Here’s another way to design using the sunny and versatile sunflower. I’ve found that both their large centers and hardiness make them the perfect vessel for holding a votive or tea light candle.
These are two methods that I’ve used and both work great!
One look at a sunflower and you’ll understand why it’s been drawn, painted, and written about for years. Standing tall above most other popular flowers, sunflowers bring a smile to everyone’s face.
While we all know sunflowers are beautiful, there’s a lot more to these showstopping flowers than meets the eye. Here are some interesting sunflower facts: Continue Reading…
The sunflower has been adopted as a symbol of happiness, strength, a love of the sun and sunlight. Because the sunflower always turns its face to the sun, it has also come to symbolize faith and the constant search for light, or enlightenment. Everybody loves sunflowers!
Here are a few ways to incorporate the irresistible beauty and warmth of the sunflower into your next summer get-together.
For an updated twist on a traditional centerpiece, an assortment of vintage-style green and yellow bottles, each holding a single sunflower, are lined down the center of the table creating a garden of sunflowers with their faces looking up to the sun!
Sunflowers come in many different colors and sizes—from mini to giant. Our super-size sunflower placemats make a big impact and are easy to make!
Cut one cardboard circle for each placemat. (This is a good use for old cardboard boxes!) Each circle should be about 10″. I used a dinner plate as a template to trace a circle onto the cardboard, which worked perfectly. Use the sponge to add brown paint to your circle, leaving a bit of the original cardboard color showing through to create a textured look for your sunflower center.
Cut all of the salal leaves from the stem and spray paint them yellow. Once they have dried, glue the wider end of the larger sized leaves to the edge of the cardboard circle.
Glue the smaller leaves between each of the larger leaves.
With fresh salal leaves, the sunflower placemats can be made a day or two before you plan to use them. Keep them flat and in a cool place.
Back to school flowers can help everyone start the new school year off on the right foot! According to research conducted at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, the presence of flowers triggers happy emotions, heightens feelings of life satisfaction and affects social behavior in a positive manner far beyond what is normally believed. “Flowers bring about positive emotional feelings in those who enter a room,” said Dr. Haviland-Jones. “They make the space more welcoming and create a sharing atmosphere.”
Here are some creative ideas that you and your child can put together the day before school starts. Your child might be a little nervous about the first day of school and spending time with you, putting a floral or plant gift together for the teacher will relax them and get them excited about giving their new teacher such a beautiful gift. Continue Reading…
Sunflowers are one of the most popular flowers, and for good reason. Their shape and bright yellow, orange & red petals are symbolic of the sun. Sunflowers symbolize radiant happiness and all things positive.
There are many different varieties of sunflowers and just as many ways to design and enjoy them. The topiary design is an easy way to display these cheerful blooms. And you can use this one design technique to create many different looks and styles, depending on the size and shape of the container and the sunflowers you use, whether you incorporate foliage and other floral varieties, as well as the accessories you add such as ribbon, raffia etc.
Here is a basic step-by-step for creating a sunflower topiary. The rest is up to you and your own creativity!
Retirement is one of the biggest milestones a person will reach in their lifetime. This is an exciting time in your coworker’s life, so make sure you send them off with a retirement gift that they’ll never forget!
Especially if they’re leaving the company after years of service, make sure they feel like their work has been appreciated and they’ll be remembered. Their time in your office may be over, but every home needs elegant stationary!
There’s no better way to say “thank you and good luck” than with a glorious bouquet of flowers. From seasonal designs to bouquets with “congratulations” balloons, flowers are a retirement gift staple!
With all the time in the world now on their hands, many retirees like to take retirement as an opportunity to indulge in their hobbies.
The days of heading home before the game ends are officially over! Get the sports enthusiast in your life even more reasons to love his favorite game with popcorn tins featuring his favorite baseball or football team.
Using only the stars to guide their canoes, early Polynesian voyagers who settled in Hawaii were some of the first people to create and wear leis. Little did they know that hundreds of years later, the tradition of wearing and giving leis would be stronger than ever!
Initially, the first Polynesian settlers on Hawaii wore leis in order to make themselves more beautiful, distinguish certain groups from others, and as a sign of affection. When someone from another town would visit, presenting them with a lei was a way of symbolically welcoming them as a part of the group.
The Maile lei is one of the most significant leis in Hawaiian culture. Among its many uses, the Maile lei was most commonly used when worshiping the gods or given from one chief to another as a symbol of peace in times of war. For that reason, maile remains one of the most popular lei materials still used today. Continue Reading…
From hundred-year-old superstitions to family traditions your grandmother insists on continuing, perhaps no one day is more wrapped in tradition than your wedding day. And while most of us know what they are, few of us know how these decade-old traditions came about and why they’re so symbolic.
Whether you’re tying the knot this year, know someone who is, or are just interested in learning more about wedding culture, take a look below at some of our favorite wedding traditions and the meanings behind them.
Many people have a bit of a love-hate relationship with tropical flowers. While many people are enticed by their unique beauty and fun colors, they’re also a bit skeptical to grow them. That’s why we’re here to set the record straight! Once you try growing these flowers, you’ll realize that “tropical” is in no way a synonym for “difficult.”
Don’t let the word “tropical” scare you. In most cases, a tropical plant simply needs a good amount of water and a warm environment to grow in. See? That’s not that scary! If you have a sunroom or ledge that receives a lot of warmth, you’re well on your way to nurturing a tropical flower.
Looking like a cross between a poinsettia and an orchid, anthurium plants add an instant pop of color into any room. More than that, they’re a great conversation starter!
Nothing ruins a sunny summer day spent out on your porch like the constant buzzing of bees or the bite of a mosquito. But before you assume your garden is the problem, we’re here to tell you that it might actually be the solution — you just have to know what type of flowers to grow!
While us humans love the relaxing scent of lavender, bugs don’t care for it. In fact, they try their best to avoid it at all costs! If you’re looking to deter moths, fleas, flies, and mosquitoes from entering your home, try planting bushels of lavender at entryways around your house.
If hard shell bugs are a problem by you, add chrysanthemums to your garden. These colorful little flowers repel everything from roaches and Japanese beetles, to bed bugs, spider mites, and ticks.
