Pink Roses and Cymbidium Orchids In A Reed Box

I found this pre-made organic reed box and thought it would be charming to create a flower arrangement using it.  The box came with a plastic liner that I filled with florist foam.  The roses are cut short and the cymbidium orchid blooms are placed in spiked water tubes. I used Italian ruscus to form a collar around the edge of the box.

Started another blog at BrandySpears.com

How To Make A Sunflower Topiary Centerpiece

Nothing says Summer has arrived more than the vibrant colors of sunflowers.  In this tutorial, I will cover how to make yourself a sunflower topiary trimmed with ivy and yellow with brown centered mums as an accent flower.

Photo:  Sunflower topiary - designed by Brandy Spears.


Photo: Detail view of sunflower topiary - design by Brandy Spears.


Photo detail: Outdoor shot of sunflower topiary with natural lighting - design by Brandy Spears.


Whether designing this topiary for a summer party, wedding reception centerpiece, for yourself or aas a gift to a friend, you'll find out by watching my how to do it yourself video tutorial exactly how simple this design can be.

Flowers needed for 1 topiary:
9 sunflowers with straight long stems
1/2 bunch of salal (lemon leaf)
1/2 bunch of scented mint geranium
4 stems of small yellow mum with brown center
6 long pieces of ivy

Floral supplies and mechanics needed:
Sharp floral knife
Florist tape
1/2 brick of florist foam
Pottery container with a 5" opening 

How to do it yourself tutorial:


Have fun designing!
Brandy

Examples of vased flowers for simple centerpieces

Photo:  Rectangular vase of hyrdrangea, cymbidium and dendrobium orchids, two-tone roses, and tulips nestled on top of a bed of scented mint geranium leaves. Design by Brandy Spears.

 Photo:  Round vase of hydrangea, cymbidium and dendrobium orchids, two-tone roses, veronica, mini calla lilies and tulips nestled on top of a bed of scented mint geranium leaves. Design by Brandy Spears.

 Photo: Cube filled with two-toned pink and white roses, green double bloomed tulips collared by mini green hydrangea.  Design by Brandy Spears.

Clustered French Flower Market Bucket For A Baby Shower, Gift Or Wedding Reception

The inspiration for this design came from a French hotel ice bucket that I found at a local discount home store.  You could distress and paint your own in shades of whites, pinks, greens or black.  The design looks like a clustered collection of flowers and grapes after an afternoon of shopping at a flower market.  This easy how to do it yourself design is suitable for a girl's baby shower, bridal shower, to give as a gift to a friend, wedding reception centerpiece or to keep for yourself!

Photo:  French hotel ice bucket filled with flowers and fruit by Brandy Spears

Photo:  Back view of the cluster  floral design by Brandy Spears.

Photo:  Bird's eye view of orchids, roses, hydrangea, grapes, peonies, tulips - design by Brandy Spears.

Photo:  Inspiration came from the detail on this vintage style Paris hotel ice bucket - design by Brandy Spears.

Florist supplies and mechanics needed:

• Waterproof metal bucket with  6-8" opening  (here is a cute one in pink!)
• Florist knife
• 2 bricks of florist foam
• Several used grocery store bags or cellophane
• Florist wire
• Wire Cutters
• Florist tape
• Florist water tubes
• 2 florist picks or chopsticks

Flowers needed to make 1 arrangement:

• 2 large heads of white hydrangea
• 3 fully bloomed hot pink peonies
• 1 large cluster of green grapes cut into 2  pieces and wired
• 6 blushed pink cymbidium orchids blooms
• 9 light pink Ecuadorian roses (Esperance variety) opened
• Growers package of green double bloomed local tulips
• 3 stems of miniature green hydrangea

How to do it yourself video tutorial:

Part 1:


Part 2:


Thanks for visiting my how to flowers blog.  Have fun designing!
Brandy

Tall Wedding Centerpiece With Green Grapes And Pink Flowers

Tall wedding centerpieces push the eye upwards and gives a WOW effect when when your guests enter the reception venue. This creation gives a high perception value of cost BUT is half the price of the previous arrangement I did with the same flowers in the previous how to do it yourself wedding centerpiece video.

Green grapes and pink flowers crown this empty vase.  Wedding centerpiece design by Brandy Spears


To create this centerpiece I used a 24" glass vase with a 4.5" opening at the top. Using a caged florist foam resting on top of the empty vase, I hung hanging green amaranthus, wired in hanging green grapes, inserted a few stems of green with burgundy center dendrobium orchids. The top of the arrangement was done in shades of pink and hot pink peonies, roses, green tulips, blushed pink cybidium orchids over a foundation of hot pink hydrangea. When placed on a dinner table, measuring from the floor the top of the arrangement will be from 66" to 72" tall!

Photo detail of flowers designed by Brandy Spears.

I intentionally chose to leave the vase empty and instead placed a cluster of green grapes with a cybidium orchid resting on top.  This allows the arrangements to have a visual perception of floating in air.  If you would like a more anchored to the table look, you could fill the vase with rose petals, orchid blooms or stems or perhaps some decorative wire.

Photo detail of floral design by Brandy Spears

Floral supplies and mechanics needed for this design:

• Green florist tape
• Florist wire
• Florist knife 
• Wire cutters
• 20" tall clear vase with 3.5" to 4.5" opening
• 4.5"  caged round florist foam
• Plumber's putty

Flowers needed to create 1 centerpiece:

• 2 large stems of hot pink hydrangea (see photos and video for color)
• 6 Esperance roses
• 1 growers package of 10 green with burgundy center dendrobium orchids
• 6 blooms of blushed pink cymbidium orchids
• 1 growers package of 9 green double bloomed tulips (local variety)
• 2 large clusters of green grapes from supermarket
• 1 growers bunch of green hanging amaranthus
• 3 hot pink peonies fully bloomed

How to do it yourself video tutorials -
Part 1:


Part 2:


Part 3:


Hope you enjoyed and have fun designing!
Brandy

Euro Style Pink Bridal Bouquet and Wedding Centerpiece

This is a very romantic hand tied bouquet in shades of pink.  Hot pink hydrangea, mini green hydrangeas, two-toned Esperance roses with ruffled edges, feathery veronica, blushed pink cymbidium orchids, blushed mini calla lilies and double bloomed green tulips.

Photo:  Euro style hand tied pink bridal bouquet by Brandy Spears. 

 

Photo:  Coordinating wedding centerpiece in a glass cube by Brandy Spears.

Photo: side view of wedding centerpiece - design by Brandy Spears

Floral supplies and mechanics needed:

• Green florist tape
• Green florist wire
• Sharp florist knife
• White or pink organza  ribbon
• Scissors
• Wire cutters
• Pearl tipped corsage pins
• Glass cube

Flowers needed for bridal bouquet:

• 7-8 stems of Esperance roses - 40cm
• 4 stems of hot pink hydrangea (see photos and video for color)
• 1 stem of blushed pink cymbidium orchids - 6 blooms (see photos and video for color)
• 1 package of 12 green doubled bloomed tulips
• 3 miniature green hydrangea stems
• 1 bunch of pink veronica ( see photos and video for color)
• 1 bunch of 5 hot pink peonies (see photos and video for color)
• 1 bunch of 9 miniature pink blushed calla lilies (see photos and video for color)

Flowers needed for 1 wedding centerpiece (capable of dominating the center of a round table for 8-10 persons):

• 6-7 large heads of hot pink hydrangea (see photos and video for color)
• 1 dozen Esperance roses - 40cm
• 6 blooms from blushed pink cymbidium orchid stem
• 1 package of 12 green double bloomed tulips
• 3 miniature green hydrangea stems
• 1 bunch of 5 hot pink peonies (see photos and video for color)
• 1 bunch of 9 pink blushed calla lilies (see photos and video for color)
• 1 bunch of pink veronica (see photos and video for color)

The bridal bouquet: video instructions for designing this pink hand-tied bouquet will include conditioning and prepping the flowers and the design.  Preparing the flowers that are going to be used in the design is very important and will increase the life and the beauty of the bouquet.

How to do it yourself video tutorials:
Part 1:


Part 2:


Part 3:


Part 4:


How to do it yourself video tutorial on wedding centerpiece design: I explain a basic design steps of designing a finished product of 10" x 10" pave' design in a 6" x 6" glass cube. This wedding centerpiece is quite large and can easily fill the center of a round table for 8 to 10 guests.

Part 1:


Part 2:


Thanks for visiting my how to blog,
Brandy