#coastal

I’m so excited. I got BEAUTIFUL roses for my birthday. I know we’ve all lied to our significant others at some point, and told them we didn’t like flowers, but if they were smart, they knew it was a lie and bought flowers anyway. Because there are significantly fewer tears that way.

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We won’t talk about that time that I cried like a little girl because, even though I had dropped copious hints, I didn’t get flowers for my birthday. We’re complicated creatures, women. Poor Rainman.

Yeah, I’m that girl. (If you are in the dog house, and need to buy flowers, this is a great service).

Ugh, they’re just gorgeous from every angle. But, I have a secret. These are in the process of “preserving”. Did you know that you can prevent those gorgeous roses from keeling over on you?

There are two really good methods for doing this and I’ll go through both!

Method One (best for roses that you want to use in arrangements later… more finicky than method two):

 

This is pre-preservation. I always love the arrangement from our local florist, although I don’t love their choice of cheapo vases. Even the “budget” line shouldn’t be a throw away. Anyhoo, when I get to the preserving phase, I’m really only interested in the roses. I love them at Christmas for their deep red and am looking forward to bringing them back out.

 

You really only need a couple of things to do this:

• Your preserving vase (mine is an antique but I have these also, which are super cute and very reasonable)

• Vegetable Glycerin

• Florist shears/ scissors (as you can see, I was using the poultry shears instead of going to get my nice florist shears which drives Rainman totally NUTS)

• Small hammer

Fill your vase with about 1.5 – 2 inches of glycerin.

I start with the longer roses in the arrangement. Holding the vase next to the edge of the counter and the rose stem next to it, I eyeball where I want the cut. Snip! Take your little hammer and flatten the end of the stem. Roll it and flatten again. Mash it up so it opens up (this helps the glycerin get into the stem).

I do the center (long pieces) first, then fill in around the edge with the shorter stems. For mine, I remove all of the leaves and toss everything other than the roses.

Move them to a location out of the sun to start the preserving process.

I have to be honest: I adore how these are turning out. They will be gorgeous for my Christmas scenes. These can possibly last years if handled carefully and are such a better option than silk!

Tip: Make sure to add glycerin over several weeks until the stems stop absorbing, then dump out any excess (the glycerin will start gelling on the petals and getting goopy if you leave it).

 

Method 2 (My Favorite):

This is the PERFECT preserved roses in a hatbox method!

You’ll need:

• Floral Shears
• Activa Silica Gel for Flowers
• Hat boxes
• Gallon/2 gallon ziploc (depending on your number of flowers)
• Roses

 

Step One: Snip off the leaves

 

 

 

 

Step Two: measure how long to cut your roses!  Then cut them at that height at an angle (check your height by putting it in the box).

 

 

Step three: Remove the three outermost petals on your roses.

 

 

Step four: Put your roses into the bag and pour the silica beads over it. Gently shake it to completely cover and get it inside the petals. Once they are covered, put them into a cool dark place for about a week. (Don’t worry about using all of your silica, you can re-use it!)

 

 

Step Five: Once all of the petals are preserved, shake the silica off carefully, and place them gently into your hatbox. These can last more than a year if you preserve them correctly!

 

 

Thanks for checking out our little tutorial! Feel free to comment and ask questions below and check out more of our great projects here! Cheers!

 

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