Decoupage with Dried Flowers

I admit I’m hooked on the beauty and fluidity of decoupaging. I remember my mom decoupaging when I was a kid and it’s definitely seen a resurgence in the past few years. With all of the decoupage mediums available, I thought “why not use dried flowers”? Flowers are something I definitely have an abundance of and since I often dry some of them I felt this could be a beautiful way to show them off.

To show these particular ones off, I decided to use a wood picture frame that I painted with several layers of white chalk paint. Since I’ve framed dried flowers in the past I thought this would be a nice alternative to putting them to good use.

The flowers I chose for this project are ones that readily available for me in early spring: Grecian windflowers and wild violets. These are perfect flowers for decoupage because they don’t have huge, bulbous centers, making them press and flatten easily.

If you’ve never dried flowers and are wondering how, it’s really quite simple. I take the flowers, trim off any excess stems. The length of stem I leave depends on the project I’ll be using them for; if I’m unsure, then I’ll leave them long as they can always be trimmed after drying. I then take the flowers and place them between pieces of parchment paper and carefully place them in the back of a heavy book. Please don’t use a treasured book for drying flowers – they will often leave moisture marks and/or stains on the pages, even with the parchment paper in place.

Then, stack more books or other heavy objects on top of that book to ensure the flowers are pressed flat. The drying time depends on the flowers; because these were smaller flowers without large centers, they were dry after a week’s time.

Once the flowers were dried and ready, I removed the backing and glass from my picture frame and gently sanded it all around with a fine-grit sandpaper. Then, using a white chalk paint, I applied 3 layers of it, letting it dry for a few hours in between coats and a full 24 hours before applying the dried flowers.

As you can see in the photo above, even a light sanding wore some of the wood stain away on the edges but not to worry; the chalk paint covered up all of these areas.

I applied the paint with a wide brush starting on the back side, working with a diagonal stroke and worked my way all the way around the frame. I let the back dry fully before painting the front, sides, and interior edges.

Once the paint had fully dried, it was time to apply the dried flowers. I chose the flowers I wanted to use and arranged them on the frame, to get an idea of the finished placement before actually gluing any of them down.

Once I had a general idea of where I wanted the flowers to go, I got my Mod Podge out, squeezed some out onto a small disposable tray (think the clean lid to a sour cream container) and then lightly dabbed the back of the flowers with Mod Podge and gently put them in place on the painted frame.

You need to be gentle when applying the Mod Podge to the flowers as they’re very delicate and can easily tear once they’re wet with glue. This is why I find it’s easier to dab the glue on than brush it on.

Once the flowers had all been applied, I let them set for a few hours until they were dry. Then, using a glossy Mod Podge, I brushed a layer of it all over the front of the flowers and frame. Once done, I let the whole project sit for 3 days to fully cure and dry.

I’m so pleased with the way this project came out! Yes, there are some imperfections but that’s how it goes with crafts, especially ones that involve a natural medium such as flowers.

I hope this inspires you to try something new, something beautiful! Thanks for stopping by.