Recently I teamed up with my sweet friend Jen of Crafted by Jen. This DIY guru and I created simple partyscapes that burst with springtime color!
First thing’s first – we need flowers. Below is a menu of what I used to make our beautiful floral centerpiece, easy enough to re-create for any event. Here’s the flower recipe:
Salal or Lemon Leaf
Variegated Pittopsporum
Yellow Mums – these had green centers which we were ALL over!
Yellow French Tulips
Yellow Pincushion
Orange Alstromeria
Orange Spray Roses
Daisies
Kangaroo Paw
Green Vibirnum
Kumquat Branches
We started by cutting and cleaning all the stems of our flowers. I used a floral knife here but you can use floral shears or sharp scissors. Cutting at an angle helps them “drink” water better.
Speaking of water, the most important thing to do for your flowers is to hydrate them with CLEAN water, free from bacteria. Wherever your blooms come from, make sure that you place them in new, fresh water. Adding a bit of mouthwash can help remove bacteria without using harmful chemicals like bleach or floral food. Make sure you keep them hydrated while working on your arrangement.
Soak half a block of floral foam, making sure that the whole piece is saturated. Place the foam in your vessel and tape with waterproof tape. Use a tic tack toe design to secure in place. If you don’t have tape, make sure that your arrangement won’t be top heavy. I happened to forget this step here and I was ok!
Next, LAYER LAYER LAYER.
Strip your greens so that your stems have a clean base and can be inserted easily. make sure the stem is long enough to touch your water source. Layer greens with lush pieces first then conceal foam by filling in.
You will then want to add your larger headed flowers, again layering with other accent flowers. I added the tulips, vibirnum and kumquat branches last because they were more delicate.
You will have greens left over so don’t let them go to waste. We used salal leaves for name cards but you can easily make a garland, or use left over sprigs of flowers to adorn your fruit stands!
Flowers and sequin table drape is from Blush and Honey.
Jen made the adorable lemon cookies that were just too cute to eat! She also made the darling poms that were strung alongside our garland and those tiny little party hats.
Enjoy!