I love hydrangeas.

I look forward to them blooming every year.

I mourn the loss when they all turn brown knowing that I have to wait a whole year before they bloom again.

But this year I decided I wanted to “preserve” them so I can enjoy them all winter.

I have never had good luck drying them but this year I was determined.

After a few Google researches I was convinced I could do this.

The best description I read was this article from Better Homes and Gardens; and more importantly, their method worked really well.

So now I had all my blooms dried and ready to go. Some were very brown and needed some help.

Of course, I could have just left them in their natural state which is pretty, but I really wanted some vibrant color.

I searched around online and found floral spray paint at Amazon. I know a lot of craft stores stock it as well.

After I was all done painting,

I started reading the instructions in the side of the can.

Why didn’t I read them ahead of time? I like to live on the wild side.

Good thing I didn’t read the can before I started. I would still be trying to figure out what “impervious gloves” are.

And these are always good words of wisdom.

Especially if you want to be really thin……or dead.

In case you were worried that I had to do all this painting by myself, don’t worry.

Poppi was very helpful during the whole process.

Happy painting.

Update: We used these dried flowers for my sister’s wedding in August 2012.

Everyone thought they were fresh:)