10 min. project

Peony Hack!

Date: June 17, 2019
Author: Sweetwater Style
Categories: 10 min. project, flower arranging, flowers, peonies
It’s finally time!
The peonies are blooming!

Okay…We admit to being just a little peony crazy around here.
Maybe 20 plants is a bit of overkill, but each one is special. 

I love using peonies in arrangements.

BUT….

I hate how quickly the blooms fade or fall apart.

I tried this little hack this year and am quite pleased with it.

The trick is to let the glass container support the blooms.
That way the flowers stay together for a lot longer.

I love the way these colors are enhanced by the glass.

You may remember this vase from the arrangements of tulips using the same technique.

This rose bowl is the perfect way to use the trick.  The Coral Charm and Yellow Garden Treasure blossoms are particularly prone to dropping petals and fading.
These lasted for 4 days in the rose bowl.

Other People….parade pictures of grandchildren or vacations…..
Me….
just a few of my favorite flowers!

It is too bad that they don’t last longer.

I wrote a post a while ago about a way to keep some peonies in the refrigerator to extend the season.
Read about that here:  How to Extend the Peony Season

I didn’t feel that ambitious this year.  Maybe it is because my plants are blooming later this year and when they are done, there will be lots of other garden blooms to enjoy.

Anyway…I leave you with this thought!

Pinterest
Have A Blooming Great Day!

How To: Asymmetrical Floral Arrangement

Date: June 1, 2019
Author: Sweetwater Style
Categories: 10 min. project, flower arrangement, projects, wedding

Loose, unstructured, asymmetrical floral designs are on trend right now.

Sweetwater Floral did the florals for a country wedding last weekend.  The bride asked for an unstructured bouquet and some added texture with little succulents tucked in.

Creating a loose, “messy” bouquet should be easy….right?
Not so much….it is actually more difficult to let the flowers cascade and flow than to tightly fit them together in the traditional nosegay!
I guess we pulled it off though!

Your vocab lesson: two words starting with A.

asymmetric: adjective. not identical on both sides of a central line; lacking symmetry:

armature: a metal framework on which a sculpture is molded with clay or similar material.

There are always a few flowers left after we do a wedding. I decided to use the leftovers along with a new bunch of carnations to create an asymmetrical arrangement to enjoy here.

I also wanted to play around with using a wire armature to support the stems and let them cascade. 

Flexible floral wire in pretty colors is available at the Dollar Store.
It is a simple matter to twist it around in a loopy way and tuck it into the floral foam.
This gives a pliable “frame” for the stems.
 This is the finished project.  
The stems could have just gone into the foam at an angle, but I like the way the wire supports the heavier flower heads that are cascading.
You can just barely see the wire….but I like the little glints of glitz!

I did not do a step by step of each flower…you are probably able to figure that out for yourself.

Here is a video to watch if you need “expert” advice

This is a nice text and photo tutorial from Janecanblog.com 












I hope you look at these beautiful examples of asymmetrical designs and the find inspiration to try something a little “messy” the next time you have flowers to arrange.

https://www.jennikayne.com/ripandtan/a-romantic-early-summer-arrangement-by-tinge-floral
My style still tends to be a little structured…..but I am trying to “loosen up”.
And hey….the wire can be used again next time.

Have A Great Day! 


Mini Flower Arrangements

Date: May 23, 2019
Author: Sweetwater Style
Categories: 10 min. project, flower arrangement, flowers, garden, idea exchange
There is no doubt that large flower arrangements make a statement!

 

 
 
 
 
This lovely Mother’s Day arrangement was designed by Sweetwater Floral and delivered to a deserving Mother.

I was able to fill several other containers with the leftover flowers.

Over the next week and a half these extra arrangements have brightened up my house.
Now…..alas….as the roses and lilacs faded and drooped…they were removed.

The greenery (salal and ruscus) still look great.

The carnations are doing what carnations do…..lasting for an amazing length of time.

The little white rice flowers dried up, but still look nice.
I can never throw out flowers that still look good.
I decided to make a bunch of tiny little arrangements to use the salvaged blooms.
The first step was to find some mini vases.

Then a trip outside to find a few additional flowers and filler greens.
Not much is blooming because it has been so blasted cool and rainy here.
I did some pre-emptive trimming of the bedding plants.  I know if I do this, it will encourage these flowers to branch out and set more blooms.
Now the fun begins.
These mini bouquets in mini vases don’t need floral foam or frogs.  The greenery supports the stems.

 Hard to believe that all seven of these little mini vases were created with old flowers and a few garden blooms.

They are little bright spots all over the house….

Lessons for you:

You can use all the flowers from your big flower arrangements long after some of the flowers are droopy.

You can take small blossoms and greens from your garden.

Flowers make any space a little better!

Have A Great Day!

Holiday Decor Series: Bows Bows and More Bows!

Date: November 29, 2018
Author: Sweetwater Style
Categories: 10 min. project, decorating, holiday, thrifty

I have been on a pretty long blogging break.
Yikes….I haven’t posted since Halloween and now we are deep into the Holiday Season!
I don’t have any real good excuse for this….I am sort of rethinking and want to revamp the blog.
I guess that will be my project for the new year.
In the meantime…..

wikipedia.com

I will share some of my old favorite Holiday Decor on a Budget posts from years past.
So with a nod to Charles Dickens I present for you…
NOT the of GHOSTS of Christmas Past…..These are POSTS of Christmas Past!

Let’s start with those BOWS…because it really is all about those BOWS!

I pretty much put a bow on EVERYTHING….and knowing the tricks to making these lovelies will save you money and add a bit of “class” to your decor.

Tooo funny….I was looking for pictures of pretty bows to add to this post and I found this site:
christmastreewreaths
You can buy a pre-made bow like this for a mere $6.75….or go wild and buy 12 for $72.00!

It always amazes me that people really buy stuff like that….go figure!

Here is mine using the Costco ribbon!

Now….you do the math!
$8.00 for 50 yards of ribbon…..2 yards per bow…..hmmmmmm!

I love Costco for lots of things….but I REALLY love their wire edged ribbon!

cochaser.com

 $7.99 for 50 yards of beautiful wired ribbon!
Beautiful ribbons….and with 50 yards there are no worries about running out.

It takes a long time to use up 50 yards of ribbon so my “stash” is growing.

We use these ribbons for our annual Boughs, Bows and Beverages events here at Sweetwater….so it is really a good investment (says the woman trying to rationalize her ribbon fetish)!

Read about Boughs, Bows and Beverages here.

There are lots of places to get ribbon…..and lots of sales this time of year.

It is also a great idea to save your bows from year to year.

It is now time to get your BOW on!
There are some links to bow making tutorials at the end of the post….written by actual posters who excel at writing tutorials.

Here is my poor attempt to show you how I make a pretty….professional looking bow.
Warning:  holding the ribbon, the wire, and taking pictures…..now THAT was a trick!

Start by cutting a piece of florist wire about 12 inches long….

If you don’t have any paddle wire like this…GET SOME!  NOW!  You will use it and use it and use it!

Leave the ribbon attached to the spool and pull out about a yard…..

If you cut now…you might not have enough for a pretty bow….and besides…if you mess up…
just let go and start again!

Make a loop that is half the size of the bow you want….

pinch it tight….

flip over and make a loop on the other side that is the same size

pinch that tight

Keep going back and forth….
loop, pinch, loop, pinch

This bow has 5 loops on one side and 6 loops on the other…..

I read somewhere that you should always have an odd number of loops….but who’s counting? Oh…ME!

Now take the piece of wire and wrap it around the center….whew!  You can let go of the loops now and hold on to the wire.

Twist the ribbon…NOT the wire….around about 3 times to get an nice tight center.

NOW….you can cut the bow away from the spool!

Then start pulling the loops up and twisting them into a pretty shaped bow.

The wire in the center lets you have at it without worrying that the bow will come apart.

The wire edge of the ribbon lets you shape the loops.


There you have it! 

 Here are the other links I found with much more professional tutorials….take a look!

Better Homes and Gardens Video Tutorial
Directions for lots of fancy bows
Michael’s Tutorial

Good Luck!

Have a Wonderful Day!

How to Make a SCARY Fairy Garden!

Date: October 18, 2018
Author: Sweetwater Style
Categories: 10 min. project, goodwill, Halloween, inspiration

We have been traveling for a week or so…..
It seemed too soon to decorate for Halloween before we left, but now it is only 2 weeks away.
I don’t do a lot of crazy Halloween decor any more.  We never were the people who filled the yard with gravestones and ghosts.
I do like to do a few things that pay homage to the season.

This is one of my favorites!
I love fairy gardens…..and this one can be enjoyed in the warm comfort of indoors!

AND….almost every component is a thrift store find.

You can create your own “Scary Fairy Garden” or “Ghostly Gnome Home”.
These are the components:

  • A large box or basket- this is a wine box/tray that I found at Goodwill.  The aisle with baskets and wood always have great things for good prices.
  • Ceramic houses that are usually in the Christmas decor section at the thrift store.  I painted them with craft paint to look spooky.
  • Small pumpkins are always available at the dollar store.
  • Little ceramic ghosts can be sourced at the thrift store.  You probably have some in your holiday stash.
  • The stone “courtyard” is a piece of tile on mesh that we found at the tile store. A little moss tucked in is a nice addition.
  • The “tree” is some curly willow that is tied together.  A branch from the yard would work well.
  • I added some battery powered twinkle lights wound around the branches.

Easy….
Simple….
Inexpensive….
Just my Sweetwater Style!

Happy Haunting!