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!
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.
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!
Knowing a few tricks from the floral industry can make it so easy to create beautiful, one-of-a-kind pieces that can set your party apart from the crowd!For this pretty wine cooler/centerpiece, you’ll need an oblong waterproof tray, a couple of IGLU floral foam cages, fresh flowers, and foliage.
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Whenever I am decorating for a party, holiday, or any special occasion, I start with what I already have and repurpose things to fit the theme! Case in point is this rosé-themed tablescape that incorporates myrtle topiaries from my backyard, a few odd napkins, scraps of ribbon, and a homemade garland.
In my last post, I showed you how to surround your bottles of rosé (I love the Harry & David rosé shown above!) with a wreath of blooming summer roses. Now I’ll show you how to keep the rosé chilled with frozen rose buds!
I would have made these in an ice cube tray, but because I have an automatic ice maker at home I didn’t have any trays on hand. I did, however, have plastic shot glasses, so I decided to go with them. Continue Reading…
This summer, everything is coming up roses and rosé! And that means lots of fabulous party décor in today’s trendiest color-pink! Here’s a particularly pretty way to display your rosé while keeping it chill at the same time.
If you don’t have your own rose garden, or a blooming rose bush, don’t worry; roses are abundant this time of year…and priced right. Continue Reading…
I love putting the right combination of flowers and container together to create a gift that speaks to a person’s heart. This time it spoke to my heart as well because I was creating a Mother’s Day gift for my granddaughter to give to her mom, my daughter-in-law Lina.
Lina and I both love objects with a story and history, and she has always admired my collection of Made in America hobnail milk glass from the Fenton® company!
I have given Lina a few pieces over the years, including this cachepot. It’s one of my favorite shapes and sizes. It looks stunning filled with fresh-cut flowers and just as fabulous when empty with an LED votive light inside. It gives the milk glass a pretty warm glow.
Once we chose the container, it was time to choose the flowers for our bouquet. Olivia knows what she likes and pink is her favorite color!
My grandson Manny was impressed by a Valentine’s post that I did showing how to use a wood-burning pen to personalize a birch container, and asked me to help him make one for his mom for Mother’s Day. Of course I said yes!
I chose a tall cylindrical shape vase for him to work with because it is the perfect shape to fill with beautiful spring tulips.
We started by making a template for the heart.
As easy as it looks to use a Sharpie® to give your mom’s gift that personal touch, it just might not be your thing!
Well here’s a super cute and super easy solution! I picked up multiples of this perfect little “mug with a message” at my favorite off-price lifestyle store. I immediately thought of so many mom friends that I wanted to surprise with a little something on their special day! Continue Reading…
