Flower Pumpkins

So cute! I love this idea of using pumpkins and mums for these arrangements.  What a great decorating idea for Thanksgiving.  You could even do this with the kids. 

Click here for details from Better Homes and Gardens.

COLOURLovers - Wedding Palette Possiblities

I spent sometime this morning playing with the COLOURLovers website.  Wow.  If you like experimenting with color, you can spend a good deal of time on this website.  I think it would be really helpful for someone planning a wedding (along with decorating, floral design, you name it).  Say you are struggling with which colors to use for your wedding.  With this website, you can take a favorite painting, photograph, or whatever; throw it into the COLOURLovers picture palette inspiration tool; and ta-da! - the colors that were used in the picture pop up on the screen.  From there, you can create a inspired color palette for your wedding. 

One of my favorite paintings is the Girl in the Window by Dalí.  So, I took a weblink for that painting and came up with this palette.

Check out KenzieKate's guest post on Design*Sponge for a more detailed description of how to use this website.

Air Plants!

The designers are having so much fun with air plants these days! Also known as Tillandsia, air plants are so easy to care for and add a bit of spunk to an arrangement.  Air plants do not have roots, do not require soil, and mainly thrive on the dust and moisture in the air, which means they are super easy for those missing a green thumb.  There are so many ways to use these plants: add them to an arrangement, use them on a piece of drift wood, or place them on top of some beautiful river rocks - that is just the start, the possibilities are endless.

To round out the summer, try getting an air plant and putting it into one of the shells you found this summer at the beach.  Here are the instructions for how-to do it!

 

[via Martha Stewart]

For more information on air plants, click here and here.

College Living

It is that time of the year.  The car gets packed to the gills and you head out to start a new year.  College students all over the U.S. will be decorating their dorms and college apartments over the next few weeks, if they haven't already.  The first year is always the most exciting and overwhelming.  What to bring?  There is tons of advice out there on this.  I remember the monster list I had with great suggestions on items that I needed for the year.  Here are a few lists that I found online: Off-to-College Checklist, Bed Bath and Beyond, and the Container Store.  The Container Store also has some tips for college living on their main dorm room page. And here are some more suggestions to keep organized and manage in a small space.  National Geographic also lists some resources for taking your dorm room green. Remember to check with your school to find out what is allowed in your dorm room and don't forget to plan with your roommate!

My one suggestion would be to add some live plants.  They bring life to the room and offer an inexpensive option for decor.  Try African Violets, succulents, or a money tree for easy to care for options.  Lucky Bamboo or wheat grass are two other ideas that would work too!  Go to your local florist and see what is available that you like. 

[photos via pusgums and cyntheticflava]

Simple Summer Flower Arrangements

Real Simple posted an article with eight simple flower arrangement ideas. The main tip is to use a unique container with one or two different types of flowers. My favorite from their bunch is the gerber daisy table runner with wheat grass - very simple and summery. Click here for step-by-step instructions.
I also like the idea of using beach pales or terra cotta planters as containers too. These are things you have lying around the house - why not put flowers into them to give them new life! Click here for some more ideas.

Old Houseware Items Turned Modern Vases

Better Homes and Gardens has some suggestions for creative flower arrangements. Some of them use items that could be found while looking around antique shops and markets, garage sales, and anywhere else! Or think about other uses for items before you toss them.

Colored Glass Cups	Mercury Glass Containers
Old Watering Can	Rustic Kitchen Containers

Silver Cordial Glasses

Click here for some more ideas.

Simple Rose Arrangement

We often have great specials on rose bouquets.  Take home a dozen or two and make this super simple arrangement.  All you need are the flowers and a short square vase.  Just make sure you have enough roses to fill your vase.  Click here for the instructions by Jill Slater. 

One more below the rim

Simple, elegant. The container makes the arrangement. Just float a few big blooms in a beautiful china bowl and you have a classic center piece! [via Martha Stewart]

Just Below the Rim

For quick and simple flower arrangements, think about big vases and floating flowers. Click on the pictures for details on how to design each flower arrangement.

via Better Homes and Gardens

Wooden Box Tip

I just love this arrangement. The secret to pulling it off though is using smaller containers inside the box to hold the water and the flowers.

via Better Homes and Gardens

Succulent Wreath

Succulents are so unique and interesting.  Instead of just putting them in a pot or box, you can make a cool wreath out of them. Click here is a beautiful example.  Use them for an event, such as a wedding or make one for a housewarming gift!  Check out this video on how to make a succulent wreath - Instructions from Martha Stewart.

Hat Tip

Flower Cones for the Aisle

Better Homes and Gardens has a tutorial for making floral cones to hang on the chairs lining the aisle. Making your own allows you to personalize them to suit your theme and color! Click here for instructions.

Beautiful Simple Arrangements

I tagged these photos back around Mother's Day, so I better post them before Father's Day! Better Homes and Gardens has some wonderful suggestions for unique and simple arrangements. Ranunculus are such fun flowers - I love how they paired them with this special rustic country container.  Could be a good item to look for at antique shops, flea markets, or garage sales!

This seashell arrangement could be used for a beach wedding.  Or just to bring the beach home.  Place a little floral foam inside the shell, and then stick in a few stems of your favorite flowers - parrot tulips were used here.

Click on the pictures to go to the originals.

Everything Guide to Flowers

The New York Magazine published a bunch of articles on flowers this weekend. With an obvious spin toward the NYC flower scene, the articles covered making your own arrangement, caring for the flowers, and using unique vases, among others.

One of the articles featured a sample of the different arrangements you might receive for $100 when asking for the freshest flowers - here is what arrived from florists in NYC:

Click here for descriptions and more arrangements.

Sewing and Flowers

Floral patterns are all the rage this season on the fashion runways. For another way to blend fashion with flowers, check out this photo of some beautiful astrantia set inside vintage wooden sewing spools.  To get you hands on the spools, check Ebay and Casey Wood's Products.

[image via color line]

Colorful Carnations

Check out this tutorial on dying carnations - perfect for your Memorial Day Weekend.  Take some white carnations, put them in cups or vases with red and blue food dye and see what happens! Click here for the details from Make and Takes. As an added bonus - someone responded to the post and suggested splitting the stem of the carnation in half or quarters and then putting each piece of the stem into different colored water to get multi-colored flowers. This could be a fun little experiment to do with your kids.

Pictures via Make and Takes and found via Lovely Little Things.

Flower Arranging

While I was out last week, the New York Times published an article about simple flower arranging. Apartment Therapy (AT) posted about it this past weekend, which is how I came across it. AT ran a poll to see whether or not people were intimated by flower arranging. Most people had no problem arranging their own flowers! Yeah!

The NYT article features De Juan Stroud, a New York floral design company owner. Stoud describes some simple arrangements to make at home. Click here for the article and here for the slide show. The main take away is to keep it simple, with groupings of some vases and flowers of the same color.

[via NY Times]

About carnations Stoud said, that because they are considered trite "only his most sophisticated clients are willing to use them" :). Carnations generally do get a bad rap, but if they are used well, they are wonderful flowers!

Mother's Day! May 11th

Mother's Day is just around the corner.  Don't forget to plan something special for your mom.  Here are some great ideas for how to use flowers to make mom smile!

  

I love this idea!  Surprise mom before she wakes up in the morning. When I was little, we would celebrate mother's day by making our mom breakfast in bed.  We would write up a menu, and then, run upstairs to take her order.  My dad would make up the breakfast with us helping (washing the blueberries and pouring the orange juice).  We would then bring the meal up for her when ready.  We would have really pulled this together by placing a little arrangement of flowers around her bed post!   

I also like the idea of using real flowers to accent gift wrapping.  It is easy to do and adds a special touch to your gifts.  I have seen more elaborate arrangements placed on top of larger boxes, but I think the single rose pictured above works really well too!

Another idea for Better Homes and Gardens is to place flowers inside the present that you are giving to your mom.  If your mom likes to write, you can give her a hand-made pencil holder (like this, this, or this) filled with some of her favorite blooms.  Or if your mom likes to cook, take a mortar and pestle set and fill the mortar with some flowers. 

Just some ideas to get you started - we will post more throughout the week!

[pictures from Better Homes and Gardens]

Spring Centerpieces - Tutorial

Epicurious posted a slideshow with tips on how to make three different spring centerpieces.  Click here for the slideshow.  If you look closely you can see the asparagus lining the square vase for the arrangement at the farthest right. 

The Twist

Matt from PlantTherapy (of Apartment Therapy) posted a wonderful guide on how to twist your tulip stems when making a tulip flower arrangement. The twist is a simple, modern touch that adds a beautiful and sophisticated element to your arrangement. With a little practice, I am sure you can master this design technique too!

Check out the tutorial here - it is complete with instructions and pictures to give you a good idea of what to do. A video from Martha Stewart also shows you how to twist tulips stems - they start talking about the twist around 5:30 minute mark. *I had already posted this link back in February with some more information about tulips.*