How to Dry Flowers Quickly (in the Microwave)
Enjoy this simple and easy tutorial for how to dry flowers quickly using a microwave and supplies you have at home! Then, check out more spring nature crafts to try! This post contains affiliate links.
This past fall, I was walking past my garden and I saw those last blooms withering away with the oncoming frost.
I decided that I need to preserve them for future crafting! There’s nothing like a home garden, with the love and nurturing it receives, and preserving those flowers, especially for crafting, helps that magic last.
Today, I’m sharing with you how to dry flowers quickly in the microwave. The truth is, the best use for this is when you need last-minute dried flowers for crafting. Otherwise, you can do much more going about this the traditional route – using books and lots of time.
When you microwave-dry flowers, you are a bit more limited in how many you can do at a time. However, since it’s a very quick process, even if you have a lot of flowers, you can churn out batch after batch if you give it a couple of hours, and get a whole garden-full done.
What you can do with speed-dried flowers
My main reason for wanting to dry flowers is for resin crafting. Smaller flowers are perfect for flower-in-resin pendants. Larger ones can be turned into loads of different crafts. Here are some ideas.
- Make flower mandalas: tape clear contact paper sticky-side-up, arrange in circular patterns, varying flowers, petals, and leaves, and then seal with another layer of contact paper.
- Cardmaking: Use dried flowers to add a gorgeous touch to your cards. Make sure it’s fully sealed and adhered so it doesn’t crumble all over.
- Resin: Beyond pendants, dried flowers enhance any resin craft you’d like to try. Incorporate larger statement flowers into DIY epoxy resin coasters, smaller ones into resin letter keychains, and tiny ones or petals into DIY resin earrings. You can arrange dried flower mandalas into larger resin art pieces and serving trays too.
- Collage-making: Glue them into different pictures and shapes. If you’re planning to preserve it, display it in a shadow box.
- Lantern-making: Decoupage them onto glass jars to make gorgeous lanterns.
There are so many other crafts you can make with them, so let’s dive into the best process for how to dry flowers quickly.
Tips for choosing flowers to dry in the microwave
Based on my trial and error, I found that the flowers that work best for drying are those that have:
- Distinct centers, and petals that can neatly spread around them.
- OR Stems with small blooms that can be dried flat as a single unit
- All pieces still very secure
- Smaller flowers work best, larger flowers require more time and batches.
If you have favorite flowers you want to work with but they don’t seem right for drying based on my tips above, you can also simply dry the petals. Leaves work fabulously as well (but I find that they get more brittle).
You can also try and experiment, like I did with the big burgundy bloom, and if it doesn’t work well, or it’s falling apart, gently pull off the petals to use as-is.
And finally, don’t just stick to your garden! A fresh bouquet of flowers that’s starting to go is also a fabulous choice for dried flower crafting!
How to dry flowers Quickly in the microwave: step by step
I’m going to outline for you the process in a step-by-step tutorial, however, you can definitely play around yourself. Switch up the weights you use, fiddle with the timing, etc.
What you’ll need
- Flowers – full stem removed, petals, leaves, or small branches with tiny flowers attached
- Paper towels
- Plain copy paper
- A stack of heavy ceramic or glass plates (I used a few from the dollar store) – make sure they are microwave safe.
Process
1. Fold your paper in half to mark the center. Unfold. Arrange your flowers, petals, leaves, and stems on the paper. When arranging full flowers, make sure that all petals are spread around the center and place them face down.
2. Fold the paper in half so that the blooms are sandwiched.
3. Sandwich with paper towel. If you’re drying larger/full sized flowers, you’ll likely need a second layer of paper towel to absorb the moisture.
4. Sandwich between two plates.
5. Add plates on top until you feel like it’s adequately pressed. Note: you can do a couple of layers of flowers between separate plates, but you’ll always need enough pressure on the top layer as well.
6. Microwave in thirty second increments, just to be cautious, and keep checking. After a few rounds, I started mine at a minute and then added thirty second increments, but I suggest that if you’re drying your first batch, start with a conservative thirty second run.
Replace paper towels in middle if needed.
I can’t really give you a final time frame, as it really varies by flower health, moisture levels, size, thickness, etc.
Keep zapping in the microwave in increments until it’s fully dried.
Now that you learned how to dry flowers quickly in the microwave, what will you be crafting with them?
How to Press Flowers Using the Microwave
Learn how to press flowers using your microwave, to preserve your favorite garden blooms and bouquets, and to make fun pressed flower crafts!
Materials
- Flowers - full stem removed, petals, leaves, or small branches with tiny flowers attached
- Paper towels
- Plain copy paper
- A stack of heavy ceramic or glass plates (Make sure they are microwave safe)
Tools
- Microwave oven
Instructions
1. Fold your paper in half to mark the center. Unfold. Arrange your flowers, petals, leaves, and stems on the paper. When arranging full flowers, make sure that all petals are spread around the center and place them face down.
2. Fold the paper in half so that the blooms are sandwiched.
3. Sandwich with paper towel. If you're drying larger/full sized flowers, you'll likely need a second layer of paper towel to absorb the moisture.
4. Sandwich between two plates.
5. Add plates on top until you feel like it's adequately pressed. Note: you can do a couple of layers of flowers between separate plates, but you'll always need enough pressure on the top layer as well.
6. Microwave in thirty second increments, just to be cautious, and keep checking. After a few rounds, I started mine at a minute and then added thirty second increments, but I suggest that if you're drying your first batch, start with a conservative thirty second run.
Replace paper towels in middle if needed.
Keep zapping in the microwave in increments until it's fully dried.
Notes
I recommend looking for flowers with the following:
- Distinct centers, and petals that can neatly spread around them.
- OR Stems with small blooms that can be dried flat as a single unit
- All pieces still very secure
- Smaller flowers work best, larger flowers require more time and batches.
Use your pressed flowers in resin crafts, decoupage, art collages, mandala suncatchers, and more!
