You can preserve funeral flowers by drying them.
Flowers play a role in life's most significant moments, including births, weddings and funerals. Funeral flowers do more than lend their natural beauty to the funeral proceedings, they honor and celebrate the life of the deceased person and offer sympathy and comfort to his or her loved ones. Sadly, most funeral flowers are discarded once they lose their freshness. It is possible, however, to preserve the flowers from a funeral and keep them as mementos. Once preserved, funeral flowers may be utilized in other ways, such as to create decorative Christmas ornaments that pay tribute to a lost loved one.
Instructions
1. Pull the funeral flowers from the vase or container in which they are arranged. Remove the funeral flowers while they still appear fresh, before they have begun to wilt. Make sure they have not begun to shed their petals.
2. Check each flower for signs of mold, discoloration and rot. Discard any undesirable flowers.
3. Pat the stems of the flowers with a towel to absorb the water or wipe away any residue from the floral foam in which they might have been inserted.
4. Gather the funeral flowers in a bundle. Divide the flowers into two or more bundles if you have many flowers to dry. Keep bundles fairly small to facilitate fast and easy drying.
5. Tie each bundle of flowers with twine. Wrap the twine around their stems and knot it. Allow plenty of extra twine to dangle from the bundles so you can hang them upside down.
6. Find a cool, airy place where your funeral flowers can hang undisturbed while they dry. Use the twine to suspend the bundles of flowers upside down from hooks, nails or beams in the ceiling or from hangers or a rack in a closet.
7. Allow the funeral flowers to dry for two to three weeks. Take the bundles down when the flowers are thoroughly dry. Untie the bundles.
Converting Dried Flowers into Ornaments
8. Cluster together groups of three to five dried funeral flowers. Cut their stems to a length of three inches with scissors. Wind decorative ribbon in shades of red and green around their stems and knot it. Tie the two ends of the excess ribbon together so it forms a loop. Use the ribbon loops to hang the small bouquets of dried funeral flowers on the Christmas tree.
9. Group together several stems of dried funeral flowers. Leave their stems long. Wrap decorative ribbon in red or green around their stems and tie it in a large blow. Place the bouquets of dried flowers on the fireplace mantel, on tabletops or in other places for a splash of color and sentiment during the holiday.
10. Trim the stems of assorted dried funeral flowers to a length of two inches. Insert the dried flowers into a floral foam wreath form to create a Christmas wreath. Cover the foam completely with dried flowers so it is not visible. Hang the wreath on a door or wall.
11. Insert the stems of assorted dried funeral flowers into a floral foam swag form to create a Christmas swag. Cut some dried flower stems to a length of two inches and insert them in the front and center of the swag form. Push longer stems into the sides of the swag form to create an arching look. Hang the dried flower swag on a door, over a doorway, above a window or on a wall.
