this is a much quicker method to get flat and dried plant material.
When you have your desired dried flowers/leaves remember that layering resin is your friend. Flowers tend to float or move when placed in resin. Also keep an eye out for air bubble/pockets underneath the dried plant material. If you use resin that needs a heat gun to pop bubbles - do that before putting in your plant material. The heat from the resin and the heat gun can burn your plants if you aren’t careful.
Happy Crafting!
