How to Preserve your Roses

Hello loves, happy Thursday. I've been meaning to share this for a while now but I had no idea when I first started this that it really wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. Yes I have seen many videos and tutorials but actually doing it is a whole other thing.

Thursday's Treat...Preserving your Roses!

Tools:

-your favorite flowers

-silica gel

-box or case big enough to seal covered flowers in

-craft wire

-Krylon UV Resistant clear spray Glossy

-gloves

-newspaper

-vase or display dish

I got these beautiful Roses over a month ago. The photo really doesn't do justice to the vibrant red tones in the flower, they were simply breathtaking. I decided immediately that I wanted to preserve them. I kept them in my office for a week changed the water twice. Then took them home to begin the saving process.

I bought 2 bags of Silica Gel at Michael's craft store for about $6.00 each along with a large plastic box to keep the flowers in as they dried. The plastic case was on sale for about $9.00. You need something deep and large enough to have space between the flowers and full coverage of the Silica beads. I cut the stems off and left about 1/2 an inch of stem on the flower (not good enough, and inch or 1 1/2 would be best I will explain later), I saved the stems and removed the leaves.

I set a layer of Silica Gel on the bottom of plastic case and began to arrange the flowers to be covered. I made sure they were healthy and in full bloom so the beads can go into the petals and remove the moisture. The little gel beads will be blue when you begin and turn pick when you are finished. I continued to gentle cover the roses completely until I was satisfied the moisture would be removed. Thinking back now I would have bought a smaller case just deeper and 3 bags instead of 2.

The drying out process can be done in 2 weeks but I went for 3 just to be safe. While they dried I went back to Michael's and bought the preserving spray. I chose Krylon brand because I have used it in the past and quality was great. I chose Glossy finish because I wanted a shimmer effect. As you can see once I removed them from the gel bath they still look bright, full and intact. The reality is they are very delicate and you have to use a soft touch not to damage the effect you are going for. I almost forgot to mention that as they dried I also had the stems drying in the kitchen window.

So here you will see how shiny and bright they still look, they are holding up well during the spray process which was...use gloves because the spray is sticky and lay down some newspapers because you don't want to mess up your table or any other work space. I live in an apartment so going out to my back yard is not an option and OPEN up all your windows the spray is a bit much. I sprayed 2 coats I also sprayed any petals that fell off in the process and laid them out close to a window for 2 days only because I got busy with something else. A day should work fine. Make sure you saturate every inch or it will not keep well.

After 2 days I went back to add my stems with craft wire and found that I hadn't left enough space to work comfortably attaching stem to flower and I was actually making some of my petals fall off so I gave up on that and decided to display them in another way.

This is my IKEA storage bench in my bedroom, it has a few goodies displayed on it as you can see. All things I love candles, pictures, etc...I used a vase I rec'd my birthday flowers in and laid the flowers in gently to the top. I love the colors and how it fits in well with the other surrounding goodies.

Was it fun? Sure. Am I happy with end result? Absolutely. Would I do it again? No, not unless the Roses were out of this world! Why? Well because the flowers retain some of those tiny gel beads inside and they are a bit messy. Then you see those 2 bags of Silica gel I used? Well they are reusable but in order to do so you have to bring them back to original state which is placing then in oven or microwave until the beads turn blue again and that is pain in the A**. So because I am all about stress free this is not something I would do too often.

Hope you enjoy this treat, I would love to hear and see pics on your preserving journey.

Always stress free xo

Mari

The Hoarders Trap

We all fall prey to it at some point with some thing for a certain amount of time...
Hoarding.

And every parent holds on to those "cute" things for the next baby, for a relatives baby or for a keepsake to give to their child when they grow up.
Please don't.

We must be realistic in what we keep, what we share and what we save.

No one is going to use a walker that is 5 years old, when models are changing every year. Yes they have basic function but no.
No one is going to use a stroller that is 6 years old and bulky when they can get new slicker model.

The list is endless. Yes, some things are priceless maybe you have that crib that's been handed down in the family, but as we all know times have changed and so have the safety features.

I am not one to waste money unnecessarily I am just realistic about the things that should be kept, should be shared and should be passed on.

This is the list I put together to help me figure the Hoarding Trap out...

Babies 1st year
-keep the first of certain items shoes, sandals, pair of socks, coat, jacket, bib, onesies, etc...
Nothing stained or in poor condition.
-keep souvenir of 1st birthday goody bag, banner, cake top, table decoration.
-keep all the stuff you got at the hospital wrist band, foot prints, blanket etc...
-keep babies 1st teeth.
-keep certain baby shower souvenirs.
-keep sonogram pics.

2nd year through 8th grade
-keep yearly folder of all art work at the end of each year pick maximum of 5 pieces and get rid of the rest.
-keep yearly folders of certificates, promotion cards, report cards, highest scoring test, commendation cards etc...anything that acknowledges a job well done.
-keep trophies, ribbons, anything won at a sport or activity they took part of.
-keep toys that are only in excellent condition and take up very little space. Revisit that box at end of every year see if your child is still interested or is willing to give away. Keep number of toys you keep to a minimum as well.

High School Years
-keep yearly folders of certificates, promotion cards, report cards, highest scoring test, commendation cards etc...anything that acknowledges a job well done.
-keep yearly folders if needed of art work or special projects worked on.
-keep copies of letters rec'd that reference special tests taken such as placement exams, state exams, etc...
-keep copies of essays, applications, acceptance and even rejection letters from Junior and Senior years.

In between these specified milestones you will have tons of clothes, birthday cards, gifts, trinkets and perhaps even more babies.
You may save again, a few pieces but you must be very selective.
With clothes, unless your kids are close in age please don't save or store. Instead have a swap party or donate to someone who may be in need.
If you believe you will have your children all in a close amount of time then sure save the crib, stroller, walker and whatever else, but again if it's like 3 years in and nothing..,get rid of it!!!

This is a picture share of how over the years I have kept myself in line with my own Hoarding oops I meant memory keepsakes lol.

So the above pic has my daughter's Tae Kwon Do uniform in which she earned her Black Belt 1st degree, a collection of a few 1st's outfits, her Blue's Clues Halloween costume I made her when she was about 2 or 3 years old, her Christening dress and a box I got especially for her because on her 20th Birthday I am going to present her with a few things I have been working on over the years (I will of course write a post on that when the time comes!).

This pic shows a plastic storage box with all her other saves report cards, drawings, b'day cards, Graduation caps, video tapes, etc...
Nineteen years in 2 storage boxes that is it!!!

What will you be using to store away great memories without becoming a Hoarder?

Always stress free xo