Thursday, December 2, 2010

DIY Florist | If it's not what you're looking for, make it your own


For my birthday, the Fiancé bought me a beautiful bouquet of dried flowers from Pike Place Market, made up of thistles and other more "rustic" plants that might come to mind when you imagine autumn/winter blooms.

It was beautiful and I loved its texture; however, being the critic/perfectionist I am, I had two issues with it...

1) It had a lot of purple in it, and I really don't want to come off as snotty, but purple just isn't a shade I'm typically drawn toward. Of course I wasn't going to complain about the bouquet (it's really the thought that counts), it was just something that stood out to me.

2) This thing was a monstrosity. I don't own any vases large enough to contain it! I had to put it in a glass ice bucket that could pass as a vase.

This evening, I was determined to change both of these "issues," convert my dining room into a florist shop, and create the bouquet I was envisioning.

This is what the bouquet looked like before I started. Large and overwhelming, no?

(please excuse the low quality of this iPhone photo...)

First, I disassembled the entire thing, covering my dining room table in dried flower piles (and getting them all over the floor where my cat decided they either made fabulously unique toys, or tasty, crunchy treats). I separated the flower piles by type so they would be easier to identify and untangle when I needed specific pieces:


For the most part, it was relatively easy; however, the suckers above (at right) were really pokey... painfully pokey, in fact. Then, piece by piece, I reassembled the blooms into a much smaller, more manageable bouquet (which will last me all winter!):


After a long day at work, reimagining this bouquet was exactly the "nightcap project" I needed: Away from my computer and hands-on (even if I was poked and prodded along the way). I highly encourage you to try redesigning some blooms of your own!

*swoon*
Paige

5 comments:

  1. love the "after" bouquet!! that's the first thing i do when i get grocery store flowers. also, i like the short, tight, bunched look which is easy to do if you trim the ends and start over using the right vase.

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  2. I love purple! It's the color of royalty! However, your bouquet is much prettier!

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  3. I can't believe Swoonworthy is back! I'm so happy! Also - much improved on that gorgeous bouquet.

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  4. That's very pretty but what did you do with the purple flowers?

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  5. I'm using them for something else, but it's a secret for the time being!

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