What can you do with flowers besides display them in a vase? Flowers can be used in dozens of creative ways: pressed into frames, tucked into wreaths, scattered in bowls, or added to handmade gifts. They’re also beautiful in seasonal decor, bookmarks, sachets, and more.
Every summer I end up with more flowers than I know what to do with. Strawflowers, statice, & nigella pods hanging from my drying rack, piled in baskets, and taking over every flat surface I own. And while I love a good vase moment as much as the next person, there are only so many vases a house can hold.
If you’ve ever stood there holding a bunch of flowers wondering what on earth to do with them besides stick them in a jar, this post is for you. I’ve been crafting with flowers for years, both dried and pressed, and I’ve put together 15 of my favorite ways to use them around the house. Some are quick and simple, some are actual projects with tutorials linked, but all of them are things I’ve done myself and genuinely love.
And if you don’t have a garden? Don’t let that stop you. Dried lavender buds, rose petals, and all kinds of botanicals are easy to find online or at craft stores. I’ve also seen more dried flower bouquets at my local grocery stores and, of course, Trader Joe’s. Flowers from a grocery store bouquet can be dried or pressed at home with almost no effort. The garden helps, but it’s not required.
Let’s find something beautiful to do with those blooms.
Welcome! I’m Jennifer, and I’ve always believed nature is the most beautiful art supply. For years, I’ve been preserving New England’s blooms and foliage through pressing, drying, and crafting. Let me show you how to capture a little bit of the season and bring it indoors-simply and beautifully.
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15 Things To Do With Flowers
Here are 15 fun and creative ways that I use dried and pressed flowers around my home.
1. Frame Pressed Flower Art
This is one of the most beautiful things you can do with pressed flowers, and it’s more forgiving than it looks. A simple frame, a piece of watercolor paper or a vintage book page, and a few pressed blooms, and you have something that looks like it belongs in a boutique. I’ve made everything from tiny mini frames to larger floating frames with fern leaves, and every single one has found a home somewhere in my house.
2. Craft A Wreath
You don’t have to ask me twice!! Making wreaths with fresh or dried flowers is one of my superpowers.
Dried flowers on a grapevine wreath base is one of the simplest projects you can tackle, and the results are stunning. Strawflowers, statice, and globe amaranth all hold up beautifully and keep their color for months. You can go full and lush or keep it loose and wildflower-ish. They all look gorgeous on a door or above a mantel.
For my newbie crafting friends, a wreath is a great place to start your journey! They are easy and forgiving.
3. Make A Bookmark
This one is more than just slapping a flower between two pieces of contact paper, and the finished result looks like something you’d find in a boutique. I use plain paper bookmarks as the base, layer on a strip of rice paper for texture, arrange pressed flowers and ferns with Mod Podge, seal the whole thing with peel-and-stick laminate, and finish it off with a leather cord tassel. They’re a beautiful handmade gift for any book lover, and once you make your first set, you’ll want to make them for everyone you know!
4. Make A Sachet
A small muslin bag filled with dried lavender, rose petals, or herbs is one of those projects that looks like you put in way more effort than you actually did.
Tuck one into a dresser drawer, hang one in the closet, or stuff one into a stinky pair of shoes. I recently made four different blends, including a mint and activated charcoal shoe sachet that I use in my garden clogs.
5. Scatter Them In A Bowl
This might be the easiest thing on this list. Grab a wooden bowl or a pretty dish you already own and fill it with dried blooms. No arranging required.
Strawflowers, rose buds, and globe amaranth work especially well because they hold their shape and color. Swap them out seasonally, and you have effortless rotating decor.
A few drops of rose essential oil (or whatever your favorite is) stirred into the mix add a subtle, gentle scent, perfect for a coffee table or reading nook where you want just a hint of fragrance without anything overpowering.
6. Use Them In A Shadow Box
A shadow box gives you a little more depth to work with than a flat frame, which means you can layer stems, add a meaningful object or two, and create something that feels really personal. I made this one for a girlfriend of mine using some of her wedding flowers.
A pressed flower alongside a handwritten note, a vintage key, or a seed packet from your garden. It becomes a little piece of memory, not just decor.
7. Press Them Into Clay Magnets
Air-dry clay and a few pressed flowers are all you need for this one. Press your blooms into the clay before it dries and you’re left with a beautiful botanical imprint. I made a set of these, and they’re still on my refrigerator. They also make wonderful little gifts…the kind people actually keep
8. Add Them To Gift Wrapping
This is my secret weapon for making a gift look truly special without spending a cent more. Tuck a dried stem or a small bundle under the ribbon on a wrapped gift, or lay a few pressed flowers on top of a gift bag with some twine. It elevates even the most basic wrapping and makes the recipient feel like you really thought about it. Which, to be fair, took you about thirty seconds.
9. Design A Pressed Flower Card
Start with a blank notecard, a few pressed blooms, some glue, and get creative!
Arrange your flowers on the front of the card, lightly glue the flowers in place, and let it dry. The most personal thank you note or birthday card you can send, and it looks like an expensive boutique card.
10. Style A Mantel
A mantel is one of the best places to let dried flowers really shine because you have height, depth, and space to layer. Tuck stems into a garland, or weave them through other natural elements like grapevine or moss.
Last Fall I built an entire witchy-cottage mantel using dried hydrangeas, amaranth, nigella pods, and celosia from my own garden.
It looked like something out of a magazine and cost almost nothing. Dried flowers work beautifully for every season, not just Fall, and they last the entire time your mantel display is up
11. Bundle Them
Gather a handful of dried stems: lavender, eucalyptus, statice, whatever you have and tie them together with twine or a ribbon. Here I hung a few bundles on the rung of a decorative ladder. Other spots are a cabinet knob, a hook on the wall, or a door handle. It takes two minutes and looks so pretty. No skill required, I promise.
12. Decoupage Them onto a Vase
Take a plain glass vase thrifted, leftover, whatever, and use a découpage glaze to adhere pressed flowers directly onto the surface. Once it dries, you seal the whole thing and end up with a one-of-a-kind piece that looks like something from an expensive home store.
I’ve made several of these, and they never get old. They do start to fade over time depending on sunlight exposure.
13. Build A Dried Flower Hanging Frame
This is one of my favorite projects on the whole blog. You build a simple frame from bamboo stakes and chicken wire, then weave dried flower stems through the wire openings so the blooms sit right against the frame.
The finished piece looks like a three-dimensional bouquet suspended in mid-air. I made two for under $25 total; the high-end store version runs $80+
14. Dress Up a Cinnamon Broom
You know those cinnamon brooms that show up at Trader Joe’s and grocery stores every Fall? They smell amazing, but they can look a little plain straight off the shelf.
A handful of dried flowers from the garden: amaranth, strawflowers, lavender, celosia, all wired onto the neck of the broom with a raffia bow takes it from basic to absolutely charming in about 20 minutes. This is totally doable with a bundle of flowers from your local flower farm stand or farmer’s market if you don’t have a garden!
The flowers will continue to dry right on the broom and hold their shape all season. It’s one of those projects that looks way more impressive than the effort involved.
15. Fill A Bottle (Japanese Herbariums)
Flowers suspended in clear oil inside a beautiful glass bottle. It sounds complicated, but it’s genuinely simple, and the result is absolutely stunning. The mineral oil preserves the color of the flowers and makes them look like they’re floating. These are beautiful on a windowsill where the light can catch them, and they make one of the most unique handmade gifts I’ve ever given.
Now It’s Your Turn!
There you have it: 15 ways to use your flowers that go way beyond a vase. And honestly, this list barely scratches the surface. Once you start seeing your dried and pressed blooms as a creative resource rather than something that’s just sitting there looking pretty, the ideas start coming naturally.
The best part about all of these projects is that they’re forgiving. There’s no wrong way to arrange a bowl of dried flowers or tuck a stem under a ribbon. You don’t need a garden, though if you have one, this is exactly what it’s for. You just need a little curiosity and whatever blooms you have on hand.
If you try any of these, I’d love to see what you make. You might just end up in the Reader’s Spotlight!
See your projects featured! If you are inspired by this or any of my other DIY projects, I would love to see them and add you to the Reader’s Spotlight gallery. Send a photo to me at jennifer@cottageonbunkerhill.com
xo, Jennifer
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Pressed Flower Ideas To Try
- How To Use a Flower Press: Learn the basics
- Bookmarks: Laminate pressed flowers for a functional keepsake.
- Decoupage Vases: Turn your pressed flowers into beautiful vases
- Framed Art: Create a beautiful botanical display for your home.
- Greeting Cards: Add a personal touch to handmade cards.
- Flower Plaques: Using vintage book pages & flowers
I found the gift wrap to be especially inspiring ❤️ probably due to my being doing Christmas in July 😂
I really want to try those herbarium bottles, and I can’t believe that I never thought of buying Trader Joe’s flowers to dry, thanks for the suggestion!
Oh my gosh, Trader Joe’s is the only reason I don’t lose my mind in the winter!! I can get my flower fix on cold, snowy days.