Tuesday, April 19, 2016

How to Make a Customized Floral Arrangement

In the past when I've shown you a floral arrangement I've made (see Spring Wreath HERE or  Easter Centerpiece HERE),  it is usually the "Amy's Shortcut Way" and not the "official way to make a floral arrangement".  Most of the time when I create floral arrangements I just want something quick, easy, and temporary.  This time however, I wanted a permanent arrangement for my new "Beauty Room", so I had to make it the "Official Way".

Now for those of you who have been wondering when my new "Beauty Room" will be done and revealed...soon!  My husband finally finished his end of the deal, but I'm currently doing a lot of sewing and shopping for the room, so it will be a few more weeks before the "BIG REVEAL!".  I'm so excited!  I can't wait to show you gals how awesome this room turned out.  I think it's the prettiest room in the house now!  If you have no idea what I'm talking about, check out this post HERE to catch up.

In the meantime, here is a pretty customized floral arrangement that I made for my new room.  I placed it next to my Personalized Art Work that I made out of greeting cards.


I wanted a floral arrangement that coordinated with the colors in the room and that was also a specific height to fit on the shelves.  Normally, I would just buy a pre-made arrangement, but because it was just about impossible to find something with those exact requirements, I had to make one myself.

So here is a step by step tutorial on how I made it.  And trust me, I do not consider myself good at arranging flowers...just adequate.  So if I can do it, you can too!

First off shopping!  This is the first floral project I've shown you where I had to go out and buy just about everything.  The materials for the entire project cost $20.51...and everything was on sale too!

Here's what a bought:

A Vase:                $2.49 (damaged clearance item)
Foam:                  $1.25 with Michael's Coupon
Rose Bush:          $6.59 (40% off sale)
Tulip Bush:          $2.39 (40% off sale)
White Branches:  $7.79 (40% off sale)
                            _____
                          $20.51  Total Cost

I already had the wire cutters, stems, floral tape, button, and glue gun in my stash.


I found my silver vase at Ross.  It was reduced because it was missing an embellishment and there was just a gob of glue in it's place.


It's actually not a vase or a pot, but a candle holder.  But I'm someone who is always looking for alternative ways to use things, and it made the perfect flower vase for me.


Now to creating my arrangement.  First, I just took this small piece of foam and shoved it deep into the vase.  I did not have to shave it to fit.  It fit perfectly as it was.


Next, I cut my roses off the bush according to the height I needed them.  I first went to my "Beauty Room" and placed the pot on the shelf and held a rose in the center of the pot to figure out how high I wanted the arrangement to be.  Once I determined the height, I simply stuck the first rose right in the center, then added the rest around the center rose.


Now if you remember my "Spring Wreath Tutorial" I said to create a nice floral arrangement, work with odd numbers, pick different shapes of flowers, and use different colors that harmonize with each other.  I followed that same formula for my arrangement as I did for my wreath.  I chose three flowers:  a rose, a tulip, a tree blossom stem.  I also chose three different flower shapes:  round, cylinder, and tall/skinny/narrow.  And I chose three different colors:  Blush, Pink, and Cream.

Since my roses were large and round, they were my main flower.  So now I needed a secondary flower and I picked these pretty pink mini tulips.  They are a solid pink, whereas the roses are a mix of cream, blush and pink.  The solid pink of the tulips picks up the pink in the roses and brings it out.

I cut little sprigs of tulips off the main bush and simply inserted them between the rose flowers, making sure they were getting pushed into the foam.



Here is what the arrangement looks like so far:


Well now my arrangement is pretty full, but it is still missing something, so I added an accent flower:  a long, delicate floral stem.


 By now, my arrangement was done, but there were a few holes near the edge of the vase.  I knew the vase would be viewed by eye level and therefore these holes would be visible and needed to be filled.  I didn't want to add more flowers, and felt more greenery was needed.  I had three leaf sections left over from my rose bush that I didn't use.  However, they were too short.


To solve that problem, I wrapped my leaf around a green wire stem using green floral tape.  This made them longer so I could insert them into the base.


 Now to solve the problem about the missing gem on the pot.  I could have just turned the pot to face the wall, but I was concerned that if anyone picked up the pot to examine the floral arrangement more closely, they would see the gob of glue.  So I decided to fix it.


I collect buttons,  so I already had this pretty diamond button in my stash that was just about the right size to cover the gob of glue.


Using my wire cutters, I snipped off the button prong on the back.


Then I just put a big blob of hot glue on the back of the button and stuck in onto the vase.


 Wa-la!  Problem fixed!  The glue gob is no longer visible!


With my masterpiece completed, it was time to see how it looked sitting on the shelf in my new room.


I took it off the shelf for a few photos so you could see how pretty it is from the top.


And here you can see how well the colors in the florals and the container match the room.  I never could have bought a floral arrangement that matched so perfectly.  It was worth the extra time and effort to customize my own.


Have a Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE.

And be sure to check out the "Between the Lines" Blog series which is highlighting bloggers that are over the age of fifty!  It starts today and will run every Tuesday until June 28th!  Read the first post HERE!


7 comments:

  1. This floral arrangement is so pretty and I just love the vase you put them in, too! I am not the best at arranging flowers, so I can use all of the tips you shared!

    Carrie
    curlycraftymom.com

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  2. I love your tips on arranging flowers. Earlier today I went outside and cut done spring flowers to bring inside. I put them in a vase but your tips will help me arrange them! Thanks so much! Amy

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  3. I love your ideas for arranging flowers. I just cut some and tried to arrange them but your tips will help! I relate to your stage of life, 100+ old house, and love for blogging. I'm so glad I found your blog! If you want to look at mine, I'm at http://amyadair.me

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  4. This turned out so perfect for your beauty room! Great tips on how to arrange the flowers. Thanks for sharing!

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  5. Thanks for sharing this at Dream Create and Inspire! festive flowers make me smiles beautiful job, its a pleasure you stop by..love if you hop over and visit me at http://www.simplenaturedecorblog.com/ just finished my one room challenge.

    Its a pleasure again to have you!
    Maria

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  6. Love the containers you picked for the flowers. Really pretty. Theresa @DearCreatives

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  7. Such a pretty floral arrangement Amy! Thanks so much for sharing it at our link party. Pinning:). Have a wonderful week and take care, Tara

    ReplyDelete

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