Some Pieces from Around the Web

Check out the links below for some of the items that I have bookmarked over the past few months. 

Flower Arrangements

• Summer Flower Arranging Tips for low vases from Apartment Therapy
• How To: Display Cut Flowers (10 Easy Ways) from Apartment Therapy
• Retro Vignettes of flower arrangements from Desire to Inspire
• Hodgepodge of single stem tulips in blue vases from Lovely Little Things

Vases

• Polka Dot and Stripes vases from {frolic!} 
• Sara Paloma Vases from {frolic!} 
• Postfossil's Torre Pot from happy mundane
• Easy Fabric Vase Covers from How about orange...

Miscellaneous

• Terrariums and Aquariums from Koko Studios (found via Apartment Therapy)
• 10 Best Succulents from Apartment Therapy

 

If you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it is your world for the moment.

Georgia O'Keefe

Vases by Alyssa Ettinger

Alyssa Ettinger has some really nice white porcelain vases for sale in her etsy shop. I have a soft spot for old milk jug style jugs - so I just loves these! (Right: Milk Collection, $30; Left: Set of Three, NYC Theme, $110)

I also love the detail here for the knitware vase (Flat Mod Cable, $150).

Found via PoppyTalk and click here for more designs.

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.

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]

Sunny Yellow

Love this very simple arrangement! Look at what a big bunch of daisies can do in a bright bucket vase!

[via Real Simple]

Containers Can Make the Arrangement

 

Happy Weekend!

[via Real Simple]

West Elm Glass Vases and Pots on Sale!

West Elm has a sale going on right now. These artisanal vases and pots are all on sale. The top row vases come in a group of three: orange $34.99 (previously, $49.00); white $44.99 (previously $69.00). They have a set of blue vases and a set of small bulb vases for sale too. The bottom row pots also come in a group of three: large pots $29.99 (previously $34.00); small pots $19.99 (previously $34.00).

Click here for more.

Group of White Vases

More vases to help with the single-stem-grouping flower arranging style! Available from Graham and Green in the UK in either a 7 or 12 stem group. 

 

Found via Lovely Little Things

Unique Vases

A Cup of Jo recently asked her readers for tips on unusual vases.  We have covered some of the ideas posted, (like the test tubes, egg cups, tea tins, and toothbrush holder ideas) but here are some additional ideas people posted:

• French Coffee Press
• Martinelli's Apple Juice Bottles or Orangina Bottles
• Old Blender
• Shot Glasses
• Silver Trophies
• Candle Sticks
• Rain boots
• And...Sandwich bag in a pair of jeans

This is a little more than what the poster was suggesting, but just to give you an idea!

via hong kong daily photo

Click here and here are some other ideas.

Bridal Shower - Good Advice

Better Homes and Gardens has an article on their website about throwing a "Good Advice" shower.  I really like this idea for a bridal or even a baby shower, because it is a great way to involve the guests.  Plus, coming up with one line of advice, can't be too hard! Here are some suggestions on how to match the advice (from BHG) with the present:

Advice: Take turns cooking for each other.
Gift: Favorite cookbook and kitchen tools.

Advice: Experience new things.
Gift: Travel accessories.

Click here for the article - the main point is to include a cute card along with the invitation (maybe a pocket envelope invitation), provide some instructions on what to do with the card, and have the bride read each card aloud before she opens the present!

 

Another great suggestion, if you are doing your own food, buffet style, is to use square vases as containers.  This makes for a nice uniform, modern look.

Go check out the article for some more great suggestions!

Flex Vase

In doing some research for another post, I ran across this very interesting "test tube" vase at the Museum of Modern Art website.  Designed by Andy Designs, this award winning vase combines test tubes with flexible connectors, which allow the vase to form different shapes and sizes. Go to their website to see a video on how the vase works!

 

 

Here are just some of the patterns you can make with the vase.  Click here for more tips. 

Hanging Vases and Flowers

For some reason, I have been drawn to hanging vases lately.  By hanging a vase with flowers, they are directly at eye-level when you walk into a room, so you seem them right away.  I think it is romantic and a little unexpected.

[image from KaBloom of Sandy Springs]

CB2 has two hanging vases available for purchase and a few hanging candles.  Hang them in a cluster to create beautiful floral arrangement that is surrounded by candle light.  First seen on Loving Living Small.

Or click on the following link for an article on how to make your own: Tips on Making your Own.

Just one more... gray this time!

But, if you want to stay with the times and the gray trend for this spring, check out these very cool vases by Tina Frey (found via Oh Joy!). Yellow and green containers are available too.

Feeling Green Vases

Feeling some green today.  For some reasons, most of the of vases I have tagged from Etsy for a post turned out to be green glass.  So, I decided to focus on it!  Check out some of these beautiful vintage vases for Etsy.

 

[click on each vase to go to the seller - garagesale, sweetrice, and MyVintagePad]

 

And then some of these handblown creations from SolosGlass in Richmond,  VA. 

[click on each picture to get purchasing information]

Vase Alternatives

Here are some more vase alternatives that I have stumbled upon over the past few weeks.

Tons of vessels can serve as vases, such as scientific beakers or test tubes in a test tube holder, Wellington boots, mason jars, or wine carafes. The other day, I saw a bunch of flowers nicely arranged in a plain white-coffee mug! Basically, you can use anything!

The important thing to remember is to use a small glass to hold the flowers for anything that is not watertight or waterproof. The picture below, from Better Home and Gardens, uses Chinese take-out boxes (via All Things for All Parties). I have also seen pictures displaying flowers in tea tins. Just get creative!

I love the idea of just wrapping something around a vase to give it another look. You can use ribbons, beads, paper, any type of material. We posted an idea a few weeks back that used placemats. Judith Blacklock from the UK has two great ideas posted on her website. Wrap some cloth around a vase and tie some twine around the cloth to get the look below.

Judith Blacklock Flower School in the UK

Or take a regular vase, a rubber band, and some sticky stuff, get some rhubarb and lily grass, and make a vase covering like the one below. Click here for complete instructions! You could use bamboo or pussy willow as alternative ideas.

Click here and here for some vase ideas that we posted in previous weeks.

update: I just saw a post by Silly Little Mischief that suggests using pitchers, sugar bowls, and teapots - check out her blog for some great pics!

Easter Flowers

Easter is just a few days away!  This was our store display from last year, which I just stumbled upon - so, I thought I would share it!  I love the green grass bunnies and the bright tissue paper pompoms from this display.  I will try to get some pictures up from this year's window, but no guarantees.

For some home decorating inspiration, here are some pictures of Easter arrangements from Martha Stewart.  I love the use of the egg cups and cake platters in the first picture - another creative way to use home objects as vases. 

[images from martha stewart online,  left and right]

These pictures use homemade vases - the first one is made from an ostrich egg!  Click on the links below for the instructions on how to make each one. 

  [images from martha stewart online (left and right) and here are the instructions (left and right) on how to make vases]

More DIY Vase Hacks

If you have some free time this weekend, try making a few "do-it-yourself" vases. Here some ideas that I tagged a while back.

Take a paint bucket, then take some decorative paper or magazine images, and decoupage the outside of the bucket. [via better home and gardens]

Wrap a natural-fiber place mat around a tall cylindrical vase. Click here for details on making the vase. [via Sunset Magazine]

Use a paper lantern to add a different texture and some color to your flower arrangement. For instructions on how to make your own, click here [via Martha Stewart Living].

For some more ideas, check our previous post on DIY vase hacks.

Around the Blogs - Vases

Here are some really cool vases that I have bookmarked from the web and various blogs. I have had them tagged for a while now - it is time to post them!

Apartment Therapy posted some gray cubes a while back. They can double as a vase or candle holder. Check them out at Home Port, which also has these tall Gazon vases of hand blown glass.

[images via Home Port; found via Apartment Therapy]

These inside-out vases definitely flip things around for you. Emiko Oki has a few different types of inverted glass objects that you can see here.

[image via emiko oki; found via sub-studio]

I spotted this cute artichoke vase from the Global Table a little while back. I love how delicate the leaves look.

[image via Global Table]

Last but not least - This is a great idea for those of you who want to bring flowers into the work place or any other tight-spaced place. Jill-able's Fill Me Up Vase lies flat when not in use, but can be filled with water to hold your flowers. If you go to Jill-able's website, you can watch a YouTube video that shows you how the vase works.

[images via Jill-able; found via MocoLoco]