Floral Arrangements with Paris
My mom, Paris, creates incredible faux floral arrangements. She changes them based on season and they are stunning and does a set for her house and mine. It is something she really enjoys and is really good at. I was with her when she did my arrangements this year, so I asked her to share some of her tips and tricks for making these kinds of arrangements, because they always turn out beautifully.
Floral Arrangements with My Mom | Tips and Tricks
To start out, we separate all of the supplies into categories so we know what we are working with and gather our vases. We have foundation pieces from the last few years that are just a small central grouping I've wired together. These foundation pieces anchor the entire arrangement. With any flowers looking a little worse for the wear, we use a hairdryer to puff it up again. It is better to use a hair dryer as opposed to a steamer or curling iron if you can, because the hair dryer won't mess with the glitter that is on a lot of the floral elements. The hair dryer will just blows it around as opposed to peeling, burning or damaging the flowers.
When she starts arranging, she uses a big branch in the back for stability. This creates a central focal point that takes up a good amount of space in the vase and just kind of holds the whole thing together. When she's deciding what goes in an arrangement, she tries to focus on what the receiver wants. For my vases, I tell her what color scheme and vibe I want and she uses what she has as well as keeps an eye out when she's shopping for colors and styles that coordinate. For example, she bought some pieces where the branch is silver and the stalk is kind of brown but she hasn't been able to find anything that they work with. She bought them when they were on a really good sale instead of for someone in particular, so they haven't made it into any arrangements yet. She also bought some big feathers without anyone in mind and can't find anything to use them in. She ended up breaking them down and putting them into a Christmas tree, but they get kind of lost in there. They can't stand on their own in a small arrangement. Buying for a specific arrangement/person in mind is key.
When you have arrangements that need a lot of height, it is important to start with that anchor piece being very tall and then add elements from each of the categories you have previously separated. You add little pieces at a time to create the balance. She often reuses the same element in a different way year to year which makes each years arrangement unique. She also often gets a big element and then breaks it down into smaller, more manageable pieces. In the large white poinsettia stalks, she's broken them down so they don't overwhelm the entire arrangement. Another tip from her is to keep all the scraps even when she has torn apart a stalk of flowers. Sometimes you just need something really small to fill in a gap to make everything more cohesive. My daughter decided she wants to have a centerpiece in her room, but since her room already has a lot going on in it we opted for something smaller and the odds and ends from other projects worked perfectly.
My mom says "flower arranging is like raising children, you're never finished". I know she will end up adding to these arrangements later, or have ideas to elevate them even more next year. Each of these arrangements really are a stunning work of art. She just does them for us and another friend, but I've been trying to convince her take on projects outside of that because she really has a talent for it. What do you think?
