How to Add Dried Flowers to a Shadow Box

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Looking for an easy project to make with some mementoes from an event? Here’s how to add dried flowers to a shadow box.

A friend of mine had gone on a hike and collected some flowers. She dried them and asked if I could make a shadow box for her.

I’ve done shadow boxes before. I’ve done one with rolled flowers, as well as one with a cork back with some keepsakes.

Drying Flowers

Now my friend dried the flowers herself, but this can be done in a variety of ways. Her flowers were small so she simply pressed them in some coffee filters. Just slip a flower into a coffee filter, place a heavy book on top, and leave it for a good week. Be careful not to crowd the flowers. Keep in mind that the result of these flowers will be flat.

If drying larger flowers, like from a wedding, you may wish to get some silica gel. To use silica gel, put a layer of the silica gel into a plastic container, lay your flowers on top – again be careful not to crowd and then completely cover with more silica gel. Follow the directions of your silica gel – typically your flowers will be dry within a few days. Silica gel keeps the 3-D shape of the flower, as you are not pressing them flat.

Prep Your Shadow Box

The size of the shadow box depends on the number of flowers you have. My friend gave me a shadow box to use and so I used that one. You can get shadow boxes from several places, including Ikea, craft stores and online. You can also get a variety of colours for the frames, but they tend to mainly be white or black. Don’t forget you could always paint the frame as well.

The flowers will be mounted on that back part of the shadow box. The frame that I was given had a brown backing. I covered it with a white piece of paper to make the flowers stand out more. You could also use scrapbook paper, depending on the size of your frame. Scrapbook paper tends to come in 12×12 and so if your shadow box is larger (the one I was using was 11×14), you’d either need to use 2 pieces or I just used a piece of 11×17 white photocopy paper that I cut to size.

Glue the paper to the backing before getting to the part with the dried flowers.

Personalize the Shadow Box

My friend wanted a quote on her box, so I cut it out of adhesive vinyl using my Cricut. I adhered it to the underside of the glass top and so I mirrored it before I cut it. This step is optional, but it adds a nice touch.

This is an optional step. You could just simply fill your shadow box with flowers or do something simpler like a date, for instance.

How to Add Dried Flowers to a Shadow Box

You just need to glue the flowers to the backing. The best glue is something clear so that it doesn’t show up.

Do a layout first and make sure it is how you want it to look. If you have a quote on the glass, don’t forget to hold it over your layout so that it works with what you have.

You don’t need a lot of glue and you don’t need to glue everywhere. You just need to add glue to a few spots to secure it to the paper.

Allow the flowers to dry completely before putting them back in the frame.

Once assembled, it makes such a lovely keepsake or memory. When you add dried flowers to a shadow box, it makes a meaningful piece of art.

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