Floral Design – Page 2

Elements of Design: Floral Bouquet Centerpieces

May 4, 2009 by Flower Shop Network Leave a Comment

Whether a budget-oriented bride or not, being able to use wedding decorations in many areas is always a big perk. Many florists are starting to use bouquets (bridesmaids or bridal) as centerpieces on the main table at the wedding. This is a way to keep the bridesmaids bouquets and wedding bouquets fresh before and after the ceremony. Plus, the bridesmaids are able to just snatch the bouquets out of the water and take them home as a wedding favor!

Using unique vases and containers takes this technique to the next level. Showcase the floral bouquets just a little better with a beautiful vase. Creative containers simultaneously keep the flowers fresh and bring to life all of the effort put into creating the beautiful bouquets.

This idea also works for parties such as bachelorette parties. These bouquets liven up the party decorations and also make great party favors! It’s a win-win for hostesses and guests.

This design technique has become a very popular trend in wedding flowers and is seeing an increase at parties. Florists are happy to showcase their prized creations for a little longer. Brides and hostesses are glad to save a few bucks but still have an elegant, beautiful wedding or party. If you’re looking for a quick centerpiece idea, try this trendy new design technique!

Bouquet Centerpieces from The Flower Patch in Gypsum, CO

Short Vase Bouquet Centerpieces from The Flower Patch in Gypsum, CO

Filed Under: Floral Design, Wedding Flowers Tagged With: Bridal Bouquets, Bridesmaids Bouquets, Centerpieces, Containers & Vases, Floral Design, Local Florists, Party Favors, Wedding Bouquets, Wedding Favors

Riddle Me This: What Piques Your Interest?

March 13, 2009 by Flower Shop Network Leave a Comment

Hip Hop Into Easter Because "Somebunny Loves You"

What gains a second look from me?? To be honest, I prefer edgy versions of an original product. Some prefer subdued versions and others delight in the raucous. Whatever it is, there is something to be said for floral industry creations that pique our interest.

Those of us who work in the floral industry take great pride in the trendy new creations that come out of it. The thing that caught my attention recently is a fabulous new trend. I absolutely love how many florists are forming animal shapes out of flowers and accessories. It’s so cool!!

I’ve noticed this trend a lot lately. The Somebunny Loves You arrangement is a particular favorite of mine for this reason. Every chance I get to splash this Easter flower arrangement up is a chance that I take. However, we’re not the only ones doing this. I was browsing the photos at Wedding and Party Network when I stumbled across a puppy formed of daisies. Props to The Garden Girls Flowers & Gifts for being so creative!

Enjoy Kisses & "Puppy Love"

For me it’s very much the same as staring at the face of an innocent puppy. They are so cute and charming! How can you resist them? It’s the same feeling when I see flowers arranged to look like a puppy or other cuddly animal. It’s an irresistible appeal.

Animal flower arrangements are awesome gifts for kids. What kid wouldn’t be entertained with a flower animal? Besides, parents love that there’s less clean up! Anyway, check out these types of arrangements. I think you’ll be impressed!

Piques My Interest is a new monthly blog featuring floral industry creations that, well, peak interest. Know of something that grabs your attention? Email me the what-where-why and it may make next month’s feature! bjackson@flowershopnetwork.com

Filed Under: Floral Design Tagged With: Floral Design, Flower Suggestions, Gift Ideas, Peaks My Interest

The Secret To Creating Unique Containers

March 11, 2009 by Flower Shop Network Leave a Comment

The secret to creating unique containers is…

*drumroll*

Imagination. Indeed, imagination mixed with a little bit of creativity is the secret to creating some of the most fabulously unique containers for all of your arrangements. The most valued vases aren’t the ones that are the biggest and the brightest (necessarily) but rather the ones that express the most unmatched and distinctive qualities.

Creating your own containers and vases is an excellent cost saving measure because it spares the fancy price tag of buying a set amount of someone else’s creations. Better still, each vase or container becomes instantly one-of-a-kind. There may be similar ones crafted by your own hand, but no two are exactly alike. What a great selling point for a unique gift idea!

Creating Unique Vases Step By Step

There are many ways to design and create your own unique vases. To get you started, here is a technique that many florists have found to be an eye-catching design to customers.

Ribbon is a staple item in local flower shops. It brightens an arrangement and adds color where more is needed. It softens the appeal of the bouquet while adding a very distinctive look. There is, however, another way that ribbon is being used that draws on these well-known qualities. Wrapping ribbon around the vase or container is becoming very popular. Not necessarily covering the entire outside of the vase, a small amount of ribbon can be wrapped around the vase to make a very pretty and distinctive pattern. This enhances the beauty of the flower arrangement while adding an extra pop of color and style. Take a look!

Begin by wrapping the ribbon around the base of the vase.

The fun part is in creating these little twists which make the ribbon look like pretty bows!

Form a bow by twisting the two ends of the ribbon around each other over the center of the vase, making sure to line up the knot with the others.

After twisting to form the knot, pull both ends tightly. Maintain pressure while wrapping around again or the knot will loosen and come undone.

Continue to wrap and tie until the top is reached.

Trim the edges of the ribbon and then you have...

The Perfect Creative Vase

Like what you see? Find another great tip for creating your own unique vases in this month’s Aspects of Design post.

Filed Under: Floral Design Tagged With: Containers & Vases, Floral Design, Tips & Tricks

Aspects of Design: Reviving Neglected Vases & Containers

March 3, 2009 by Flower Shop Network Leave a Comment

Ever have a vase that shows up one day with a mysterious defect such as a slight crack or scuffing? I have found a creative way to be able to keep the vase, use it, and make it prettier than before!

Regina Berryman and I were discussing new design techniques when we discovered a slight crack in a vase. It did not penetrate through to the inside (did not allow water leakage) but seemed to be the result of transportation. It also had a bit of scuffing around the defect. We used a tip that we’d learned to make this vase better than before—and all it took was some pot melting glue and spray paint.

First, Regina covered the vase in glue. Spreading the glue on with a thin piece of cardboard, this gave the vase a very unique texture. Note: Trying to create this at home? Hot glue will work also. Simply use a Popsicle stick or something similar to maneuver the glue.

After the glue dried, Regina lightly spray painted the vase until it was covered in a silvery finish. You can use many colors here to accentuate the colors in your flower arrangements. We chose silver simply because it’s a very clean color that does not detract attention from the flowers.

After the glue dried, Regina applied paint to the vase.

The paint was allowed to dry until tacky. Then, powder was lightly applied by hand. This has the same affect as face powder over foundation. It simply creates a consistency that allows the paint to stay on better and maintain its appearance.

Here Regina applies powder to the paint. Believe it or not, it’s Cascade® !

Voila! A one-of-a-kind vase that looks better than ever!

The best hand model ever (me!) displaying a very creative vase.

Filed Under: Floral Design Tagged With: Containers & Vases, Floral Design, Tips For Florists

Aspects of Design: Color Schemes & The Color Wheel

December 2, 2008 by Flower Shop Network 1 Comment

Blended Hues Form Colorful Flowers One of the best things about art class was being able to mix the paints and see all of the variations of color that formed from the controlled spills. Our eyes are naturally drawn to color and soak up the creative hues. Well, florists have the same opportunity every time an arrangement is started. Flowers come in a rainbow of colors so blending the shades and hues into a dazzling, eye-catching bouquet is truly an artform. Skilled floral designers are able to master this technique thanks to the color schemes found in the color wheel used by artists in a variety of genres.

Primary, Secondary, and Intermediate (Tertiary) Inspiration

Most artists are familiar with the primary colors, secondary colors, and tertiary or intermediate colors. These colors form the basis of most other color schemes. The primary colors are red, yellow, and blue. These are the colors that can be blended or toned with achromatic hues to form every other color. Primary colors tend to be vivid and can therefore play a part in any arrangement needed a vibrant pop. These colors are often used alongside achromatic hues (white, black, gray) to please the eye. Secondary colors are orange, green, and violet. These are the colors formed from mixing one of the primary colors with another primary color.

A Pinwheel Color Wheel Tertiary colors are the colors between primary and secondary colors on the color wheel. Red-orange, red-violet, blue-violet, blue-green, yellow-green, and yellow-orange are the tertiary colors. These are formed from mixing a primary color with the closest secondary color on either side according to the color wheel. Tertiary colors are particularly appealing in fall flower arrangements and other occasions that require warm, muted bouquets.

The Eight Main Color Harmonies

Understanding the basic colors and the basis of special colors is just the beginning in mastering the unique interweaving of colorful flowers into a dazzling arrangement. There are also various groupings of colors and their hues. Hue refers to the value of a color, i.e. the rich presence of a color as it applies to the gray scale. Basically, that’s a lengthy way to say how vivid or subtle a color is.

A color harmony is a grouping of specific hues and/or different values of a hue. There are essentially eight (8) color harmonies, though several have popular variations. These color combinations are:

Achromatic: Color scheme referring to a grouping of colors without hue. This includes white, black, and any shades (values) of gray.
Monochromatic: Grouping of various values of one hue; can include achromatic hues (white, black, gray.)
Polychromatic: Color grouping of multiple hues which may be related or unrelated.
Complementary: A pair of hues directly opposite each other and equidistant on the color wheel. Complementary colors and schemes have many variations such as near-complementary, split-complementary, analogous complementary, and double-complementary.
Analogous: Color scheme referring to the grouping of three adjacent hues on the color wheel wherein one color dominates. Ex: deep red, dusky red, dark orange.
Diadic: two colors that are two colors apart on the color wheel; may also be seen as Dyadic referring to a grouping of two.
Triadic: grouping of three hues that are equidistant from one another on the color wheel.
Tetradic: a grouping of four hues that are equidistant from one another on the color wheel; forms an equally spaced double-complement.

Colorful Circle Using these color schemes, a florist can easily create dimension and a colorful dynamic in flower arrangements. Knowing which colors appeal the most to the eye when paired with other colors is as much a matter of science as talent. While no one doubts the designer’s eye of a florist, using the color schemes of the color wheel provides another form of inspiration for floral designers.

Filed Under: Floral Design Tagged With: Color Schemes, Color Wheel, Floral Design, Floral Design Terms

Top 5 Amazing Benefits of Equisetum In Flower Arrangements

November 4, 2008 by Flower Shop Network Leave a Comment

There are many reasons to run out and grab throngs of equisetum stalks (Equisetum hyemale) for use in flower arrangements. Also known as horse tail, I would never have known how cool and diverse equisetum is in flower arrangements if it were not for watching Regina Berryman work with this amazing plant material one day. Regina is certified through the American Institute of Floral Design as well as the American Academy of Floriculture.

Regina Creating An Equisetum (Horsetail) Arrangement

Regina Berryman Creating An Equisetum (Horsetail) Arrangement

I was caught off guard one day while watching Regina create a contemporary arrangement of red gerbera daisies and equisetum. The movement and flow that this odd little stalk created was very eye-catching and rather charming. Regina was kind enough to explain a few of the many benefits of using horse tail [Read more…]

Filed Under: Floral Design Tagged With: Equisetum, Floral Design, Flower Arrangements, Horse Tail

High Fun and High Design With Hydrangeas

September 24, 2008 by Flower Shop Network Leave a Comment

Pink Hydrangea Bridal Bouquet

Hydrangeas are the true definition of mass flowers. It’s easy to see why hydrangeas have received such a recent boost in popularity. These versatile blooms appear to be bursting at the stems with colorful blossoms that can appear in purple, hot pink, green, blue, white, multicolored and more.

This very full appearance makes hydrangeas the first choice of many floral designers looking to add mass and dimension but lack the time or budget to use many stems. Because of this, a single stem can easily take the place of many other focal flowers. Who doesn’t want more bang for their buck?

Tony Medlock of PJ’s Flowers and Gifts knows this design tip well. One of the talented florists in Phoenix, Arizona, Tony understands that hydrangeas are the star of the show and need little extra for a beautiful flower arrangement. Many of his creative hydrangea arrangements focus on the dynamic presence of the hydrangeas. This larger-than-life quality coupled with simple floral accessories gives the hydrangea arrangements an architectural significance matched by few other flowers.

Blue Hydrangea Blooms

Hydrangeas also are such a quality mass flower that the attention is easily diverted to the flower itself regardless of how ornate or simple the adorning decorations appear. A simple cluster of hydrangea stems can easily be carried as a beautiful wedding bouquet, used as a quick and simple table centerpiece, or accented by peonies or roses for a large, decorative flower arrangement.

Stems of hydrangeas can also be purchased from local florists for a wide variety of creative uses around the home such as decorating around a Jacuzzi tub for a romantic anniversary celebration. Whatever the use, hydrangeas offer the perfect balance of beauty and boldness for every occasion.

Filed Under: Floral Design, Flower Suggestions Tagged With: Arizona Florists, Bridal Bouquets, Floral Design, Flower Suggestions, Hydrangeas, Mass Flowers, Phoenix Arizona Florists, PJ's Flowers and Gifts

Flower Displays Using Color Blocking Technique

January 24, 2008 by Jamie Jamison Adams 1 Comment

Ask the Expert: I have been told that color blocking for flowers is an excellent way to
display assortment of flower please reply Tari Hendrie

Tari,

Color blocking is an excellent flower display strategy. It is especially helpful when you are creating venues in your store. Color blocking is a technique in which a mass quantity of color is used to create a dramatic or eye catching effect. This is a creative, yet simple, way to display cut fresh flowers, blooming plants or bedding plants. It is, also, a flexible and versatile way to display an assortment of flowers. You can create beautiful flower displays by grouping flowers of the same color with different size blooms and textures. The intense concentration of color will draw attention to the flowers while the assorted textures will create depth and interest. Grouping buckets of gerberas, gladiolus, roses and lilies (all some shade of orange) around a grouping of cobalt blue vases or glazed pottery will create a display that will draw the customers to, both, the flowers and the containers.

Another form of color blocking is to create a display of color bands. This involves using multiple flower color groupings side by side; grouping either complimentary or contrasting colors together depending on the effect you desire. While giving them a “wow” factor that entices them to select more flowers, this type of flower display shows customers how colors relate to each other.

Filed Under: Floral Design Tagged With: Ask The Plant Expert, Color Blocking, Floral Design, Floral Design, Floral Design Tips

Cascading Orchid Bouquet – Designing Without A Water Source

January 21, 2008 by Jamie Jamison Adams 11 Comments

Ask the Expert: orchid question

I am helping a friend with her wedding flowers. She wants to have phalaeonpsis orchids in a cascade bouquet. If I make a cascade bouquet and have to wire in some flowers (they would have no water source) how long can she expect them to last. She needs to have it made on a Friday to transport 1 1/2 hours to another town. Then the wedding is not until 4:00pm Saturday. Will the bouquet hold up for this amount of time? Thanks! Shellie

Shellie,

With the time and transportation issues, I would not take a chance on using Phalaenopsis orchids without a water source. However, there maybe one or two solutions to your problem. You can soak chenelle stems (pipe cleaners) in water and insert them in the [Read more…]

Filed Under: Floral Design Tagged With: Ask The Plant Expert, Floral Design, Orchids, Wedding Flowers

Grave Blanket with Christmas Garland & Grapevine

December 26, 2007 by Jamie Jamison Adams 3 Comments

I was wondering if you have heard of making a grave blanket out of grapevine and christmas tree outdoor garland. I am wanting to make one for my brother that passed last christmas.

These are pictures of the grave blanket made by Liberty.

Filed Under: Floral Design Tagged With: Ask The Plant Expert, Christmas Flowers, Floral Design, Grave Blankets