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Monday, May 25, 2015

Preserving Boxwood Branches

I love the look of dried boxwood.  I bought this one awhile ago and have always wanted another one or 2 and of course a wreath.  But if you have ever bought real dried boxwood you know they are not cheap.  My mom has a large hedge of boxwoods that line her property so I decided to figure out how to dry them correctly and put them to good use!





You will need:
Boxwood branches the more the better
Glycerin, I purchased mine at Walmart for $3.50
Green food coloring, I used the gel dye
Hot Water 
And a bucket for them to soak in

After you have pruned your boxwood branches take a hammer and hit the end of the branch.  This helps the branches to really soak up the dye and glycerin.

Next you are going to mix 1 part glycerin with 2 parts HOT water.  
(make sure your water is hot, this will help the glycerin and water mix together)

My bottle of glycerin was 6 oz so I added 12 oz  (1 1/2 cups) of hot water and a teaspoon of food coloring.  Mix well until the glycerin and water mix together.  Let your solution cool before adding it to your boxwood branches.  



After it is all mixed I added it to my bucket full of boxwood.  
Let your boxwoods soak for 1 to 2 weeks, until the solution is gone.  
After the solution is gone, I let mine sit for a few more weeks to dry out before I make them into anything!  



 This current batch has about another week left until I can start making a wreath.  All of this waiting is killing me, but it is worth it in the end.  Stay tuned for the final product!

TTFN

Brooke


3 comments:

  1. What a very cool tip! I never knew how they preserved them so now that I know-your tutorial will come in very handy!

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  2. This is an excellent tip Brooke - thank you so much, you saved me $$$$$$. Pinning this for future reference :)
    Marie@The Interior Frugalista

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  3. Seriously? It's doable so easily?
    I pin this! Super tip, thank you. :)

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