Flower Arranging Tips Archives

My (NEW) Favorite Way To Create Flower Arrangements

April 26, 2018

Don’t you just love decorating your home with fresh flowers? Me too, but buying fresh flowers can be expensive especially when you like lush arrangements like I do.

Earlier this week I was feeling a bit guilty for what I was spending on fresh flowers so I decided to jump on the faux flower trend.

If you follow interior designers and design bloggers on social media, you’ve been seeing more and more faux flower arrangements in their room designs. The faux flower trend is no longer taboo they are being used right alongside fresh flowers.

One of the main reasons faux flower decor is making a comeback is because the quality of has gotten so good. In many cases it can be hard to tell a faux stem from the real thing.

On Tuesday I created this arrangement mixing faux and real stems and I am over the moon with how it turned out.

The beautiful chinoiserie foot bath was a lucky find at an estate sale and I love using it on my dining room sideboard. Because the piece is large, keeping it filled with fresh flowers is not budget friendly so the mix of real and faux is a perfect solution.

Can you tell which flowers in my arrangement are real and which are fake? Keep reading to find out!

Today, I’m giving you tips and tricks on how to style real + faux flowers and where to buy faux stems.

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Where To Buy Faux Flower Stems

You can find quality silk flowers at Michael’s and Hobby Lobby but for the most realistic looking faux stems I like to shop online.

Petals.com has a large selection of stems as well as pre-made flower arrangements. Their peony and cherry blossom stems are my favorite.

At Afloral you can shop flowers by color or variety which makes it easy to create a unique floral arrangement. They also have a great selection of bouquets that can be dropped into a vase for a quick and easy centerpiece. The peony & ranunculus bouquet is one of my top picks.

Balsam Hill recently introduced a line of silk flowers designed by blogger Courtney of French Country Cottage and they are just beautiful. They also sell a high quality (and a tad more expensive) collection of flower stems. My favorites are the set of 7 dahlia stems are set of 4 hydrangea.

Pottery Barn is another place where I buy faux flower stems. Even though the selection is small, their prices are good. If you’re looking for a good quality faux eucalyptus stem they have one currently on sale for $19.

What Look For In Faux Flower Stems

Material–the best faux flowers are made silk or polyester that have a soft, velvety life-like feel to them. Avoid stems that look and feel like plastic.
Details–look for stems that are bendable, have realistic stems and texture in the petals and leaves.
Color–when you look at a real flower you’ll see that it is not all one color. Real flowers have color variations throughout the petals. These are the same color details you should look for in faux stems.

Now that you know where to buy faux flowers and what to look for, here are my tips of styling a beautiful flower arrangement.

Ok, now its time to real the real vs faux stems in my arrangement…

Today’s design tip: Don’t Be Afraid To Fake It:)

Thanks for stopping by the blog today.

Spring Entertaining: Tablescape Styling {plus tips}

March 20, 2018

One of my favorite color combinations is black and white with pops of bold color. It’s a classic statement with an edgy vibe and I love the energy that these colors create when used together. And it’s the perfect color statement for spring entertaining.

To celebrate the first day of spring, I pulled together a bold and bright spring entertaining tablescape to share with you. And I added a couple of Easter elements in too since Easter is just a few weeks away.

SPRING ENTERTAINING: BOLD & BRIGHT

Spring is the season when trees are blooming and flowers are budding so I created a beautiful flower arrangement as the centerpiece for my table. I used this gorgeous yellow chinoiserie planter that I scored at an estate sale and filled it with a mix flowers from Trader Joe’s.

Flower Arranging Tip: Use florist’s foam to keep flowers in place and constantly hydrated so they last longer. Soak the foam for 15 minutes before cutting it to fit the container. Water the foam every couple of days.

Tablescape Styling Tip: Creating contrast is a great way to give your tablescape dimension and depth. Combine colors that are opposite on the color wheel; mix matte and shiny finishes; use a variety of patterns for visual interest.

I know I’ve said it over and over, but one of the key elements of a beautiful table is the layering. I layered different plate styles to give the table a ‘collected’ but elegant look. And the black and white striped placemats add a modern and dramatic edge. Instead of using colorful glassware that would have competed with the flowers, I used clear crystal to add a touch of sparkle.

** I’ll let you in on a little secret. Those beautiful scalloped white dinner plates with the silver rim are actually plastic! Don’t they look amazing? Until you pick them up you have no idea they aren’t real china. If you want to pick up a set, I found them at Tuesday Morning.

I layered each pacesetting with my thrifted red salad plates and black and white accent pieces. The small rectangular black and white plates came from C. Wonder (I miss that store) and I got the black and white bowls through a trade resource. My red diy monogram dinner napkins add yet another pop of color.

Tablescape Styling Tip: don’t be afraid to mix different materials in creating your pacesetting. There are tons of beautiful melamine plates at HomeGoods and they can make a great layering element when combined with china.

Whenever I create a tablescape, I like to use candles as part of the centerpiece statement. The tall crystal candlesticks are from Tiffany’s and were a gift when I left Eddie Bauer to move to Atlanta. They add height and along with the stemware give that table some shine and shimmer.

I shared my newly upholstered round ottomans on IG and love the way they coordinate with the centerpiece on the table. The floral fabric is one of my all-time favorite budget fabric finds. You can purchase it here and you won’t believe the price.

To give the table a nod to Easter, I nestled two ceramic bunnies on each side of the centerpiece and tied a pink bow around their next. The bunnies were a Target dollar spot find from last year.

There you have it–lots of spring tablescape inspiration, and a few styling tips to help you pull your table together.

Cheers to spring and happy entertaining!

Flowers, Friendship and Apples!

July 24, 2015

Hello friends and happy Friday!

I’m popping in late to share what I was up to today. One of my good friends has recently started a boutique catering business and she asked to me create a couple floral arrangements that will be used in her marketing materials for fall and holiday.

I love flowers and creating flower arrangements is something I love to do so I jumped at the opportunity.

The day started with a trip to the wholesale flower market where I was overwhelmed with all the beautiful stems. If the cooler wasn’t so darn cold I could have stayed and played with flowers all day but I had to get busy arranging flowers.

I had a general color theme in mind before I went to the wholesaler so I narrowed in on the stems that would work best for the idea I had in mind.

In addition to flowers and greenery I also had succulents and apples to work with.

The trick to really dynamic flower arrangments is the mix of flowers, the texture, an unexpected pop of color and unique elements like fruit, pinecones, berries etc.

I took me about an hour to make two arrangements and here they are:

The first arrangement is in a vintage brass bowl and really played up the texture within each stem. I snipped the hydrangea at the last minute from a bush to add volume to the arrangement and is you look closely you can see a succulent tucked amongst the flowers. Red and green apples are also part of the mix.

The other flowers used include Ranunculus, Dianthus, Bra Viburnum Berries, Veronica and Dusty Miller.

I love Ranunculus and their fluffy petal added a lot of softness and elegance within the flower mix.

The second arrangement was built on a 3-tiered galvanized metal stand. This type of arrangement would be perfect for a buffet setting or larger banquet table.

What really makes this arrangement special is the succulents. Succulents add so much dimension and to flower arrangments because of their colors and texture.

I tucked a few larger leaves around the edge of the stand and let some of the berries and Veronica drape over the edge.

The red and green apples really add substance and visual impact and the Dianthus (spiky green flower below) adds a touch of whimsy.

My friend Ande and I will be creating more flower arrangments as the holidays near and I’ll be sure to share it all with you here.

I also recommend that you follow Ande’s catering business on Instagram @YumCulinaryGifts to see all of the amazing food, style and graphic images she shares. And if you live in Atlanta and are looking for a caterer for your next event, give Yum Boutique Catering a call.

Have a great weekend!

Inspiration {plus links you’ll love}

February 28, 2015

The much ‘anticipated’ winter storm that never really came to be earlier this week gave me some time to surf the web and catch up on my blog reading so I have lots of great links to share with you today. Enjoy your weekend!