Preparing Hydrangeas To Dry For Decorating

Today our guest contributor Ella Claire Inspired is sharing with us how she does some decorating with dried hydrangeas on top of her armoire and how she goes about preparing hydrangeas to dry for decorating. They lend a nice touch to the top and clustered in a basket they are a pretty statement.

Ella Claire Inspired: I am happy to be back here visiting again to share a little project I have been working on, drying hydrangeas to make a pretty vignette on an armoire!

My sister in law let me come and cut the last of her gorgeous hydrangeas. Aren’t they just beautiful!? I look forward to her beautiful hydrangeas every year. I love how, once dried, they still look so lively and beautiful. They were practically already dried out on the bush, so all I did was cut them and let them sit out for a couple days.

I decided to make a little arrangement for my Ella’s room from the hydrangeas. We recently bought an antique pine armoire for her room and I thought the flowers would add such a pretty, feminine touch to the top of it.

To get the hydrangea ready to dry naturally, I grabbed each stem, pulled the leaves off and cut the stems down a bit. Once the leaves are removed, the hydrangea stems will dry out naturally in the basket.

I had plenty of hydrangeas, so I made sure my arrangement was nice and full.

Here is what the armoire looked before:

And here is what it looks like now. I love the gorgeous raw pine wood!! I placed the hydrangea arrangement on top of a pretty vintage suitcase that I found at a local antique store. I stole this ADORABLE little rocking horse from my mom. Once I saw it in the pile to sell at her yard sale, I knew it was coming home with me! Don’t worry, I paid her in Ella kisses.

I hung a dress I made for Ella on one of the cabinet knobs. I made it for her while she was still in my tummy out of a linen type fabric and a vintage doily. I am still not sure why the knobs are uneven. Funny old piece.

I put the pillow that I shared {here} in the little rocking horse to soften him up. Making the pillow was an easy project and great way to use old linens.

You can follow along with all of my other decor, seasonal and project adventures here: