After Kate was born, I made the decision to really invest my time and energy in the blog again. That meant creating a LOT more content than I did before. One thing I’m TERRIBLE at as a blogger is remembering to document my everyday life and the things that I do regularly. Because, let’s be real, taking photos of something as I do it is going to DOUBLE the time it takes to do whatever it is I’m trying to do. But, I’ve recently realized that these are the things you guys love to see. Not the curated, specially made content, but the real life stuff. So when I volunteer to throw my girlfriend a baby shower, I knew I’d have to do a post about it one was or another. So I thought maybe you guys might like to learn about some flowers.
I was in charge of the decorations and invitations (right up my alley). I love fun shower decor, but I wanted to keep it simple. My friend, Ashley’s style (the mom-to-be and ALL STAR photographer) is the epitome of classic, simplistic, and beautiful. And what is classic, simple, and beautiful – FLOWERS. I love the way greenery and some simple buds can really elevate decor in your home and make it feel ALIVE (even if they’re fake plants).
Since I’m on a -we just had a baby- budget, ordering arrangements wasn’t an option. And I’m not a fan of the pre-made arrangements from the store. So, I figure, I’ve got a little skill and a lotta determination and $60. I’ll DO IT MYSELF (famous last words – haha)! And I did. And it turned out AWESOME. Keep reading for some great tips and tricks for your next party!
So let’s get started by listing out what I bought. First things first, vases. I actually didn’t buy any vases for this because I had a bunch around the house. But I calculated it into the price. The Dollar Tree has AWESOME glass vases. For $1 each. I had 9 vases. 6 of which were from Dollar Tree. And I had 3 tiny Oui by Yoplait jars (cutest tiny jars) that I took the label off of any used. If you have a few vases at home, then you’ll only need to buy a few in various sizes so I estimate $8 (or less) at Dollar Tree.
For the flowers, we’ll start from left and go right on the above photo. I got all of these at my local Kroger for $52.
- Greenery – 3 bunches of greenery. Two are mixed groups with some eucalyptus, a palm looking leaf, and some larger scale branches with leaves. The other is a group of ‘fern’ style leaves. Greenery is really what makes the arrangements look full and modern, so I would definitely stock up on these.
- Berries or Spriggy Flowers – These are going to be your accent pieces. You may only have 1 in an arrangement but they really make it pop. I grabbed these Snapdragons (2 bunches) but you could get any kind of berry or tall, thin, spriggy flowers.
- Filler Flower – This is a great place for baby’s breath, or mossy greenery. I grabbed 2 bunches of Limonium to act as my filler. This is the flower thats going to make the arrangement look full and not too sparse.
- Pop of Color/Medium Sized Flowers – If you want to keep your arrangement all white and green, then don’t do any color. I wanted to bring in a deep fuchsia pink to match the invitation I designed so I grabbed 1 bunch of these PS Alstro flowers. These hadn’t yet opened but that’s good since I’m arranging them the day before. This flower should be medium sized.
- Small Filler Flower – Mini Carnations are so in right now for some reason. I’m here for it. Plus they’re super cheap and the bunches of these go a long way. I got 2 bunches and had PLENTY to go around. These are a smaller bud so they would be considered a small flower.
If you have a little extra cash, I would add in a large flower as well like a rose or peony or even hydrangea. I was trying to keep to a budget so I didn’t go there, but I do think it would have elevated the arrangements even further.
So now, undo all of the paper and rubber bands and layout out your flowers so that you can see everything at once. Grab a vase or two (I like to do similar vases at the same time so that I can copy them a bit (not exact but similar). These vases are some of my faves from Dollar Tree. I arrange the vases without water first just for the sake of messiness. I add the water later with a funnel.
Start with the greenery. As you can see, I have 4 pieces of greenery in each of these vases. Go ahead and just lean those against the back. As you fill the vase, you’ll move things around a bunch but I typically like my greenery situated in the middle and back.
Add some filler flower. I kept mine situated at the front right side of my arrangement at first and added more later to fill the space.
Any buds or greenery things that you cut off of the bottom of a stem (only the ones that have flowers and leaves) you should set aside. Those will easily fill your tiny vases!
As you cut the bottom of the stems, cut them longer than you think you need at first. There is nothing worse that cutting it too short and having it sink to low in the vase. Stand up the stem next to the vase and estimate how much to cut off the bottom. If it’s still too tall, cut off 1″ at a time until you get it right.
Next you’re going to add in your other flowers. I star with the filler. I put the Limonium in the center of the arrangement and a bit to the left to balance out the carnations to the right. Then add your pop of color and the sprig of snap dragon.
Now just play around. Move things, add things, and cut things down until it feels balance and full. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Imperfections make them interesting if you ask me.
Now repeat those steps with the rest of your vases. You can play around with the amount of each item you put in the different arrangements. For one of these globe vases, I added the pop of color flower and in the other I added a 2 snap dragons instead.
Start by using the minimum amount of flower to make the arrangement feel full, then later if you have some left over, you can continue to add filler.
And with $60 and less than an hour of work, you’ve got 9 gorgeous arrangements to put around your home for a party (or maybe just for funsies)! Add some water with a funnel and get to decorating. Easy Peezy.
Another great trick is to find some photos of arrangements you love and do your best to copy the technique and flowers. Or just wing it, like I did.
Here is a photo of the finished table arrangement – without the food, of course. And I still have 4 more arrangements that I can use throughout my house to tie the decor together.
There is nothing like a fresh flower to really brighten up a spread. It looks like I spent several hundred dollars filling my home with flowers, but it was only $60 and a little hard work!
