Looking for a way to make excellent flower arrangements? Everyone likes flowers; personal choice may vary between fresh and dry ones. DIY flowers are one such way in which you can arrange dry flowers, greenery and other important fillings to form a really good arrangement. Many of us like to do the flowers on our own. The most important thing is that you need to have a general theme behind every arrangement. This is what will help your flowers have a very good appeal.
You can contact a professional florist such as www.americanfloraldistributors.com and order the types of flowers you want for your DIY flowers arrangement from the vast variety available. Once your flowers arrive, you can then proceed with making the arrangement. Have a central theme in your mind. Use the right flowers and make your bouquet look marvellous.
You are a beginner in DIY flowers arrangements? Worry not; here’s what you need to get started.
Now that you have the basic stuff, the next thing that you need now is to know how to arrange them. You can take advice from friends who are artistic, or look up some good interior decoration magazines for ideas. Add on these, put in your own designs and make your arrangements look really beautiful, reflecting your own personality.
You can even look for help online or in other sources like books on flower decoration to know more about the arrangements that are possible with the flowers at hand. You can always look for professional help such as by checking out helpful websites such as www.americanfloraldistributors.com. This is an excellent source of information about the various kinds of flowers and you can be sure about the delivery of top quality flowers.
Last but not the least, you need to understand that when you order for fresh flowers, you must check the delivery methods to make sure that they are delivered on time and are still fresh on arrival.
So go ahead and make your own fantastic flower arrangements with DIY flowers.
Posted on Feb 05, 2010 under dried flowers | Comments are off
In today’s economy, people are looking for bargains more than ever before. Whether trying to cut down a grocery bill, combining trips in the car to save on gas, or eliminating excess spending on luxuries, everyone is trying to save money wherever they can. Even with gift-giving and home decorating, people are starting to do this even less these days. But now you don’t have to give up enhancing your home or giving a beautiful gift to someone; you can accomplish both with dried flower arrangements made from wholesale dried flowers.
Buying dried flowers can be expensive if you purchase them from your local craft store. However, many stores offer seasonal sales on certain varieties of dried flowers and plants at specific times of the year, so call ahead of time or check the store’s circular to see if anything is on sale at that time. Another great idea for saving money is to get your Sunday paper. Many times, special offers will be advertised there that you just can’t find anywhere else. I also like to go online and see if my craft store has any “online only” specials. I also regularly check coupon sites to see if I can find a discount code to use during checkout or I simply search for the online store with the best prices.
Online stores are just about the perfect mix of selection and price. They generally have a large warehouse to store all of the different types of flowers out there. They aren’t limited by shelf space, so you can often times find flowers that are “seasonal only” at the craft stores, but are “year-round” online. Online stores also don’t have the restriction of employee overhead that plagues some of the brick-and-mortar stores. They need only a few employees to pack and ship the orders, so they don’t have to tack on the cost of employees to their products. Another advantage to shopping online is that you aren’t paying inflated prices to compensate for product theft in the store. When thefts occur, businesses lose their product and, as a result, their prices must compensate for that. The last benefit to shopping online is that you’re saving yourself the trip as well as the endless searching for sale items in-store; and if you can get free shipping…you’ve saved yourself both time and money!
Look online for wholesale dried flowers in your area. You can look in your local Yellow Pages (either online or in the printed book) and find some great stores that offer rock-bottom prices that closely compare to online-only stores. Some of them are membership only, so call ahead and see if you need a special license or membership to shop there. However, many of them are “open to the public” and are little gems to find!
No matter what person you’re giving a gift to, dried flower arrangements are perfect. If you’re decorating or redecorating your home, they add a touch of coziness and beauty to your décor. And if you’re like most everyone today, finding flowers from a wholesale dried flowers supplier will help ease the pinch on your wallet too!
Posted on Feb 03, 2010 under dried flowers | Comments are off
There nothing more eye-catching than a gorgeous flower arrangement in the home! They can create a welcoming feeling for guests, provide cheerfulness or relaxation, and are great compliments to any décor. They can either be purchased pre-arranged or can be handmade using your favorite types of silk or dried flowers. If you’re like many of us and are on a budget, it’s a more cost-effective choice to make the arrangement yourself. This way, you’re sure to find sales on the materials and aren’t paying for someone else to do the arranging for you!
Life Imitates Art
One neat trick to making a dramatic statement in a room is to purchase a painting (or use and existing one) and re-create the scene in the picture. For example, a silver bowl filled with pears in a painting can inspire you to find a silver dish at a rummage sale or thrift store and then buy some faux pears at the craft store when they are on sale. You can probably make something like this for under $20 whereas, if you had purchased it pre-arranged, it could cost $100 or more at an upscale design accessory or craft store.
You can do the same scene mimicking with flower arrangements. Find (or use an existing) picture or painting to springboard the type of dried flowers and colors you’ll be using in your project. Even if you don’t have a picture of a flower arrangement, use any existing framed work of art and locate 3 or 4 main colors and begin there. For example, a café scene in a frame could inspire you to pick up the red in the awning, the orange in the outside bistro tables, and the brown in the jars of coffee beans inside the shop window. You can really play around with your arrangements and make the picture come to life with your arrangements! Use the tallest stalks in the center for height and then add shorter ones around the outer perimeter. If you’re using silk plants, gently bend them so they appear more like the real thing.
Ah, the Aroma of Fragrant Dried Flowers
Fragrance is one of the great advantages to using dried plants and flowers. Buy dried flowers in bulk for the best deals, for example, buy bunches instead of stalks, and you’ll save more money. Dried lavender, chamomile, China tea, eucalyptus, or roses can be bought by the bunch and have fragrances that can’t be beat! You can also buy just the dried buds of the flowers and make dishes filled with combinations of fragrant flowers, pine cones, dried wood shavings, or tiny gourds, and sprinkle them with potpourri spray or essential oils so they can bring a pleasant aroma to any room they are in.
Budgets are Welcome
If you’re working on an especially tight budget, online coupons and specials can be found easily along with weekly specials in the paper or from your mailbox. You don’t have to look very hard to find special discounts and deals these days! You can definitely make numerous arrangements for your home with very little investment. Any of these great ideas also make super gifts to give for any occasion. Try making one for your mom, sister, or a friend and see how touched they are when they see the beautiful arrangement you’ve created just for them!
Posted on Feb 02, 2010 under dried flowers | Comments are off
The smell of our home has an effect on how we feel. A citrus smell brings life and zest to your surroundings and energizes. Dried lavender lends a relaxing mood to your environment, while dried roses can enhance a romantic atmosphere. Depending upon the type of mood you’d like to create, dried flowers can truly augment your demeanor. With dried flower arrangements and wreaths, you can bring the joy of nature into your own home.
Fragrances serve many functions in our lives. They can bring back a wonderful memory; for example, the smell of a barbeque might trigger childhood memories of bonfires and cookouts on the beach. Smells can warn us of danger; such as when food is burning. But scents can also make our moods better by energizing us, relaxing us, or helping to enhance our focus. That’s why bringing an arrangement or wreath into our environment can make a real difference in our moods.
Dried flowers come in all types of colors, shapes, and sizes. Dried lavender, for example, can be purchased on the stalk or in dried bud form after they’ve been removed from the stalk. You can place these buds in a bowl or sachet pouch and then combine them with dried rose petals and dried fruit slices to make a sensory-appealing sachet. The bathroom is an especially popular place to put a small dish of sachet, but you could put one anywhere and reap the benefits. Sachet pouches are especially wonderful in dresser drawers or hanging up in your closet to freshen up clothing.
You can also add dried herbs to your sachets and wreaths. Lavender, chamomile, dried mandarin slices, and dried mint are an especially-appealing combination. Buy the long, dried stalks for wreaths and you can hot glue the orange/fruit slices to craft sticks and then attach them to your wreath frame. Since mint doesn’t come in stalks, use another fragrant flower or herb as a substitute. You can find a wide variety at your local craft store or online.
You can also use dried plants in vases as arrangements instead of fresh flowers. You don’t have to try and find a fragrant flower for each one in the bunch; mix it up and use some dried flowers for their beauty and others for their fragrance. Again, you can use craft sticks or skewers and some hot glue to attach dried fruit slices and other plant parts (for example, pine cones and mini-gourds). For smaller vases, stick with smaller, more dense bunches of flowers. Try and use colors that are either in the same hue (for example, reds, oranges, and yellows) or choose a neutral color scheme and add dramatic pops of color (for example, white and yellow flowers with accents of bright blue or orange).
You can make your house a home with the simply elegant addition of dried flower or dried lavender arrangements and wreaths. Nothing is more welcoming than a freshly-smelling home that helps you relax after a long day or energizes you as you get ready to face the world.
Posted on Feb 01, 2010 under silk flowers | Comments are off
Silk flowers can be used to make a bridal bouquet that lasts forever, and it is very similar to arranging a fresh bouquet. Gather the desired silk flowers together, add a few accent flowers, and wrap the stems in ribbon with helpful tips from an experienced professionalflorist in this free video on wedding flowers. Expert: Crystal Nassar Contact: www.tuscanflorist.com Bio: Crystal Nassar is a floral designer and part of a family-owned business, Tuscan Florist, with more than 30 years experience in the floral industry. Filmmaker: Gina Miller-Britton
Giving a handmade gift is something truly unique and special. When you put your heart into making something for a loved one, it’s even more meaningful to them. In the current economy, more families are choosing to forego gift giving because of cost issues. But with dried flower arrangements and wreaths, you can start giving gifts again! They are cost-effective, can be made as small or as large as you want, and add to anyone’s home décor in a way that only flowers can accomplish. Try making an arrangement or wreath for your next gift and watch the appreciative look on your recipient’s face!
First, think of what kind of colors are already in the person’s home. If they favor a southwestern style, for example, you might want to stick with colors that will go with that theme; perhaps peach, pink, and light brown colored plants and flowers. If they have an Asian-themed room, you might choose red-colored dried flowers in long, tall stalks and accent them with dried bamboo branches. If you’re making dried flower arrangements for someone’s kitchen, you might want to stick with sunny colors that will simply brighten their cooking area and lend a cheery accent. Dried yellow roses, cornflowers, and dried lavender are especially gorgeous together in vases and wreaths.
Next, choose where to buy your supplies. Local craft stores are excellent resources for a wide variety of flowers, branches, and dried fruit slices. If your local craft store is expensive, look on their Web site or in your weekly newspaper to see if they are running any special sales or promotions to help you save money. Also, look online for purely online vendors. Sometimes they can be less expensive.
Wreaths for the front door make the perfect gift for anyone. Simply choose a dramatic color to highlight in the wreath and make the rest a color that reflects nature; greens and browns are perfect. This way, the accent color you’ll be using will really pop and add more character to their home’s exterior. Holidays at any time of the year are the perfect time to make a front door wreath. The Fourth of July is an ideal opportunity to adorn a party-hostess’s door with a red, white, and blue arrangement. Wintertime means lots of family and friends, so why not give gifts of gorgeous wreaths and dried flower arrangements a couple of weeks before the holiday in vibrant reds and greens?
Dried flowers can be both decorative and functional. The most fragrant are lavender, chamomile, dried citrus or fruit, rose buds and petals, or dried flowers that have been scented with essential oils. These can add a special touch to dried flower arrangements, wreaths, or sachet pouches that you give as gifts. If you’re planning to make something for the gift recipient’s bedroom, choose relaxing scents like lavender and chamomile. If you’re going for a romantic feel, choose roses in either bud or petal form.
Essential oils of jasmine, rose, or myrrh give an air of elegance and sophistication that encourages romance.
No matter what the occasion, dried flowers make the best gift ideas! Surprise someone you love today with a vase, wreath, or sachet pouch filled with these amazingly beautiful creations from nature.
Posted on Jan 30, 2010 under silk flowers | Comments are off
The bottom line is this: flowers command attention. They have the power to bring a room to life, and the easiest way to keep flowers in a room is to purchase a silk flower arrangement. In most situations, with a bit of judicious arranging, they are ready-to-go, straight from the box, and their visual impact on a room is powerful and immediate.
Silk flowers are very versatile for making beautiful flower arrangements. They come in different sizes and different flower types. Some common ones are, Tulips, Roses, Daisies, and Hydrangeas. You can pick and choose from all the many varieties and sizes to create many different looks. You can vary the look of the arrangement even more by using a variety of vases, such as synthetic ones or clear ones with fake water.
With silk flower arrangements, color is the key. The flowers will attract so much attention that finding an attractive color palette that complements your room’s decor is a necessity. For everyday arrangements, the most common hues are widely available–red, green, cream, and more. Or change the look by adding seasonal blooms, such as flowers in the warm colors of autumn, or try a holiday theme for festive flair. Clear or neutral colored vases allow the flowers themselves to take center stage.
Now that you have the perfect color, the next most important consideration is height. For instance, a short, compact arrangement seems to work best for a space such as the dinner table. This allows your guests to see each other when seated. A taller arrangement would work best with a larger, less intimate space, such as a foyer, or perhaps the mantle above a hearth.
Workplaces need the beauty and color of silk flowers, too, so don’t neglect your office, where you spend so much of your time. A bouquet of silk flowers that’s not too large, not too small, will be both attractive and appropriate for most offices.
The simple beauty of silk flower arrangements makes them an essential element of your decorating designs, but it’s their relatively cheap price that makes them indispensable. Silk bouquets cost roughly the same as comparable arrangements of fresh flowers, with the smaller arrangements priced from $20 to $50, and larger ones from $150 to $250. But unlike fresh blooms, the cost-effective silk variety will be beautiful for years, and need only an occasional gentle dusting to stay looking fresh. And creating a new look is amazingly simple; I can change the look of my table to reflect the changing seasons by simply removing one arrangement and replacing it with another, straight from its box to the dining room, in just minutes.
Posted on Sep 15, 2009 under dried flowers | Comments are off
Wedding bouquets can be dried and preserved by simply hanging them upside down in a cool, dark place. Discover other ways to preserve a bridal bouquet with advice from the owner of a trendy boutique florist in this free video on wedding flowers.
Expert: Melissa Seykora
Bio: Melissa Seykora is the owner of A Village of Flowers in trendy Hillsboro Village in Nashville, Tennessee.
Filmmaker: Dimitri LaBarge
Posted on Sep 13, 2009 under dried flowers | Comments are off
Large hydrangeas are perfect to use as bridal bouquets, and the stems simply need to be bound together with wire, dried off completely and wrapped in satin ribbon to match the wedding colors. Create a simple and fresh bridal bouquet with helpful tips from an experienced professional florist in this free video on wedding flowers.
Expert: Crystal Nassar
Contact: www.tuscanflorist.com
Bio: Crystal Nassar is a floral designer and part of a family-owned business, Tuscan Florist, with more than 30 years experience in the floral industry.
Filmmaker: Gina Miller-Britton
Posted on Aug 04, 2009 under silk flowers | Comments are off
The basis of any artificial flower arrangement is greenery, and it should be placed in such a way that it hides the bottom of the container. Arrange artificial flowers by starting with the biggest flowers first with help from a florist in this free video on flower arrangements.
Expert: Karen Rodowicz
Contact: www.JKFlowersInc.com
Bio: Karen Rodowicz owns JK Flowers in Bellaire Bluffs, Fla.
Filmmaker: Christopher Rokosz
Wedding bouquets can be dried and preserved by simply hanging them upside down in a cool, dark place. Discover other ways to preserve a bridal bouquet with advice from the owner of a trendy boutique florist in this free video on wedding flowers.
Large hydrangeas are perfect to use as bridal bouquets, and the stems simply need to be bound together with wire, dried off completely and wrapped in satin ribbon to match the wedding colors. Create a simple and fresh bridal bouquet with helpful tips from an experienced professional florist in this free video on wedding flowers.
The basis of any artificial flower arrangement is greenery, and it should be placed in such a way that it hides the bottom of the container. Arrange artificial flowers by starting with the biggest flowers first with help from a florist in this free video on flower arrangements.