Pumpkins are popping up everywhere! I find these autumn gourds to be as versatile as Mason jars when it comes to the seemingly infinite DIY possibilities! From Halloween right through Thanksgiving you can use pumpkins for seasonal recipes and truly original decorating. You can carve them, paint them, stencil, and découpage them! You can even make your own “pumpkin” entirely out of fresh flowers, creating a beautiful statement piece for a dinner party or any autumn celebration or get-together!
I am so excited to be able to talk to you all about roses LIVE today at 1p.m./EST on the 1-800 Flowers.com Facebook page!
Our annual Rose Festival is in full swing and I am going to feature some of the fabulous deals that are happening right now, in addition to a few rose preservation demonstrations, and a sweepstakes to enter for a chance to win!
Here are some of the types of roses and rose arrangements that I’ll be referencing and showcasing during my first Facebook Live session. Check it out!! Continue Reading…
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.
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!
If you feel, like I do, that no party is complete without a game or two, here’s a fun idea for your next wine – themed party: a Rosé party game!
Save the corks from the wine you drink, or ask friends and family to save theirs for you to collect. Fill a pretty bowl or any clear container with the corks and have your guests guess how many corks are in the container. Remember to count them as you put them in the bowl.
And the perfect prize for the winner? A bottle of wine of course!
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.
Continue Reading…
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…
