I had the pleasure of taking the first of 6 floral arranging classes last week. It was a blast! Each week we’ll be creating a new centerpiece. At the end of each class, we’re able to take the finished product home with us. It’s great to have fresh flowers in the house! Here are a few photos of my first “creation”. I thought that I’d share a few helpful tips that I picked up from our first lesson. It’s important […]

We had another wonderful class last week! We started discussing the elements of floral design. There are five key components to every floral design: 1) Line: This is the framework of your design. It creates the primary foundation and provides a visual path for the eye to follow. 2) Form: This is the external appearance of your design creating its composition. A well-designed arrangement is three dimensional with length, width, and depth. In general, designs can be round, oval, rectangular […]

Another great class last week! The topic of discussion was design principles. There are 7 essential design principles. 1) Composition: The organization or grouping of different elements used to create a unified whole. 2) Unity: The relationship of the individual parts to each other which produces a single, cohesive unit. 3) Proportion: The comparative size relationship between ingredients within a design. This relationship can be measured in the quantity of flowers, length of the stems, or amount of materials used […]

Each week my instructor amazes me! His passion for floral design shines through and this latest lesson was no exception. This past week we discussed the secondary design principles. These principles are an important consideration when creating your design. Each principle is related to one of the primary principles of design. The secondary principles are: 1) Scale: The size relationship of the composition to its placement. If you’re decorating a large area, you’ll want to create a large design to […]

Hi everyone! Here’s the latest chapter from my floral arranging adventures. Professional floral arrangements come in many shapes and sizes. There is always a plan for the design and this concept shines through in the final shape of the arrangement. Without a plan, the finished product is a mishmash, rather than a controlled design. There are 11 basic arrangement shapes that professional floral artists should be qualified to create. They are: 1) Symmetrical: When creating a symmetrical design, there must […]

I recently learned two different bouquet-making techniques in my floral arranging class. The first technique is called Binding or Bundling. This is the process of physically fastening three or more stems together. The bunches formed by using this technique are restricted and supported by the substance binding them together, for example a piece of ribbon. I created the bouquet below by using the binding or bundling technique. Here’s how I created this bouquet: 1) First, I separated out the different […]

Bouquets are lovely in their own right. The flowers chosen can evoke a particular mood, demonstrate a specific meaning, or reflect the holder’s style. French braiding a bouquet handle can not only serve to protect the holder from the stems’ possible thorns and/or other uneven surfaces, but it can give a bouquet that extra panache and flair! Add your personal touch of style to your bouquet with this easy method. 1) Hand-tie your bouquet with wire, floral wrap or even […]