Spring Flower Workshop Part II

This weekend I had the pleasure of hosting a floristry workshop at Make and Do in Caversham.  The idea for the workshop was to demonstrate some spring flower arrangements in upcycled vases. 

I decided to use containers that we all have lying around at home - such as tin cans, jam jars and glass ramekins (if you enjoy a posh pud now and again as I do, you are bound to have a few of these lurking in your recycling bin). But rather than recycle them, we were going to reuse and upcycle them by looking at different ways we could add some pretty. 

We started the session with a small hand tie of Tulips and Genista, spiralling the stems and tying lightly so as not to crush the delicate stems, and cutting to size to suit the proportions of the tin cans.

Then I demonstrated how to make a little front facing tied posy suitable for a jam jar - using groups of Hyacinths, Muscari, Feverfew, Tete a Tete and Paperwhites.

Before moving on to work on a petite oasis arrangement in a ramekin. These sort of arrangements are great for using odd stems from larger bouquets, or a few cuttings from the garden - be sure to condition the flowers and foliage well before using them in oasis.

We used Ranunculus, Lisianthus, Waxflower and a few heads of limey green button Chrysanthemums. Roses would work equally well.

Lastly we looked at ways to decorate the containers. I'd brought along tin cans painted with tester pots from Farrow & Ball, and wrapped jam jars with wool in aqua shades. Hannah from Make & Do had used Enamel paint to give her jam jars a tint of pink.

The class then decorated their vases with fabric trimmings and ribbons from Make and Do's well stocked shelves.  At the end of the afternoon, they had 3 little spring arrangements to take home and hopefully picked up a few tips on how to recreate them at leisure.

It was such a lovely afternoon, hopefully we'll do it all again soon, but with a summer theme. 

Perhaps in time to inspire your Jubilee tea party decorations?..

Spring Flower Workshop

Its a gloomy January day, but I've been having fun trying out a few ideas for an upcoming Floristry workshop at Make and Do in Caversham.

Spring flowers never fail to cheer me up. I just love the simplicity of Tulips, the heady scent of Hyacinths and the plump and heavily petalled perfection of pretty Ranunculus.

For this workshop I'm going to be giving tips on how to turn everyday containers like jam jars and tin cans into pretty vases, and demonstrating how to make petite tied arrangements - perfect for your kitchen window, bedside table, for budget weddings and thank you gifts.

The workshop costs £35 (which includes tuition, all flowers and containers) and takes place Sunday 1st April 2 - 4.30pm, at Make and Do, Prospect Street, Caversham. Check out their website at Make and Do, and phone 0118 3276717 to book.

Simple wrapped vases

Want to give new life to an old vase, or create unusual table centres? Try wrapping. There are so many ways to decorate or cover a plain vase. Here are just a few for starters:

Have a rifle through the cupboards and experiment with fruit, and vegetables. For best results use a straight sided vase (jam jars would be perfect) and either tie with raffia or ribbon or glue your materials to a piece of fabric or twine, and secure discreetly. 

Asparagus tips tied with raffia look fab. Savoy cabbage leaves would look great too, but don't prepare too early otherwise they could smell, well,... a bit cabbagey! 

Dried food stuffs would obviously work well - think herbs like rosemary, and sage leaves. Combined with hessian or linen these would look really sweet and rustic - I do love a bit of a rustic!

Other than fabric and food, another simple and effective way to wrap a vase is using yarn, wool, or garden twine. Secure with a small knot to start with and leave a long thread to tie off later. Then just wind away until you've covered a little or a lot.

Oh, did I mention how partial I am to a bit of rustic? Well these birch covered vases are totally up my street, what do you think? Although not widely available in the shops as such, Birch bark does come in flat pliable sheets. Just wrap around your vases to give your table a beautiful woodland feel. Simple.

photos from Pintrest - here, here, and here 

Village Fete Wedding Rock n'rolls on and on

The table centres and bridal flowers I put together for this village fete wedding appeared on Rock My Wedding this week, twice! 

I may have harped on about it previously here and here, but now you can see more pics and steal plenty of ideas for your summer wedding here and here. Such a lovely couple and a great day, be inspired by all their nifty, thrifty ideas.  

Village Fete - Wedding Flowers

This weekend I had the pleasure of attending a Village Fete themed wedding in the beautiful village of Duncton in West Sussex.

I was honoured to be asked to arrange the flowers and in keeping with the informal theme I filled jam jars with sweet peas, cornflowers, love in the mist, astrantia, stocks and ranunculus.

To complement the hand made bunting strung around the venue, I used the same fabric as a centrepiece, wrapped some around jars, and ever resourceful, used scraps to make mini bunting for others.

The bouquets were a mixture of Sweet Avalanche and a new rose to me, Miss Piggy which is a vibrant pink with an orange hue that perfectly matched the Bridesmaids dresses. These were all set off with Hydrangea, Ranunculus and Astrantia, and wrapped in bowed Aspidistra leaves.

The happy couple, with the groom rather taken with a Bridesmaids bouquet! (For some reason this brings to mind Blackadder's Baldrick in a dress - think it could be the beard!!)

After a beautiful ceremony set against the backdrop of the South Downs, the wedding party were treated to maypole dancing, croquet on the lawn, a cocount shy, and a tombola before feasting on cup cakes and french fancies. A perfect afternoon and a perfect couple.