Crafting: Floral Arranging

I decided it was time to do a floral arrangement.

I used to do the flowers for our church

in New Mexico.

I wish I'd taken pictures of those arrangements!

Some of them were so pretty.

Today, I'll walk you through the materials & steps needed

to create your own.

(Getting your supplies 1/2 off, or a % off really helps)

Here's the spring arrangement I made today.

I'll probably add a little more to it... since I thought I had

some tall willowy yellow flowers, and didn't. And I can't find my little
bird's nests that I was going to nest my arrangement in.
But you get the idea. :)

Supplies Needed:

-Container/Vase/Jar

-Floral Stems in 2-3 colors & varying shapes

-1-3 types of greenery (leaves, etc...)

-Floral Foam

-Floral tape

-Floral pins

-Floral picks

-Floral pick machine

-Wire cutters

-Spanish Moss

To create your piece, you'll take your container,

I used an Enfamil container, and wrapped it with

brown scrapbook paper.

1. Insert enough floral foam to fill most of the container,

then cut it so it is just at the top of the lip.

2. Next you'll secure your foam.

You can use floral tape to criss cross a couple times over the top,

or there is something we used at the florist to

stick to the bottom of the foam... but I can't

remember what it was called. duh.

3. Then you'll put some Spanish Moss on top of the foam,

and using 3+/- floral pins, secure it.

Then you'll need a few of those tools.

The floral picks, and pick machine can be pricey.

If you plan to do your own arrangements,

it's worth it.

If not, you can always skip "picking" your flowers,

and just use the stems inserted into the foam.

The wire cutters, gotta have 'em.

4. Using the wire cutters, cut your greenery.

Remember to leave extra length so when inserted in the foam,

they don't get shorter than desired.

5. Using the picks & pick machine, pick the ends of each stem.

Insert into the foam, starting from the center working out.

(Greenery is important for making the piece full-looking).

6. Repeat steps 4 & 5 with your flowers, working with

the larger flowers first, then smaller, then fillers.

Hopefully this will help others try their hand at it!

It can be very fun.

Here's one I made for my mom a few years ago.

She loves it!

Some tips on floral arranging:

• 
  
   Always have flowers in odd number settings (3, 5, 7. etc...)
• 
  
  Measure your container. Have arrangement 1 1/2 times the size of the container. Some containers allow a little more or less room to "roam".
• 
  
  Always work from the center out.
• 
  
  The most common style in a flower arrangement is a tree triangle.
• 
  
  Always add variety to your arrangement. Too much of the same shape may seem boring.
• 
  
  Colors must blend. To off-set a dark arrangement, include a light, off-white color.
• 
  
  Realize that flower arranging is a unique hobby, therefore what one person creates, another may or may not like. That is the beauty of creating your own unique style.

And linking to: