Life Imitates Art
One neat trick to making a dramatic statement in a room is to purchase a painting (or use and existing one) and re-create the scene in the picture. For example, a silver bowl filled with pears in a painting can inspire you to find a silver dish at a rummage sale or thrift store and then buy some faux pears at the craft store when they are on sale. You can probably make something like this for under $20 whereas, if you had purchased it pre-arranged, it could cost $100 or more at an upscale design accessory or craft store.
You can do the same scene mimicking with flower arrangements. Find (or use an existing) picture or painting to springboard the type of dried flowers and colors you’ll be using in your project. Even if you don’t have a picture of a flower arrangement, use any existing framed work of art and locate 3 or 4 main colors and begin there. For example, a café scene in a frame could inspire you to pick up the red in the awning, the orange in the outside bistro tables, and the brown in the jars of coffee beans inside the shop window. You can really play around with your arrangements and make the picture come to life with your arrangements! Use the tallest stalks in the center for height and then add shorter ones around the outer perimeter. If you’re using silk plants, gently bend them so they appear more like the real thing.
Ah, the Aroma of Fragrant Dried Flowers
Fragrance is one of the great advantages to using dried plants and flowers. Buy dried flowers in bulk for the best deals, for example, buy bunches instead of stalks, and you’ll save more money. Dried lavender, chamomile, China tea, eucalyptus, or roses can be bought by the bunch and have fragrances that can’t be beat! You can also buy just the dried buds of the flowers and make dishes filled with combination’s of fragrant flowers, pine cones, dried wood shavings, or tiny gourds, and sprinkle them with potpourri spray or essential oils so they can bring a pleasant aroma to any room they are in.
Budgets are Welcome
If you’re working on an especially tight budget, online coupons and specials can be found easily along with weekly specials in the paper or from your mailbox. You don’t have to look very hard to find special discounts and deals these days! You can definitely make numerous arrangements for your home with very little investment. Any of these great ideas also make super gifts to give for any occasion. Try making one for your mom, sister, or a friend and see how touched they are when they see the beautiful arrangement you’ve created just for them!
For more information about Dried flowers plants please visit: http://www.schustersoftexas.com
Submitted by Rwin m
I will be making my own arrangements and desprately need some ideas. Its a pink/ white wedding theme. The table cloths are white w/ pink runners and black chairs w/pink sashes. I have pink and white paper lanterns and a pink cherry blossom cake�kinda going for an SLIGHT asian theme. I want to also add sme color so I dont overdo it with the pink and white but I have NO IDEA what colors would look nice and compliment the scenary.
The vases my FIL bought are just simple textured clear vases. Fat at the bottle and skinny at the top.
Here�s the closest pic I could find. Yea, boring.
http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:-ovmYQZOFX8O2M:http://www.alfonsosbreakawayglass.com/products/Glass/362.jpg
Consider the size and space where you intend to place your arrangement, as well as the shape of your container and the number of flowers you intend to use. For instance, if your flower arrangement will be placed on the dining table, your flower arrangement should be no more than nine inches high; otherwise your guests will have difficult making conversation across the table.
If you want to put your arrangement on a living room side table, a large vase with a spray of flowers will look overcrowded and out of place; use a small vase and lesser flowers instead. You may also want to use green, water-retaining foams for your fresh cut flowers as these absorb water better than the brown foam used for artificial flowers.
To make a visually pleasing arrangement, use flowers in different stages of development, from tiny buds to open blooms. Put the buds and the smallest flowers at the edges and the top of the arrangement, and the full blooms at the middle or in front of the arrangement. The full blooms are the focal point of the design, whereas the buds work as the accent. Flowers in half-bloom can be placed anywhere between the two.
Don’t be afraid to mix and match different colors, shapes, and textures. Generally speaking, there are three shapes of flowers. Line materials are straight leaves like iris leaves and flowers like lilies, and are used to form the outline of your arrangement. Round flowers like open roses, carnations, and daisies usually make the focal point. Intermediate or filler flowers or small foliage are placed between the other flowers and fill in the design.
Finally, forget the rules and let your instincts take over. The great thing about arranging flowers is that it doesn’t take years and years of training to make them look stunning; after all, flowers are already beautiful things on their own. Pay attention and let your eyes be the judge – you don’t need to be an expert to know which flowers look best next to each other.
This article was written by Timothy Spencer for Island Rose – Flower Delivery Philippines. We hope you enjoyed this article and encourage you to visit our website. Through Island Rose, you can find Florists Philippines or simply browse through our blog for more informative articles.
Coming up soon will be Fathers Day, and Dads do like flowers, too, if we don’t make it to frou-frou looking. I’m thinking for my Dad, something simple, using a grouping of natural wheat (as he is a retired farmer) combined with pencil slim natural Cattails mixed with the flax grass assortment of brown/Bordeaux/natural. For special interest I’ll add a few natural wild turkey skirt feathers. (He’ll love this, as he feeds wild turkeys at his ranch everyday during the winter). I’ll place these in a beer stein with a note: “Check the fridge”
“Tis the Season” is not just for Christmas anymore. Weddings fit that description this time of year. Our grand-daughter has found the man of her dreams, so yes; we’re planning a country wedding & reception to be held outdoors. To my delight, I’ve been asked to help with floral arrangements for the dining table using the bride’s choice of colors & natural dried products. She has suggested using small 12″ bundles of birch branches, adding to the tops of each (at random) natural picked assorted pods of pinecones, okra, lotus, & jinga tied with 2″ wide tan organza ribbon. For the gift & registration table we plan to use a decorated hat box designed with birch branches circling it, held in place with natural raffia, with assorted pods scattered around the bottom, placed on top next to the cut-out slot for wedding cards, will be a tan bow. Included on the table will are the guest book, & a basket filled with complimentary favors/mini net bags filled with lavender buds. Now all we need is perfect weather, the Bride & Groom & “I DO’s”.
Anna Lee Schuster is a design consultant with Shusters of Texas who specializes in dried flower and floral arrangements. Anna teaches and provides tips accross the USA on how to make dried flower floral arrangements.
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