You know those poppies I shared a photo of on Friday? Well, I preserved some! My friend Caroline brought me a gift, decorated with a dried poppy, and it was so pretty, I just had to make some myself.

It’s super easy, so I thought I’d share in case you’d like to do it too. The funny thing is about those wild poppies: they can’t be cut and put in an arrangement — they wilt too quickly. So preserving them by drying is a wonderful way to extend their beauty. If you don’t happen to be surrounded by fields of wild poppies, no stress. This works equally well with the store-bought variety.
 

First, gather your supplies. All you need is a phonebook and the poppies. Oh. And something heavy for weight. (I used big books.)

Place your flowers, one at a time, within the the pages of the phonebook. The paper will absorb the moisture from the flowers as they dry.

You can use your hand to open the flower so you can see all the petals, or you can keep the petals closed. Either way, is beautiful!

Once the poppies are tucked inside, put something heavy on top to weigh down the phonebooks. If the weather is warm and dry where you live, it will take a few days. Here’s one after 3 days of drying in our humid climate:

Once they’re completely dry, you can use them any way you like.

To decorate the birthday present, Caroline placed it on the wrapped gift and added a layer of thin glue (like Mod Podge) to attach it. Isn’t it gorgeous?
I think it would be a fun summer activity for my kids to trade pressed flowers with a penpal. What would you do with pressed flowers?