Another Zinnia Bouquet * Silent Sunday

Book Review: The Artful Sketch

 by Mary Phan

Zinnia Arrangements so far 2023

After my lovely trip to Philbrook Museum last summer for an amazing class on Floral Arrangements, zinnia seeds were purchased and planted in my little vegetable garden.  I have enjoyed creating bouquets from these pretty gems and wanted to share them with you!

If you'd like to read my entire posts about Philbrook, click HERE or THERE.

Photos from Philbrook

A beautiful place to visit in Tulsa.  When I noticed a flower arranging class on their schedule, I couldn't get registered quickly enough!

American Holly in Cut Bouquets

Who enjoys arranging lovely Spring bouquets?  This girl!

Savoring the last Days of Summer

I have some late season flower arrangements for you today!

A Thrifted Vase and Frog for The Upcycle Challenge

The idea of this particular challenge is to upcycle an item found in a thrift store.  These talented bloggers are in on the fun today:

Across the Boulevard

My Husband has Too Many Hobbies
Purple Hues and Me

It's exciting to see everyone put their spin on the challenge!  Here's mine.  You may remember these dusty items I found waaaay back in the summer!

Remembering My Family

The baby in this photograph is my Daddy, being held by his Dad.  Considering the size of that cute little guy, I am guessing the picture was snapped in 1930.

These dear family members are in heaven now.  Most of their bodies are buried in the same cemetery.  Decoration for this particular plot is later in August.  It is the time of year for our community to remember loved ones.

My blog has been somewhat quiet as I create bouquets for the event.  There's something very soothing about arranging flowers for people I love.  It's interesting how certain plants will always remind me of specific relatives.

Woodland Babies Centerpiece Tutorial

This little twig bouquet was the centerpiece for a baby shower we hosted in January.  The theme was woodland babies.  Would you like to see how I arranged it?

Here's the tutorial.  ;-)

Of course it begins with a vase.  You can see this one is 10 inches tall.  For this type of arrangement, I prefer to work with containers that have a narrow neck. 

Baby showers should be colorful, right?  ;-)  I added mult-color glass beads for weight as well as holding stems in place.  (No water will be needed.)  Beads don't work well for soft stems, but the twigs will be OK.  It will require a bit of twisting back and forth as the branches are pushed into the beads.

A good rule of thumb for height proportion is keeping the finished bouquet above the container between one and two times as tall as the vase.  So, with the vase at 10 inches, my finished arrangement should be 20 to 30 inches tall.

We recently had some lower limbs removed from a grand old oak tree in our front yard.  I snipped these twigs from it. and then spread them across our sidewalk to see the shapes.  I left a few leaves here and there. 

Using the curved ones first, I begin working.  Three are pushed down into the glass beads, equal distance apart around the vase with stems crossed.  

Three more are pressed into the glass beads equal distance apart with stems crossed.  Repeat until full.  ;-)  As I get closer to the center, I use the straighter twigs.

Once the bouquet was this big, I did some snipping and trimming, just to even the sides a bit.  The wind is blowing the leaves.  ;-)  Now for the fun part!

How cute are hedgehogs?!  I purchased these felt ornaments the second I saw them.

Woodland babies were snuggled here and there using a small loop of raffia pinned on the back.

A few things were added to complete the centerpiece.  The evergreens shrubs are small pots of rosemary.  The touch of lace is a crocheted collar that belonged to my daughter when she was a baby.   I also added a ceramic fawn and a huge acorn.

A large chopping block added some height.

Here's my centerpiece and all the tasty treats!



Previous baby shower posts:

Ten Steps to Hosting a Stress Free Baby Shower

Cheesecake Bar

Aunt Margie's Punch Recipe

We had such a fun day!  What do you enjoy most at baby showers?

;-)  -Marci

Zinnia Bouquet for Autumn Tutorial

 

I love arranging flowers!  My sweet friend, Edna, recently stopped by with a gift of zinnias.  She brought such a pretty color combination; three purple, three orange and one red.  Perfect for a quick Zinnia Bouquet!  My one tiny complaint, though, Edna cut the stems awfully short.  I went in search of a small vase.
 

 

This one caught my eye as it is one of my favorites!  I love the soft green with just a bit of crackle.  



The shape can be a bit of a challenge.  In order to keep the arrangement from flopping to the outside, I added tape.  Today I realized I am completely out of narrow floral tape.  Gaaah!  The tape you see is regular clear tape for wrapping gifts.  It is awfully wide, but I think I can hide it.  Notice I've divided the vase somewhat equally into nine spaces.  This will not only give the bouquet some structure and hold it more upright, it will also help me keep it balanced.

When searching for greenery, I first cruise my garden looking for anything that needs to be pruned.  There is an American Holly at the corner of our house that can always use a good trim!  ;-)  Four stems are cut from the American Holly and placed in alternating slots around the edge, crossing the stems in the center of the vase.

Next, the Gooseberry bush gets snipped a bit and four stems are spaced equal distance apart around the edge of my vase, again crossing in the center.

Notice, I keep making laps around the outside of the vase, placing like stems equal distance apart, crossing in the center.  Can you see a grid forming?  Between the tape and the crossed woody stems, I've built a nice base for the zinnias.

The purple and orange zinnias alternate around the outside and the red zinnia is upright in the center.  I also added a few sprigs of sage for just a touch of silver.  Not a single bit of tape can be seen!  Whew!  I wasn't sure that was going to work!

 

It's time to bring my arrangement inside our old rock farmhouse!



The proportions would be more to my liking if the zinnias were just a bit taller, but it certainly brightens my little sofa table!  What pretty colors!  First, I added a couple of pears and a small stone bird.  

 Here's the complete vignette!

 

 Please keep in mind you could create a very similar bouquet using purchased carnations!  I'm incredibly blessed to have a sweet friend like Edna who was so generous with her zinnias!

If you have any questions on the basics of building this floral arrangement, please let me know!

 

 Have a beautiful day!

;-)  -Marci

A Lilac Bouquet for May Day

 Why, thank you, Self!  ;-)  How beautiful!

 

 

 

It's hard to imagine anything more fragrant than lilacs.

 

 

 

 

When we purchased our old rock farm house, there was a mature lilac already growing near our dining room windows!  I have transplanted many seedlings from it to the other side of our home, next to our bedroom windows.  When these lovelies are blooming, windows are thrown open and we can practically drink the fragrance!

 

 

 

 

Do you know lilacs are edible?  Did you see my Lilac Sugar Recipe?  Talk about delicious!

 

 

 

 

Today, though, I'd like to teach you how to arrange a lilac bouquet!

 

 

 

 

With heavy woody stems, I prefer to use a vase with a narrow neck as it will support their weight.

 

 

  

 See how narrow this neck is?  It won't take much greenery to create a grid base. 
 

For greenery placement, think in thirds.  Today I happen to be using American Holly.  Cut the greenery to about the same height.  Snip away any leaves that will be inside the vase.  Place three stems equal distance apart around the vase, crossing the stems.  Place three more stems equal distance apart around the vase, but not in the same places as the first three, crossing the stems.  With this type vase, that's really all the greenery we need.

(If you don't have a vase with a narrow neck, no worries.  Click HERE for a tutorial using tape and much more greenery.)

I have six lilac stems.  First I lay them out next to each other and find the straightest one.  That one will be the center and last to go in the vase.  The other five stems are cut about the same height and any leaves below the top of the vase are removed.  Then they are arranged about equal distance apart around the vase crossing stems.  The straight stem is cut just a bit taller and stands upright in the center.





The finished bouquet lends beautiful color and fragrance to my sofa table!

I love bringing fresh cut flowers inside.   Every time I pass an arrangement, I smile!  Here are some more tutorials for you!




Tutorial for Grid in Traditional Vase




Tulips arranged "By Hand" in a Traditional Vase




Tutorial for Grid in Non-Traditional Vase




Iris arranged "By Hand" in a Non-Traditional Vase

Happy May Day, everyone!

;-)  -Marci
 

 



Would you like some more inspiration?  Visit my BFF Bloggers who are also celebrating May today!

 

Stella @ Purfylle

T'onna @ USS Crafty

Mary @ The Boondocks Blog
Millie @ Two Crochet Hooks