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So_happy

So_happy

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Nov 12, 2006
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1,084

Hi all :)


Well, I figure all the money I''m saving on DIYing my own flowers will certainly be blown on the actual containers to put them in! I went to my local flower shop today and made a very cute hydrangea-in-a-glass-cube-vase centerpiece today....we really love it but it cost us $6 for the vase and $9 for the Hydrangea (3 stems x $3). Oh, and I didn''t like being able to see the stems through the glass so I covered the vase with some ribbon I had lying around the house. So about $16 per centerpiece. Not bad. But I want to see if I can do better.


Flowers: I like the full look of hydrangea, as many of you now know

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and I figure I can achieve the same look with carnations and do it for even cheaper. Plus fiftyflowers.com has both a really pretty sage green and purple carnation for sale. Further, carnations are superior in the heat of August :) Not the most elegant flower going, but I think the way they are presented will make a difference.


Container: However, I''m wondering if we could use things other than glass for our centerpieces. Like cube gift boxes or even cube-shaped tins. I presume we''d have to line them with plastic and use Oasis foam but......they are SO much cheaper than glass! Has anyone used this kind of thing for DIY centerpieces?

Here''s a pic of my hydrangea centerpiece.:

DSC02785 (Small).JPG
 
Here''s a square vase, 12 for $5.10 each at www.save-on-crafts.com It''s 5x5. What size do you want the vases?
Not much cheaper but a bit better. Sorry, no creative ideas for vases at the moment.

sqvase.gif
 
For my sisters wedding reception, the centerpieces were shorter rectangle vases that my mom stenciled with a palm tree, and each one had a beta fish in it. In order to save money on the vases, my mom cut out coupons and got them from friends and family who know she was doing it every week from a local art store, she went and bought a couple of vases every week until she had enough and saved alot of money that way! it was kind of funny actually because once she had them all, the exact vase she had been buying went on clearance for $1 or $2 less than what she had been paying for them with the coupons!!! But in any case, she still saved a bundle.

I checked on ebay and you can find wholesale lots of vases like that, but once you add in shipping it costs about $6 a vase anyways.

But definately check out the art stores in your areas for sales if you have enough time left before your wedding, you can at least save half the price on your vases if you get lucky with a sale on what you want!
 
Thank you, Dixie :)

My mock up centerpiece used a 4x4 cube vase. I''ve been trying to see if there are any plastic or tin boxes I can use instead and simply cover in paper to suit our tastes. I''ve found this one (the cube shaped one on right) and it is either $2.50 for 12 (!) or each. I''ll have to call tomorrow to check. Even if it''s $2.50 each, I''d use these and maybe not even have to cover them if they are silver enough!! My colors are lilac, silver, and sage afterall.

metal tins.jpg
 
By the way, it looks small in the pic but it''s a little larger than 4 x 4 which is perfect :)

I also found these neat things: They are boxes made entirely out of paper and cost $4.50 each. They are also 4x4 and come in smaller and larger sizes. I am actually going to call tomorrow to see if the flowers are also made out of paper, as opposed to silks, because if they are...they come in a dark purple rose one and I think this may just be very cute :)

paper box w paper flowers.jpg
 
In addition to the less expensive vases the others have found... I personally love the ribbon... and would encourage you to look for after holiday ribbon sales or costco ribbon BUT if you want to save $$ and not use ribbon-- I would buy frosting spray and frost the vases. You might be able to do all the vases with one or two cans. I've seen a peony display similar to your idea-- but with frosted glass and it looked great.

ETA: Um. I love the vase and ribbon. But frankly... I think the mirror looks kinda... bad...cheap. I would nix that and save some money that way too.


As for carnations. I wouldn't. Add up the total $$ you'd be saving. I think that if its less than 50 bucks you should go with the hydrageas. They will make a MUCH better impression.
 
Here''s a somewhat expected update: The hydrangeas are completely wilted
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Only 12 hours later. I will not be using them in August, then, that''s for sure.
 
Gypsy, you''re mock ups are beautiful. I really love them! I cut at an angle but did not use an additive
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Perhaps I''ll try again another time.
 
So Happy, I forgot to say before that the hydr. look great in your trial! I''m sorry they wilted so fast. I heard they are difficult to handle, especially in the heat, which you''ll likely have in August.
Have you tried anything w/carnations yet?
I think the silver containers would look nice, especially w/some pretty ribbon around them-maybe just around the top or bottom, in lilac or sage. Were the tips of the hydr. purple?
I also like the look of the flowers in the box. I''m not a huge fan of fake flowers but it does look pretty! Maybe you could see if Michael''s or Hobby Lobby have any cute boxes.
I think the alstro.''s or lillies would look really pretty in that sort of arrangement too, very full so you wouldn''t need many to fill the vase and such pretty colors.
 
Thank you honey.

I worked at a florist for about 10 years off an on.

Also, If the flowers are over refrigerated sometimes they do BAD things. REALLY bad. Like die immediately.

Keep in mind too that normally your flowers WILL be refrigerated or kept in a cool place except when they are actually on the table.

Oh... and I have better luck with oasis than with just vased flowers in terms of staying power.

Get some oasis... if you don''t know how to work with it practice a bit. Then try the stems in the oasis. Micheals normally has nice sales on thier four pack oasis blocks so it doesn''t really add more than 50 cents or so to the price of each centerpiece.

I always soak my oasis in treated water until it is REALLY good and soaked. I make sure to tap or hot glue it down as it gets REALLY heavy and things can tip. If you are using the ribbon vase idea you can definitely use oasis with that.


Another idea I''ve seen done at a wedding with hydrangeas was dried hydrangeas. It sounds strange but it was really cool. They dry really well, although they are really fragile.
 
Date: 3/31/2007 1:32:19 PM
Author: So_happy
Here's a somewhat expected update: The hydrangeas are completely wilted
7.gif
Only 12 hours later. I will not be using them in August, then, that's for sure.
Click to expand...

Have you seen my center pieces (actually a smaller pic is my AV). They were not DIY but they were mainly hydrangeas, my wedding was last August, in a square vase, and they looked beautiful for DAYS.

There are some pictures in my wedding thread which can be found here!
 
Here is a picture.

Tacori_wedding.jpg
 
Another way to hide the stems, is to wrap a leaf around the inside of the glass vase. This is done a lot and looks really good. That way you wouldn''t have to do anything to the glass itself or deal with the ribbon.

the metal tins WILL leak, and really, the glass looks better.

I''m using a lot of hydrangeas in my wedding too, but it''s not DIY. Hope they last a little longer!
 
Date: 4/1/2007 1:09:18 PM
Author: sumbride
Another way to hide the stems, is to wrap a leaf around the inside of the glass vase. This is done a lot and looks really good. That way you wouldn''t have to do anything to the glass itself or deal with the ribbon.


the metal tins WILL leak, and really, the glass looks better.


I''m using a lot of hydrangeas in my wedding too, but it''s not DIY. Hope they last a little longer!
Click to expand...

That is what our florist did. You can''t really tell in the picture but half had leaves lining it and half had grass. It was a really clean and modern look. Plus the green was a great contrast to the purple.
 
Thank you all for your constructive and complimentary feedback
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I felt my mockup looked quite lovely, too, while it lasted.

I was thinking of using foam no matter which type of material I used because we want to arrange them at home and lug them in to the venue ourselves and having just water in there will slosh around too much in the car. I''m figuring the foam provides the hydration and the nutrition they need and I don''t have to deal with a wet trunk or filling the containers up at the venue. That said, Summer, do you think the metal containers will still be likely to leak? I''m sure some residue would escape the foam but enough to cause leakage?

I will very likely tie a ribbon of some color around the silver tin, Dixie, as I think that just looks lovely ;)

I checked out Alstros yesterday as they seem to be everyway in the shops for Easter and I didn''t love them as much as I did in the pics. Very small. Hmm....maybe I''ll rethink that. Maybe I''ll just deal with it and do roses afterall.
 
Christmas Tree Shop has a pretty good selection of plain round/square glass vases for like $2.99 or so.
 
I don''t think I would trust them, even with oasis foam. The foam needs to be really saturated, and that usually means there''s a little water in the bottom of the container. Those tins are only meant to hold solids, not liquids, and the soldering seam doesn''t hold up to water.
 
ooOOooo... I like your trail!

Wow... I am sorry your hydrangeas wilted. I had many trails with mine and never had a problem. I clipped some from my mothers plant in her backyard, loaded them up in my car and drove and hour in June to play with them. We had heard smashing the ends of the stems would help them absorb more water, but angle cut worked equally well.

This is a pic from our reception (August)... at least 30 hours after we made them (set up before noon Friday, reception 6pm Saturday). We just used plain old water and cut the stems at an angle and bought the flowers from the grocery store! The room was cool and there were no windows so that probably helped! Oh, and thats just one big bloom too.

centerpiece_njc2.jpg
 
Date: 4/2/2007 3:30:49 PM
Author: njc
ooOOooo... I like your trail!

Wow... I am sorry your hydrangeas wilted. I had many trails with mine and never had a problem. I clipped some from my mothers plant in her backyard, loaded them up in my car and drove and hour in June to play with them. We had heard smashing the ends of the stems would help them absorb more water, but angle cut worked equally well.

This is a pic from our reception (August)... at least 30 hours after we made them (set up before noon Friday, reception 6pm Saturday). We just used plain old water and cut the stems at an angle and bought the flowers from the grocery store! The room was cool and there were no windows so that probably helped! Oh, and thats just one big bloom too.

centerpiece_njc2.jpg
Click to expand...
NJC: Wow! That really looks full and fresh and after 30 hours! Dang. I don''t know that I''ll try again (self-efficacy as it relates to hydrangea is a little low lol) using hydrangea but we''ll see :) I''m so happy yours worked out so well!!!
 
I thought I''d chime in on the hydrangea thing. We had a few thousand dollars worth of them at my wedding and it was 101 degrees on my wedding day. They lasted over a week - my mom couldn''t believe it! The wedding events were inside, of course, but my bouquet didn''t even wilt during the outdoor photo session in the middle of the day.

The florist did warn they may start to wilt before the night was over. I''m glad I didn''t listen and went with them anyway. Those babies were hearty!

I too would recommend going with them if you can. I''ll see if I can attach a pic of mine.

newshiny bouquet.jpg
 
I couldn''t figure out how to attach 2 pics in one post. Sorry.

newshiny centerpiece.jpg
 
Newshiny, you''re bouquet really is one of the lovliest hydrangea bouquets I''ve seen to date. Unfortunately, my experience has cast a shadow on these very lovely flowers and I have a feeling I''d be too nervous now after having seen them wilt in 12 measley hours. Sure, it could have been the draft from a window or my angle cut wasn''t as angle-y as it needed to be or......but I''d rather not worry so much about that and if I''m diy-ing I''d have no one to blame but myself if it happened.

I''ve read that dahlias are summer-proof and as you can see in the picture below, very full like hydrangeas and peonies etc. The one''s I''m interesetd in right now are actually all white with a light purple blush center for a little contrast.

dahlias_of_ukraine.jpg
 
I love dahalias and peonies too! I didn''t know enough about flowers to know what types would look good with each other, so I went for simple = all hydrangeas.

I think you''re on the right track with looking for hearty flowers.

I think I might have heard somewhere that Costco can special order flowers other than roses if you want them. That might be another way to go . . .
 
I think your hydrangea arrangement looks fantastic! And I agree with the others that they usually really last...

But since you mentioned carnations, I thought I would post this for you. These are arrangements I made last spring for a wedding shower. I used 3 bunches of 6/7 white carnations with a gold rice paper napkin surounding each bunch, like mini bouquets. Carnations are the bride's favorite flower, so I tried to find a way to make them look a little more sohisticated, and she loved them. Plus, they were really cost-effective and lasted for days and days after. I included the second picture to show scale, because these were pretty small but you could make them bigger if you wanted. Hope that helps!

ETA: Sorry for the picture quality! These had to be scanned in.

shower flowers collage.jpg
 
Date: 4/2/2007 5:44:43 PM
Author: fatafelice
I think your hydrangea arrangement looks fantastic! And I agree with the others that they usually really last...

But since you mentioned carnations, I thought I would post this for you. These are arrangements I made last spring for a wedding shower. I used 3 bunches of 6/7 white carnations with a gold rice paper napkin surounding each bunch, like mini bouquets. Carnations are the bride's favorite flower, so I tried to find a way to make them look a little more sohisticated, and she loved them. Plus, they were really cost-effective and lasted for days and days after. I included the second picture to show scale, because these were pretty small but you could make them bigger if you wanted. Hope that helps!

ETA: Sorry for the picture quality! These had to be scanned in.
Click to expand...
Fatalice: Thank you for the compliment! I also really liked it while it lasted. I love the green leaves on hydrangeas....so strong and well..green :)

I LOVE your idea with the carnations because the way you bunched them together first, gives them a hydrangea look!!!! Seriously great!!!! I could hug you right now because you've saved my budget by showing me this!!! And I won't have to deal with the thorns of roses :) Now, rice paper? What is that and where would I order it? Any trick to affixing it like you did? Does it come in many colors? Oh my..........did I say I could hug you???
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ETA: Fataleice, would you mind telling me how you were able to post more than one pic at a time in the same post????? I'd love to know how to do that!!
 
Dahlias usually need wiring as their stems can be fragile. Just an FYI.
 
SH: Yay! I am so glad that I could help! Here''s more info for you...

I purchased the napkins from Glassic Design. They have a website, but you have to call or email to order. The napkins do come in many colors and patterns, and if I remember correctly, the nice woman I spoke to even offered to send me samples so I could see them in person. I was in a rush, so I just prayed the gold would work, and it did. FYI, I also ordered the solid green, just to see it, and it was definitely bright - more like a Kelly green. The napkins themselves are a little sheer, but I found to my surprise that they hold up really well. They don''t fall apart if they get wet, which is great for this project. And they are actually a circle folded into quarters, which also is perfect for this. So here''s how I made them:

1. Gather carnations into bunch and wrap a little floral tape near the top to hold them together.
2. Cut the "point" off of the folded napkin so that when opened, there is a hole in the middle.
3. Thread the stems of the bunch through the hole and gather the napkin around them in the way that you like.
4. Wrap the stems and the bottom of the napkin liberally (yet neatly) in floral tape. (if you use your covered vases, you won''t see this anyway, but even in my clear goblets, it wasn''t noticeable at all)
5. Group buches together in vase. I used three, but you could use five instead for a bigger arrangement.

Some other notes:

--I made these with some help, assembly-line style and it worked really well.
--The first few will doubtless look a little messy, but once you figure out how you want them to look and practice, they will start to look better.
--I made them on a Friday night in April (it was about 40 degrees) and left them, out of water, in boxes in the back of my car, overnight until they were arranged and put in water around noon the next day. No problems at all.

Finally, if you don''t like the napkin choices, I think you could do something similar (better?) with large leaves around the bunches.

Let me know if you have any more questions!
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Oh, and I never post multiple pictures in one post, because it involves loading them to a host site first and I am lazy. I just make collages in PhotoShop if I want pics together.
 
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