Simple Vases - Natural Wrap

Bored of using the same old vase? Looking for a way to add a little rustic touch to your wedding? Wrapping your existing vases with fabric or string, in natural materials like hessian (burlap), linens and cottons is a super quick way to give your tables a country feel.  

You can either cut out a template and glue onto to a cardboard gift box and pop a vase or plastic container inside the box, or glue your fabric directly onto an old straight sided vase.

Would you rather skip the glue? - you could just wrap and secure with string. Stand your vase on your fabric and allow enough fabric all the way around your vase to cover the sides, plus 2 or 3 inches excess. Gather up around the vase, and tie at the neck. 

If you find the string is slipping, you could pop an elastic band over the neck of the vase before you wrap it - this helps avoid slippyness. Also tying on a corner point or just above the neck helps.

Think hessian alone is a bit plain?  Add a band of lace, cotton, wool or ribbon to pretty things up a little. This simple combination works really well, and lightens the rustic fabric.

Another cheap and easy way to DIY your own vases is to wrap them in string. I love brown garden string or twine but you could use wool, yarn, jute, or lovely thick macrame cord.

Knot and leave a long string when you start winding. Once you've built up enough string aim to finish up near your long string and tie firmly in place. Trim the ends and tuck out of sight. Again, if the string is slipping try double sided tape or elastic bands to help things stay in place. 

These are a nice alternative to low wooden container boxes for wedding tables and would work really well for outdoor or woodland decorating schemes. If you're holding your reception in a barn or throwing a posh picnic lunch these natural wrapped vases would be fab. They're just perfect for country bumpkins.

Images: RitzyBee, Elizabeth Anne Designs, Michaels, Apartment Therapy, Style Me Pretty, Justin Marantz, Shelterness

Simple Vases - Bound Together

Just a quickie today as there's so much going on over here what with Bank Holiday DIY to be done, and Jubilee fun to be had.  I love how these sort of events bring everyone together, and so in the most tenuous of links I thought I would share these ideas for the bringing together of vases (ahem!) 

Whether you use old fashioned milk bottles, single stem vases, jam jars, or drinks glasses you can make more of an impact by using a group of containers for your centrepiece. 

Stick to one type of vase and either arrange one or two heads of different flowers in each, or treat the arrangement as one vase (with several necks) and create an all around display of toning colours. I think pretty english country garden flowers work well.

Finish by securing with garden twine for a simple rustic look or tying with pretty ribbon in a coordinating colour.   

Now I must get back to the DIY - this weekend (its an extended weekend in the UK) I'm making a backdrop to shoot my collection of vintage goodies for my soon to be launched Vintage shop, but first off for a spot of lunch at a local Bistro. 

Am determined these grey days will not put a dampener on my bank holiday weekend. Enjoy yours, whatever you do xx  

Images: ByStephanieLynn.com ; Style Me Pretty ; Home Decorating Ideas 4 All ; A Creative Mint

Classic Wedding Flowers - Hydrangea

Hydrangea are a classic choice for wedding flowers. Traditionally these big blooms have been used to stunning effect in garlands, pedestal arrangements and archways, but only fairly recently have they become more popular for the actual bridal bouquet itself.

A mass of heads in one colour can create a domed hand tie with all the little petals lending a soft textured feel to the bouquet. It can be surprising how many you need to get a good shape, and the head size varies tremendously from batch to batch, so if you're ordering them in, allow yourself a few extra stems just in case they come in smaller than expected.

Use them on their own in one single colour or mix different shades. You can even use a single bloom for a very simple bouquet, perhaps for Bridesmaids. Give it a little collar of foliage like variegated Hosta leaves or Aspidistra and finish with satin ribbon.

When combined with other flowers Hydrangea can play a major or minor role. I love how the lime green Hydrangea are used in this bouquet. The greens make the Peonies look really fresh and bright, and the bouquet looks fab against the dark navy dress.

This bouquet is a beautiful mix of country garden flowers with a wild bushy feel. The garden roses, guelder rose, ranunculus and anemone in creams, greens and soft peachy pink shades are perfect for vintage themed weddings and a good match for lace dresses.  

Pretty ice pinks and white are a classic choice for Bridesmaids bouquets. Here stocks, roses, trachelium, lisianthus and waxflower are put together. The hydrangea adds body and shape to the bouquet.

If you want to break up a large expanse, you can also tuck flowers through the hydrangea itself - a technique I demonstrate at my vintage blooms and buttonholes workshop.

So how can you make them work through your theme for the rest of your floral decorations? You could use them tied or arranged in galvanised buckets to decorate your aisle. Or mark alternate rows with potted plants, hang or tie a few heads in jars or zinc buckets on chair backs for informal pew ends. 

I love putting Hydrangea with branches of blossom or twigs for a rustic feel. The large heads sit perfectly on the rim of tall vases, giving seated guests flowers just above eye level and providing visual balance to arrangements of tall twigs.  Blossoms look lovely, but I also love the starkness of thick branches, and the whispyness of contorted willow or hazel.

If you're after a more classic contemporary look try using them in urns, or glass bowls or cubes. They look lush in low containers. With touches of silver to add glamour and sparkle, hydrangea lend an air of sophistication and look very very expensive.

Part of the beauty with Hydrangea is that they come in so many different colours and shades and often on the same flower. There are whites, greens, white and greens, blues, violets, purples (and all shades of the same on one bloom), soft pinks, deep pinks, limes and pinks, warm pinky reds, russet reds, greeny reds...you get the picture!

Such variety means they work with brights and more muted vintage tones. I love the bright blue and cerise pinks in this table arrangement. So fresh and bold.

And by contrast, how soft and subtle are the dusky pinks, blues, violets and mauves used en masse in this silver bowl? They work so well because the rest of the scheme is very restrained, focused on silver accessories, a lavender tablecloth, mauve menu cards and discreet favour boxes tied with pale pink ribbons.

And if you really want to go town, how about these fab hydrangea plant pom poms? Like huge domed hanging baskets, these are gorgeously spectacular. Imagine them hanging from beams in a barn..

Or would a great swathe of hydrangea instead of a table runner take your fancy? Incredibly lavish and opulant, you'll have to agree? A real show-stoppper. I imagine there was quite a substantial budget for this top dollar event.

So there it is, this weeks run through of how to use classic hydrangea in your wedding. Hope I've given you some food for thought. Are Hydrangea on your wishlist for wedding flowers? What ideas have you got for using them? Call me nosy, but I'd love to know!

Oh and tomorrow I have a little DIY using Hydrangea...

Image credits - 1 -Style Me Pretty; 2 - Style Me Pretty; 3 - A Crimson Kiss, 4 - Wedding Chicks; 5- Heart Love Weddings; 6 - Martha Stewart; 7- Anik Designs; 8 - The Knotty Bride; 9 - Style Me Pretty; 10 - Style Me Pretty; 11- unknown; 12 - via Pinterest; 13 - Elizabeth Anne Designs; 14 - Martha Stewart; 15 - Garden of Flowers; 16 - Caplan Miller Events

Eat your greens

Ok you might not want to eat these greens but I think they're rather scrummy all the same.

Its fairly common to meet a customer or bride who doesn't want to use a lot of foliage but don't be too hasty to dismiss greens altogether.

Greens are like the flower equivalent of the onions in the casserole or the spread in your sandwich, they bring everything together, blending and enhancing other colours and shades whilst at the same time giving them space and distinction.

One of my early mentors used to say you had to leave room in an arrangement for the butterflies, room for them to flutter around. Sounds naff I know, but I see what she meant.

Actual space and/or foliage and greens create a visual break in an arrangement. Because they're a sort of neutral colour in flower arranging, they allow your eye to rest and mean you can appreciate the other components and colours all the more. They can be both soothing and subtle, vibrant and peppy.

So while they might not be your first choice, they are always a lovely addition to any flower selection. Here are just a few great limey greens to look out for..

Shamrock/Anastasia Chrysanthemum blooms - A curly multi-petalled bloom that lasts forever. Well almost. A multi purpose flower, perfect for tight modern groupings.

Alchemilla Molis- Sweet, delicate and a tad fluffy, its like a lime green Gypsophila, and yet I love it. Works really well with jam jars and in country or rustic themes.

Kermit Chrysanth - These lime green flat buttons are a floristry mainstay. They're long lasting and are perfect for covering a base and adding texture.

Bupleurum - This little filler is a combination of lemon and lime hues and has a lovely lightness to it. It can give your arrangements a touch of softness and movement.

Draceana and Cordyline foliage - Great for a zesty pop of colour, draceana will lighten and brighten any arrangement. Consider using it with purples, which can be a bit flat on their own.

Midori Anthuriums - For striking modern displays these distinctive blooms will add a touch of the exotic to your wedding flowers. They look fab mixed with other tropical flowers like Orchids, Helleconia and Birds of Paradise.

Viburnum (Guelder Rose), Hydrangea and trailing Amaranthus are a few more that are definitely worth checking out.  Ask your florist for advice on what would work with your favourite flowers and I'm sure you too will soon be hooked on greens. 

Where the wild things are

I have a tendency to like my flowers a little wild. Nothing too orderly or neat for me please, I prefer something a little more wild and free. Rustic and relaxed. Like me I suppose.

This little bouquet is a bit of a wild thing. I was inspired by these white and pinky/purple edged Ranunculus called Cappucino. The Astrantia, a great little flower that lasts really well and seems to be available pretty much year round, is a perfect companion.

Thistle, always looks a a bit wild too, so in it went. And a few magenta carnations. I know carnations, who'd have thought it.  Oh and I foraged a little Apple Blossom and honeysuckle. Ok it was from the garden. So more suburban than rustic.

Then all she needed was a little brown velvet binding and some pink pearl pins to keep everything in place. Pretty. But not for neat freaks.

Gypsy Wedding

Gypsophila is having a bit of a moment. Images of Baby's Breath have been cropping up all over the net for the last year or so. This hand tied bouquet is really sweet and stunningly simple, but I have to admit this trend has been a real slow burn for me.

Its got a lot to do with the 80's, when fluff and frill and flounce were everywhere, from the ra-ra skirts and frilly blouses to austrian blinds and ruffled bedding.

Flowers followed suit and were frilly and fluffy, and Gypsophila (or Gyp as I have always referred to it rather dismissively) was used to excess (this was the 80's after all) with masses of carnations or sold with a few straggly roses in your local boozer!

Now I'm slowly coming round to the idea.  Used on its own, its almost cottagey, it looks like it could be grown in a typical english country garden, and cottagey is most definitely a little country, and country is definitely a lotta rustic....so.. yeah I'm warming to it. 

Used simply, on its own in vintage tumblers or mix and match glassware its sweet and subtle.

Used en masse in tall vases it floats like lofty clouds of pretty floral fizz. One thing to note though, and this may be the design stickler in me coming out, in tall table arrangements it looks best in opaque vases as the stems can look a bit straggly in clear glass. 

Its light and airy and yes unashamedly fluffy, but somehow very now.   

photos from here, here, here, and here