by Kathleen Lynn

Created on: February 10, 2009   Last Updated: February 15, 2010

Real flowers are gorgeous and smell so beautiful. Unfortunately, they do not last very long in this state. What do you do with the flowers when they start to change color? Start by drying them out. Make sure you let them dry properly or there is very little you can do with them later. Once they are dried, here is a list of ideas that will help you find a place for the keepsakes.

There are several ways you can preserve your flowers. One of them is to use the pressing method, place the flowers between tissue or newspaper and place them in a book. This method will take two to three weeks to dry them and is not recommended for thick flowers such as roses.

Burying requires a mixture of sand and borax. You will put this into a container and lay the flower on top of the substance, then you will carefully press the petals into the mixture so that you do not tear the flowers. You can also shake a bit of the mixture softly over them. Leave them uncovered and left to dry two to three weeks.

Hanging flowers is easy, tie a string around your bouquet and hang them in a dry place. Let them hang and dry for four weeks. The easiest way to retain the color of your flowers, is to dry them in your microwave. Use a glass container to hold your flowers and sit a cup of water in the microwave with them. This will prevent them over-drying. Depending upon the thickness of your flowers, the time to dry can vary from one to three minutes. After they have microwaved, they will need to sit untouched in the container for a day or so. This will allow them time to finish drying and cool down so that you can work with them.

1. If you are engaged, why not use some of the dried flowers in your bridal bouquet? You can save them in a ziploc bag and take them to the florist and have them intertwined with the real flowers to look beautiful, and also reflect upon some gifts during your relationship.

2. Small bathrooms can quickly become overwhelmed by most air fresheners. They are simply too strong for such a small space in the home. Find a decorative bowl or jar and use your dried flowers as potpourri on the back of the toilet or a shelf. An easy way to keep a bathroom smelling good.

3. The flowers can be used in scrapbooking or kept in a photo album.

4. If you enjoy decoupage, dried flowers look beautiful used in this craft. They are easy to decoupage on a memory box, jewelry box, or other projects that will serve as a lasting memento of your Valentine's gift.

5. Dried flowers with the stems in

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