Recycled Flower Vases

For a friends wedding, we needed 20 very tall flower vases for the reception tables. The tall glass ones would have been great, but also very expensive. We came up with this economical version instead. I started with large cardboard tubes; the kind that holds plotter paper for drafting printers. I sprayed each with silver metallic paint and then a sealer. The sealer really is necessary. I learned the hard way when the paint began to rub off on my hands! Inside each tube, we placed a weight (it isn't seen, so it can be anything) and then arranged a few flowers and ivy.

Dried Floral Arrangements

There are several ways to preserve fresh flowers for years without a great deal of work or expense. The easiest and least expensive method is air-drying. This is a wonderful way to preserve those special flowers received as a gift or flowers from your own garden.

Fasten small bunches of fresh flowers together with a rubber band near the cut end of the flowers. Don't use string or wire, as the stems will shrink as they dry, and may fall out of their tie on to the floor. Hang the bundled flowers from a hook or hanger upside down in a clean, dry place out of direct sunlight, such as a closet.

Let the flowers air dry for two to four weeks. When the flowers are ready, they will be dry and crisp to the touch.

Once dry, spray with clear hair spray to preserve the color and stop the petals from dropping.

So now that the flowers are dried, what do you do with them? You can

make a wreath or a dried flower arrangement, perhaps hang your dried roses in a window, make a photo frame box, glue dried petals or buds to letters or menus, or use dried petals in a potpourri.

I dried my wedding anniversary roses and made this arrangement. Everytime I see it, I'm reminded of the special memories of that day.

How to Create Your Own Silk Flower Arrangements

Looking for a floral arrangement to spruce up your room, but don't want to spend a lot of money? Make it yourself! You can often find silk flowers on clearance or at discount stores. Sometimes you have to be patient and wait for the sale or look for coupons. I found several really nice silk tree branches on clearance. I bought them with no particular plan in mind, but they were really nice quality and the price was right. I ended up making two arrangements.


The first one I created in a floor vase (on clearance of course). It had a few dings, but nothing that couldn't be hidden with a little touch-up paint. I put floral foam inside the vase and using floral pins covered it with moss. Then I placed each branch into the foam.























The second one is smaller and for a table top or shelf. I started with a large styrofoam ball. Then I cut the leaves and flowers off the branches, placing each individual stem into the ball until entirely covered. To display, I placed the ball on top of an inexpensive metal container.

How to Create a Sunflower Centerpiece

November was my parents 47th wedding anniversary! We planned a very nice family dinner at home for them. I created a fresh flower centerpiece to brighten the table. I re-used a square glass container (I think it had cashews in it before) and placed river rocks in the bottom. I filled the vase about half full with water and emptied the packet of flower perserver that came with the bouquet. This stuff really works -- the flowers lasted over a week before they started to wilt.

I picked up a fresh flower bouquet for $15 at Sam's Club. Starting with the most prominent flowers first (the sunflowers) I cut them to size and placed in the container. I use kitchen shears and cut the steams at an angle. Remember to remove any leaves that will lie below the level of the water in the vase as this will help to keep the flowers fresh. Next, I cut the filler flowers at shorter lengths and placed in the container. Since this arrangement was a centerpiece and viewed from all sides, the flowers must be placed all around at different angles for the best look. For a finishing touch I added some lengths of grapevine and leaves I had on hand from another floral arrangement.