Wreaths + 🥔potatoes🥔 .... stay with us here ((promise))!
Here in Arizona (or any dry climate) holiday wreaths dry out and turn into fire hazards way too quickly. So you can use moss or use the green floral oasis, okay okay. BUT you know what is super accessible - POTATOES. These spuds are 100% eco-friendly and odds are you have a few laying around #gogreen #ecofriendly #fun
But how? Potatoes are 80% water and are quite sturdy - perfect for holiday greens! So here’s what you need:
- BASE: a wire wreath frame, grapevine wreath frame, wire, etc.
- POTATOES: extras you have, look under your sink, or a bag should do - you can always cook them, right?
- GREENS: holiday greens - pine, cedar, juniper, go forage!
- Wire & Snips
HOW TO:
Step 1: Attach your potato to the base. This is easier than you think. You can use floral wire or grab a zip tie, either way you are going to go through the potato and then attach it to your base. Space spuds accordingly!
Step 2: Add greenery by poking the greens into the potato. Greens = HOLIDAY GREENS! Small pieces, big pieces you can curve your greens around however you like. This is where it gets fun. Be creative. If you mess it up, get a new potato.
Step 3: Use the tips of your holiday greenery to finish the top and hide your potato base! TA-DA You just made a wreath that will actually last!
There are quite a few ways to use this potato base, just like actual potatoes - a garland on your table gives you a bit more height or they can be mini centerpieces of greenery. Give it a try and let us know what you think. You don’t need to water it or worry about a container because it’s contained in the potato skin. **DON’T POKE ALL THE WAY THROUGH or you will have a leaky potato**
The potato love from @savidge.kitchen has met its floral match!
Happy Holiday season friends!
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#holidaywreath #holidaypotatoes #mashedpotatoes #floweryfun #floristhacks #green #floristtricks #oasisalternatives #tipsandtricks #flowers #
November.
NOOOOOOOOvember (per @savidge.kitchen)
In the spirit of Scorpio season (3/4 of November) let’s talk about this month’s Birth Flower- the Chrysanthemum.
Sometimes called a Mum or Chrysanth (we prefer mum, but your call) In addition to its long name, this stem is also super long lasting AND has a seriously long history in the flower world! We’re not being punny when we say this flower has some historical roots AND to top it off - it lasts forever! So if you’re looking for a low maintenance, long lasting stem - look no further! NTM it’s available in every color - yes, every single one. 🤯
FUN FACTS ABOUT Chrysanthemums:
- You can join the National Chrysanthemum Society #fun #society #nationalchyrsanthemumsociety
- This flower originates from China, is the national Flower of Japan, and the Flower of Chicago. #popular
- Edible. Yep! If you grow these beauties you can add them to salads, tea, or a glass of wine, but as always - DON’T EAT MARKET FLOWERS!
- They are a symbol of joy, friendship, and happiness. (According to us they could go well in the sports arena too) 😂
PRO TIP: Keep them in their “bonnets” until you are ready to use them / design with them. This protects them through the process and keeps them in tiptop shape!
These can pair well with so many flowers - currently we are loving Spider Mums and Football Mums for the super fun shape and shear fact that they are just so oversized #boom!
🎉 Happy Birthday to all the November born 🎉
#flowery #floristhacks #floristtricks #birthflower #astrologicalflowers #scorpio #scorpioflower #scorpioseason #scorpiobirthday #mum #chrysanthemum #novemberflower #flowerofthemonth #marketflowers #flowermakeover #flowermarket #shopforflowers #flowers #easyfloraldesign #floraldesign #flowerprep #barfly #floristknowsbest #floristry #azflowerbar
Pumpkin Punch. A beverage best served with intention, not a product of your floral design gone south. TRUST
You’ve run out of time. It’s down to the wire. Carving a pumpkin at this point is just plain crazy. SO save yourself the mess and go the quick and easy route. Instead of spending all your time cleaning out a gooey, stringy, mess of a gourd go on a walk. Yep, you heard me. Go on a walk and forage some dried leaves and branches, gather up some of your dead flowers. Honestly, the crunchier the better - it’s Halloween, lean into the strange!
Once you have your dried things here’s what you’ll need:
• Pumpkin
✓ DRIED things - flowers, leaves, dead flowers, etc. *The only way this works is with DRIED stems. There is no water source*
• Hammer
• Nails / screws / a screwdriver works too
• Succulents (optional)
• Aggression (again, optional)
HOW TO:
1. Pick the side of your pumpkin that you want to add your dried things too (it doesn’t have to be the top)
2. Punch a hole - watch your fingers
3. Place a stem. Don’t like it, change it. Move things around. This is the ultimate in versatile
4. Punch another hole.
5. Place a stem
6. REPEAT & change stems around as much or as little as you like.
7. Add succulents if it works for you!
Need a little design inspiration: Go at the bottom - create spidery legs with your stems. Create crazy troll hair. Regardless of the design, this is a SUPER easy, no pressure way to decorate your pumpkin in a pinch.
As always, thanks to @savidge.kitchen inspiring pumpkin alternatives. Until next Halloween. . . . .
#flowery #floristhacks #floristtricks #tipsandtricks #flowers #pumpkin #protips #floraldesign #flowery #happyflowers #flowerprep #pumpkinflowers #driedflowers #halloweenflowers #halloweendecor #pumpkin #flowersinapumpkin #prettypumpkin #pumpkindecor #falldecor #diy #barfly #designlikeapro #floristknowsbest #floristry #designtips #designtip #floristhowto #stopthecarve #azflowerbar
Stop The Carve!
Few people, @savidge.kitchen excluded, really enjoy the process of carving a pumpkin. It’s messy, it’s time consuming, and as soon as you cut into that beautiful gourd the sooner it will be goo. Yep, I’m not a fan of rotten pumpkins, wild animals eating my pumpkins, or finding any sort of unsavory critter (scorpions) in my pumpkins. Can you put flowers in pumpkins, yes. Should you, not really. As they say, just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
Still want a flowery pumpkin? Okay, let’s try something new. Pressed flowers on an undisturbed pumpkin. Yep - no cutting, seeds, goo, or pumpkin mess. Just a little bit of glue and you can keep these flowery gourds until Thanksgiving. #fact. These bad boys are in it for the long haul. So how? It’s super easy:
What you need:
Pumpkin
Modge Podge (matte)
Pressed flowers
Paint brushes
Optional: tweezers
HOW TO:
1. Paint a nice layer of Modge Podge on the **Backside** of your flower. Let it rest for a minute
2. Paint the spot on your pumpkin where you want to place the flower
3. Gently place your flower on your pumpkin
4. Paint Modge Podge over the top to get all the edges down.
5. REPEAT
You can layer flowers and leaves on top of each other, create a pattern, this is your new canvas so go wild and have fun! If you don’t like something you can always use water to peel it away and try something new. So join us on the Stop The Carve movement and make some pretty pumpkins!
Thanks to @savidge.kitchen for giving this a try, despite the lack of power tools and cutting utensils!
#flowery #floristtricks #tipsandtricks #flowers #protips #psa #floraldesign #flowery #happyflowers #pumpkinflowers #driedflowers #pressedflowers #pumpkin #flowersinapumpkin #prettypumpkin #pumpkindecor #falldecor #diy #barfly #designlikeapro #floristry #designtips #designtip #floristhowto #stopthecarve #azflowerbar
PANTONE Color of the Year 2024: Peach Fuzz 🍑
The PANTONE Color of the Year has a lot of perfect pairings - you can go pastel, you can go bright, but for the Fall we think you should go super dark and foliage heavy - have a lot of fun with all the cool textures out there right now! Don’t get us wrong, we love a good pastel palette, but for Fall there are so many other options! For this season here is how we make this color work.
•PANTONE PAIRINGS for Autumn: Browns, orange, rust, taupe, beige, mustard, copper, and even white
•RECOMMENDED STEMS: Scabiosa pods, curly willow, wheat, sorghum, broomcorn, Fall foliage, smokebush, nine bark, copper beech, spray roses,
Why? The darker tones really make the light peach tones really !POP! - making it the star of your design. This hue is youthful, but elegant so you can really do so much with it (florally speaking).
We LA LA love the Pantone Color of the Year and making it work no matter the season is always a challenge we are up for.
As always, @savidgekitchen here for the comic relief, thank you 🙏🏻
#tuesdaytransformation #flowery #fallflowers #funkyflowers #colorcombination #colortheory #floristhacks #tipsandtricks #floristtricks #pantone #pantonecoloroftheyear #peachfuzz #buyyourselfflowers #peachroses #roses #floraldesign #tipsandtricks #floristry #floraldesign #designlikeapro #designtips #rose #floristhowto#flowersathome #designerflowers #diy #barfly #azflowerbar
We’re officially in the BER months - Happy OctoBER!!
So what better way to kick off October than with its official flower - the marigold. Buckle up, it’s a fun one! You can find these big headed beauties in so many places and used in so many celebrations. Seriously, from from gardens to Diwali, Day of the Dead to James Beard kitchens… marigolds really have quite the reach!
Fun facts: Marigolds are companion plants - so you’ll often see them protecting tomatoes in a garden (aka plant body guards or paid escorts?!). Speaking of farm to table, you can totally eat the petals of marigolds! Yep, and from what we hear they are supposedly a bit spicy! ⚠️DISCLAIMER: only eat FOOD GRADE marigolds - do not eat the ones from your florist or bodega - they are NOT made for consumption. ⚠️ SEE EDIBLE FLOWERS REEL for more on this. Marigolds are great for garlands and come in a variety of colors and sizes!
Despite having so many uses and being super popular these stems can definitely give you some problems - heavy headed problems that is. We will often see the weight of the bloom forcing the stem to bend - resulting in a sad looking marigold. But it’s not really sad, it’s just not strong enough - so you’ll need to go in for the assist!
HOW TO:
Using a heavy gauge floral wire (or a toothpick in a pinch) you can turn a sad bloom into boomin one real quick! While holding the bloom upright simply pierce a short piece of wire or the toothpick down the center (dead center/ bullseye) of the bloom into the stem. The added support is all it needs and now you can use it just as you normally would TA DA!!
Thank you @savidge.kitchen - now you’re winning with marigolds!!
#flowery #floristhacks #floristtricks #tipsandtricks #flowers #cakeflowers #edibleflowers #protips #psa #floraldesign #flowery #surprise #happyflowers #flowerprep #dayofthedead #diwali #marigoldgarland #garlandflowers #eatyourflowers #diy #barfly #stems #designlikeapro #floristknowsbest #flor
Tired of roses… we get that. How about a little transformation?!?
If you have some roses you’re ready to experiment on give this technique a go! You can transform the shape of the rose into a pinwheel!!
Pro tips:
- Make sure your roses are at room temperature - not straight outta the cooler, and if you have the time let them open for a day, it’ll make the process easier!
- The little green petals (sepals) can be removed (not shown)
- Start with the outer petals and work your way to the center of the bloom. You can fold over as many petals or as few as you like! Just keep folding the in half and tuck
*If they are super tight roses it’s more difficult, but not impossible
This is an optional manipulation of the flower and does not affect the vase life. Depending on the varietal or color sometimes the petals will bruise or wrinkle from this technique or they may not cooperate at all.
As always, big thank you to @savidgekitchen 🙏🏻🙏🏻
#tuesdaytransformation #flowery #floristhacks #tipsandtricks #floristtricks #redroses #buyyourselfflowers #miley #dozenroses #roses #floraldesign #tipsandtricks #floristry #floraldesign #designlikeapro #designtips #rose #floristhowto#flowersathome #designerflowers #diy #barfly #azflowerbar
🌻Sunflowers🌻
Everyone knows this infamous flower. They are easily one of THE most recognizable blooms out there….. and with good reason - they are big, bright, and happy - what more do you want from a flower? Well, maybe a little darkness. Some strange?
Surprise surprise sunflowers can give you that too! Yep. A simple manipulation can transform these stems into something super funky and fun! And it’s SUPER SIMPLE. All you have to do is pluck the petals off the sunflower to reveal the green bracts. That’s it. You may have to go back and grab any residual bright petal pieces, but it’s really THAT simple. Ta-da!
How to make it fun:
❤️Play a game of Loves Me 💔 Loves Me Not ❤️
Work out some frustration.
Have a de-petaling party.
Make Mother Nature’s confetti! 🎉
Not sold on this idea, cool. Enjoy your sunflowers as you normally would and wait to do this until those petals start to show a little wear and tear, or even wait until your sunflowers start to look a little sad- and then give this a try! Remember, this is just an option **you don’t have remove the petals if you don’t want to**!!
PAIRING SUGGESTION: All your *petal free* sunflowers need are some dark leaves and deep red floral to make a perfectly moody centerpiece 😉
As always, big thanks @savidge.kitchen for the assist 🙏🏻
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#flowery #floristhacks #floristtricks #tipsandtricks #flowers #flowers #floraldesign #happyflowers #flowerprep #barfly #stems #designlikeapro #flowercare #floristknowsbest #floristry #designtips #designtip #floristhowto #azflowerbar #floralmechanics #sunflower #sunflowers #tricky #blackflowers #darkflowers #sunflowertrick #sunflower #fallflowers #azflowerbar #barfly
In need of an at home spa moment? Who isn’t? (Honestly, anyone who doesn’t love a good spa day - we need to talk….)
Anyways, it’s SUPER easy to bring a little piece of the spa to your house or daily routine with eucalyptus. Sure you can order the bundles that get sent to you and you just hang them, but they are pretty easy to make.
Here’s what you need:
1. Spiral eucalyptus. This is important. Don’t go trying to use other eucalyptus, get the spiral and call it a day. **Get the really straight single pieces if you want a clean bundle**
2. Something to tie it together with - twine, rubber band, twist tie, ribbon - honestly, dealers choice on how fancy you want it to be!
3. Snips, scissors, choppers - need a tool for cutting
4. Optional: Gloves - cleaning eucalyptus can be sticky, literally. So if you want to keep your pretty little hands pretty, go for gloves. Otherwise be prepared for a scrub to be part of your spa experience 😂
HOW TO:
•Gather your eucalyptus and cut it into pieces that are all about the same length. There is no “right length” - your bundle can be mini or monster! It largely depends on how spindly your eucalyptus is.
•Clean the leaves off of the bottom of the eucalyptus branches, you’ll need a couple of inches of bare stem.
•Bundle away to your hearts content.
•Bind! **Make sure to leave a tail, or you’ll have to attach a longer string/ribbon to hang from your shower head
•Give the stems a clean cut!
•Hang from your shower head, steam, and RELAX! 🛀🏻
If it seems like you’re not getting as much of that eucalyptus smell roll the bundle in your hand or on a counter. Smashing the leaves will release the essential oils.
Thanks @savidge.kitchen, hopefully this gives her a little bit of zen!
#flowery #floristhacks #floristtricks #tipsandtricks #eucalyptus #spaday #spaflowers #athomespa #spashower #showerflowers #marketflowers #flowermakeover #floristry #relaxingflowers #floristhowto #flowery #protip
Gladiolus….. AGAIN.
Alright alright, with a fun vase these leggy beauties might win me over, might 😉
Gladiolus are known for their height, but the endless amount of blooms is an invitation for manipulation! Don’t be afraid to CHOP CHOP and make multiple stems from one stem.
PRO TIP: Find a multi layer vase. Or a super interesting vase. Bottom line - it’s all about that vase (think @meagan____trainor)
Once you have the vase, start cutting between the gladiolus blossoms - one or 2 blooms, your call. Bundle the open ones together, leave some length on others - breaking down gladiolus makes them take on a new form! So have some fun with it!
And a Happy belated Birthday to @savidge.kitchen!!
#gladiolus #flowery #floristhacks #floristtricks #tipsandtricks #birthflower #astrologicalflowers #virgo #leo #augustflower #glads #marketflowers #flowermakeover #flowermarket #floristhowto #shopforflowers #flowers #easyfloraldesign #floraldesign #flowerhack #flowertrick #designtrick #flowerprep #barfly #designlikeapro #floristknowsbest #floristry #floristhowto #azflowerbar
Who doesn’t love a good transformation? Especially if it’s a flowery one!
Bird of Paradise are tropical tricksters that are super long lasting, beautiful once they open, and have a WOW factor! The tricky part - getting them to open. Here’s how to make sure your Bird of Paradise don’t disappoint - force them open!
HOW TO:
The green outer petal/ leaf/ shell of the bloom is called the “spathe”
1. Find the seam of the spathe and **gently** open it. Be gentle Hulk!
2. With the spathe open, you will be able to see the blooms and pull them out. I use my finger like a hook, a gentle hook 😉, and I simply wiggle the bloom(s) out! You’ll be pleasantly surprised to find that there are multiple blooms in there #bonus
3. Once you have the blooms out you can (again, GENTLY) fan them out so they are open! Ta da!
Bird of Paradise tend to open one bloom at a time, slowly growing and releasing new blooms as the older ones phase out, but sometimes you don’t have time to wait - so take them out and get the party started! ** Keep in mind the younger blooms will be smaller and less colorful
FAQs:
Does this alter the vase life? Yes. Obviously, if you force the blooms you don’t have to wait for them so you get more immediate gratification and less long term enjoyment.
Can I ruin the blooms? Yes. Like all flower manipulations this takes a bit of patience and practice. You can detach the blooms and completely lose them when you do this. Don’t want to ruin your Bird - wait until it blooms out a little bit and then practice.
Happy Transformation Tuesday friends!!
Thanks @savidge.kitchen for the comic relief and clarity
#floristhacks #floristtricks #tipsandtricks #birdofparadise #tropicalflowers #flowermanipulation #flowertransformation #flowermakeover #floristry #floristhowto #flowery #protips #flowers #designhack #floraldesign #flowerhack #flowertrick #designtrick #flowerprep #maximumbloom #scarfaceflower #barfly #designlikeapro #flowercare #floristknows
Birth Flowers.
If you were born in August, like gladiolus, and flower hacks, keep reading!
Gladiolus are the official birth flower of August, but what do you actually DO with these long legged beauties?!?! Well, they always bloom from the bottom up - so plan accordingly. And if you want them to open up faster / have a bit more instant gratification you can “transform” your gladiolus by removing the outer green petals. How? Well….
I think they are petals, or maybe they are sepals, or tepals, or whorls - who knows 🤷🏼♀️ there’s a lot of flower anatomy and it gets confusing fast . . . Anyways, remove the green outer parts by peeling them back and off. Once you remove these you will get to show off the colorful petals underneath - TA DA!! This gives the stem a bit more color and helps you enjoy the blooms sooner. **If you’re in it for the long haul (aka patient), just remove the lower blooms as they die off and let them bloom on their schedule. Either works - it’s just an option!
FUN FACTS ABOUT GLADIOLUS:
- 🗡️ The name means little sword: “gladius” (LIKE GLADIATOR) means “sword” in Latin
- TALL. These guys can get a vertical reach of 6’ tall
- They have a **SUPER** long vase life: 14 days - just be careful with fluoride water - it can burn the tips.
- Represent sincerity & strong moral character (Leo season / Virgo season)
🎉 Happy Birthday to all the August born 🎉 Now you can enjoy your birth flower just a little bit more! 🥳 - aren’t you glad? #flowerpun
PS - Happy Birthday MONTH to @savidge.kitchen, we’ve apparently got more than a day of celebrating to do 🤣
#flowery #floristhacks #floristtricks #tipsandtricks #birthflower #astrologicalflowers #virgo #leo #augustflower #gladiolus #glads #marketflowers #flowermakeover #flowermarket #floristhowto #shopforflowers #flowers #easyfloraldesign #floraldesign #flowerhack #flowertrick #designtrick #flowerprep #barfly #designlikeapro #floristknowsbest #floris
