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What you need: Ceramic pot Dry sand Small piece of paper or cardboard Pruning knife This is a simple method for drying flowers like gallardia, cosmos, water lilies, zinnias, daffodils, marigolds or young rose buds. Make sure the flowers you use are fresh. First, trim the stems back to about 1" in length.

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Choose an ordinary ceramic pot that is deep enough to allow the flowers to be submerged. Cover the bottom of the pot with paper and pour in about 2" of clean, absolutely dry sand.

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Place the flowers in the pot, submerging the stalks into the sand to hold them in place.

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Gradually fill the pot with sand until they are completely buried. Place the pot in a warm, dry room for a few weeks.

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After the pot has sat undisturbed for two or three weeks, carefully pour off the sand a little at a time. Remove the flowers and gently brush any clinging particles off the petals with a soft brush.

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The dried flowers are very delicate and may drop some petals during the removal of the sand. If this happens, they can be reattached with a hot glue gun. Colors best preserved with this method are deep red, blue, orange, yellow, and white. For more delicate flowers or colors try the microwave drying technique.