How to Dry Out a Corsage
Whatever the occasion, a corsage often accompanies special and significant occasions. Whether your corsage is from a prom, a wedding or another special occasion, save those precious memories by preserving mementos (such as flowers) from the event. As beautiful as the corsage was when you wore it, you can keep it beautiful for years when you dry out a corsage using silica gel.
Pour approximately 1 inch of silica gel into the bottom of the jar.
Place the corsage into the jar gently. Set the corsage on the silica gel so the bottom of the corsage is on the silica gel and the flowers face up. Make sure the corsage looks the way you want with all the flowers facing the right direction.
- Whatever the occasion, a corsage often accompanies special and significant occasions.
- As beautiful as the corsage was when you wore it, you can keep it beautiful for years when you dry out a corsage using silica gel.
Pour more silica gel slowly over the corsage. As you pour, make sure the flowers do not move or shift with the weight of the silica gel. Shake the jar gently to distribute the silica gel. Continue pouring the silica gel until the entire corsage is 1 inch beneath the silica gel.
Seal the jar with the lid and put the jar aside in a warm and dry location.
Leave the corsage drying in the jar for approximately four days and then check the drying progress. If the flowers feel papery when you touch them, the corsage is dry. If the flowers still have moisture in them, bury the corsage beneath silica gel again and leave it drying for another two days.
- Pour more silica gel slowly over the corsage.
- Shake the jar gently to distribute the silica gel.
Remove the corsage from the silica gel when the flowers are completely dry. Gently shake the excess silica gel from the crevices of the flowers.
Preserve A Flower Corsage
If you plan on wearing a corsage or boutonniere to a wedding, prom, or other special event, you may want to preserve it as a memory of the happy evening. At least since the Victorian days, people have been preserving flowers by hanging them upside down in a warm, dry place. Look for it at a craft store or else find it online. Some people prefer to use silica spray. It is also good for fragile and delicate exotics. It takes much less time than air-drying. * If you leave them in too long, they will become dry and brittle. If you brush off the silica gel roughly, you may lose petals. You can make your own desiccation product (and save some money) by mixing one part Borax and two parts cornmeal. Add the corsage or flowers to the box, then dust more of the mixture over them. Close up the box and leave it for a few weeks. * You'll need a freeze-drying machine to use this sublimation technique of drying flowers. Disadvantages: The machine is expensive.
- Remove the corsage from the silica gel when the flowers are completely dry.
- If you brush off the silica gel roughly, you may lose petals. You can make your own desiccation product (and save some money) by mixing one part Borax and two parts cornmeal.
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Writer Bio
Kathryn Hatter is a veteran home-school educator, as well as an accomplished gardener, quilter, crocheter, cook, decorator and digital graphics creator. As a regular contributor to Natural News, many of Hatter's Internet publications focus on natural health and parenting. Hatter has also had publication on home improvement websites such as Redbeacon.
