Double Duty Flowers

It's rare that I get a beautiful arrangement like this delivered to my house.



But it was our 2 year anniversary, after all. I felt like the luckiest woman in the world! These flowers lasted almost 2 weeks because I kept refreshing the water, but the inevitable was bound to happen...they started to die.

But, don't fret! You can totally repurpose the slightly-more-alive flowers into new arrangments like this.



Or this...



So next time you receive a lovely bouquet, don't be so quick to toss it when it looks a little pukey. Pick out a few hardy blooms and make them work!

 

Fresh Flowers

A couple of months ago I started helping out part time at a local wedding/event florist, Blossoms At Biltmore Park. They do amazing work, and as a former bride not too long ago, it's been awesome to learn the behind the scenes work.

One of the major perks of this job is when you go back after the wedding, and all the beautiful flowers are up for grabs (except when they are donated sometimes). Yesterday we set up a wedding on the Biltmore Estate at Deerpark. I had my eye on some hot pink peonies on the cocktail tables. I just love everything about this flower: the brilliant colors it comes in, the smell, the way it goes from a teeny tiny ball into a flower with soft-like-a-cotton-puff voluminous petals. It just so happened that my brother was doing the break down after the wedding last night, and I asked ever so kindly for some of those hot pink peonies.

Look what I found when I got up this morning!



Yes ladies, he's single!

Psssst...Peonies are one of those flowers that can look great in silk, check that out here.

Silk Flowers...DOs and DONT'S

When it comes to fake flowers, there is definitely a fine line between tacky and tasteful. Here are some tips:

1. Keep it simple, the more flowers you put together, the more likely it is that one (or more) of them will look obviously fake.

2. Stick to vases you would use for real bouquets. If live flowers wouldn't look appropriate, skip it.

3. Pick flowers that are unique. Everyone knows what a real rose looks like, which means they also know what a fake one looks like.

4. Splurge the extra $1.00/stem for the higher quality-it will make a difference!

5. Pick flowers in their natural colors. I know it's hard to avoid that glittered white party rose, but trust me on this.

With that said, here's how I got my Peony fix today:

I just put some (non permanent) water in the bottom because I have commitment issues when it comes to home decor, BUT if you're sure you won't want to change the arrangement you could use a kit like this to permanently simulate water. Resin kits can be found in the floral section of most craft stores.