Drying flowers?

I was watching Martha the other day when an audience member asked her how to dry hydrangeas without them shriveling up. Martha said to put them in a vase with about 1 inch of water and just let them dry standing upright (I have tried hanging them upside and they shrivel every single time). Well, when I got mine home I did that...they have been sitting in an inch of water for a few hours and they are already starting to shrivel! Is there another method without using silica gel or is that the only way?