I am up late late writing this post because my third grader has apparently inherited my school work ethic. As in he doesn’t really have one. Well, to be fair he (and I) have one we just prefer to work at the last minute. My penchant for putting off homework or trying to avoid projects altogether was not great for my grades or college applications but far worse than that is the the punishment of passing this DNA to my child. I now have my karma. I ran around all day trying to find styrofoam pumpkin, which is a lot harder this time of year than you would think. Then I had to track down a book at the library and then we were up way later than usual hashing out his rough and final draft because he simply didn’t do any prep work like he was supposed to. It’s going to be a long twelve years+ of schooling for the both of us!
Anyway, onto more exciting and pretty things! It’s no secret that I have a serious crush on grocery store flowers. I have learned that these inexpensive and usually unimpressive flowers can be oh-so-pretty with just a little zhushing. I thought it would be fun to show you how I work with them for a pretty bouquet now and then follow up next week with how I will use them later. All of which can be used to decorate your holiday tables!
First and foremost, I always add a little greenery to my fresh flowers. Whether it is eucalyptus, ferns or something I nabbed from my yard, the arrangements always look prettier with this added bulk.
For this arrangement I snapped off a couple magnolia branches from my tree out front.
Remove the bottom leaves so that it lays right in the vase.
A little tip I learned while at the Better Homes and Gardens Stylemaker event was that you want the blooms (or leaves) to lay at the lip of the vase.
I only put in about 2-3 branches
Next I lay out my flowers by variety.
Carnations have quickly become my go-to flower…they are cheap, hearty, and have a great delicate look.
The key is to cut your stems all different lengths so that the blooms fan out in all directions!
I love the wild organic feel of this arrangement!
Stayed tuned for Part 2 where I will show you a fun way to use your grocery store blooms even after they die…yep that’s right, do not throw out your flowers once they are dead! I have plan for them and you don’t want to miss it!
For other grocery store arrangements I have made in the past check out these:
Katie {Miss Dixie} says
I love grocery store flowers! Pulling fresh magnolia is one of my favorite ways to spruce them up too. Love it.
Holly Gruszka says
Now I know why my flowers never look quite right…b/c I always cut the same length! Great tip on cutting at different lengths. Love that second arrangement so much!