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My practice calla lily bout

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So_happy

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Hee hee.....here is my very first crack at making a bout :) I chopped one of my beautiful easter calla lily stems for this!! I think it came out cute, tho!!

It was SO easy to do. It literally took me 5 minutes. Besides the bit of wire at the base, what do we think? I tried to twirl/curl the stem but my wire seems to be so darn thick! Maybe I only need one-ply and not two?

Well, we''ll see if it lasts overnight in the fridge and FI said if I made him one he''d wear it to work
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We''ll see.........he''ll probably take the corny pearl-headed pin out first tho!

Any tips on making it look better?? Any pics of call lily bouts for inspiration? I''d like to practice finishing the ends more...........

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So_happy

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A darker background and no pearl pin.....

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wolftress

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It''s so pretty! I don''t know what a bout is, but it looks very elegant. How sweet of your fiance to offer to wear it to work
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So_happy

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thank you!!! i write "bout" because I can NOT spell the full word. something like.........boutenniere? haha
 

E B

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I think it looks great! And it''ll save you a ton of money, doing them yourself. What do florists charge per bout? I''d bet the average is around $20.

Maybe for the big day, you could add a couple of leaves. But I like it the way you have it in the picture, too. Very clean and modern looking.
 

So_happy

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I like it like this, too :) However, I may try to loop some bear grass around it for interest........as in this pic (I love cymbids too!!). I looked around to see if I had anything to spice it up a bit and that''s where the pearl pins entered the pic haha.

green orchid bout.jpg
 

robbie3982

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It looks great!
 

sparkel

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So happy,

I think you did a good job but i think that you need greenery or it will look a little sparse. In addition you might want to use black pins as that is the norm for bouts while corsages tend to use pearl headed pins.

I like the idea of louping beargrass and if you wanted to cover the wire you could carefully glue a tiny piece of black ribbon over the wire or another coordinating colour to cover the tape.

:) Rebecca
 

So_happy

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Thank you, Robbie :)

Sparkel: I was thinking about that as I was trying to finally fall asleep last night. I watched this Martha Stewart mini video on bouts and thiers all had brown or white or other colored coverings. It made them look super nice :) Well, I still have 4 callas left that I had cut from my plant to arrange so maybe I''ll pick up some bout embellishments today. Although, these flowers are seriously as firm and fresh looking and strong as day 1, I clearly have several more days to figure this out before they die!

I can''t wait to see how long his bout lasts w/o water.
 

dtnyc

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Have you thought about wrapping them in silver wire? I have seen that look around and love it.
Also I second the call for some greenery- bear grass or some little berries would be cool.
 

So_happy

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Great idea, NYC ;-) Maybe I''ll pick up some fake berries today so I can use them throughout my mockup/trial proceses. I''m armed with some JoAnn coupons, after all
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monarch64

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It looks great so far!
 

San Diego Bride

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you're definitely on the right track, so happy!

as i mentioned in the other thread, my bouts were only $8. i thought that was pretty reasonable and worth it to have someone else do it. on the other hand, it would have huge sentimental value to say you made his bout.

as someone else mentioned, i think it would be beautiful with berries. my husband, surprised that i would "make him" wear a flower of any kind, vetoed anything other additions, but it sounds like yours might be game. i was able to just sneak in "minimal" greenery.

from my invoice:
Groom - Single medium pink mini-calla lilly with min. greeneries. $8.00

noviashubbysbout.jpg
 

FireGoddess

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Novia that''s very pretty! I would definitely add a little greenery or teeny white flowers for punch or something.
 

Gypsy

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Wrap the wire around a pen to curl it, then you can leave it tight, or pull it out as you like.
 

zoebartlett

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Hi So Happy! I just wanted to tell you how pretty the bout you made is. I love the color!

Zoe
 

akw94

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So Happy, I think you did a great job! The color is great, and I agree that maybe a little greenery would make it look even better.
Will you have your bouq. and bout.''s in the same flower? Have you decided on calla''s?

Will you do me a big favor, please! Can you write down step-by-step directions of what you did? You made it sound so easy and sooner or later, I''ll be trying this too. Maybe you could put it in our resource thread. Please!!
Btw, where do you find bear grass? Is it a standard at florists?
 

So_happy

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Hi Dixie :)

I actually got the confidence to try it due to watching one of the very DIY videos we put up there!! (I can''t remember which one but there aren''t that many to go thru lol). Plus, I just happend to have several calla lilies from easter and I had florist supplies left over from when I did my rose bouquet trial so I figured why not?

I threaded the wire thru the base of the flower (you can still see a bit of where I inserted it and I think next time I''ll go lower....I was nervous I think and didn''t want to not get it in right) and then bent the wire in half. Then I slightly twisted it (my wire was so thick that it was actually not easy to twist so if I had lighter (?) wire, I would have to say that this would be the easiest part) to make it into one piece. Then I trimmed the wire down to about 5 inches (it was about a foot long!), wrapped it with florist tape and tried to do a curled up finish but, again due to how thick the now 2-ply wire was, couldn''t so I simply bent it upwards as you see in the pick.

It literally took 5 minutes. It was actually anti-climatic it was that easy. lol And that bout looks as fresh as it did when we bought it in planted form 18 days ago!!!

If you have the supplies and any fresh flower in your home at all, I''d do one tonight if I were you and post it hee hee. Altho it wasn''t perfect, it can certainly get that way with one or two more sacrifical calla stems and it really boosted my DIY confidence.

FI had is first meeting with our area Rotary club and he wore it. Said it made quite a splash and it his percieved quirkiness really opened the door to networking!!!
 

akw94

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I''m excited (for both of us) that it was so easy. It really sounds simple the way you described it! A flower, a little wire and some tape and voila...
You should try one w/ribbon around the bottom too! And don''t forget to keep posting those practice pics. You''re boosting my confidence and I haven''t even started yet!
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So_happy

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Dixie~ I wanted to also mention that today I visited the Xmas Tree shop and found cube vases 2 for $3!!!! They are about 4" x 4" and that''s perfect and I''ll still be able to keep to the style/design I want from that pic in my thread "I found my centerpiece". I definitely picked up 10! I even had Joann coupons in my purse and was heading there next but I knew that at $1.50 each, I''d better take them. I have votives already so placing them around the smallish vase will add circumfrence....if that''ll even be necasarry on a 48" table!

I also found rectangular (yay!! not the regular rounded kind) colored (tinted green glass ..yay!!) bud vases for a buck a piece. I picked up enough for 2 per cocktail table. I had wanted differing vase heights on those cocktail tables but since I found such a good deal on them, I will compensate by maybe having 2 diff flowers of differing heights instead. They''ll still look pretty :)

I basically got all of the centerpiece containers I''ll need for $35! I''m very happy. Maybe check them out :)

Cheers!
 

So_happy

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Date: 4/13/2007 12:17:09 AM
Author: dixie94
I''m excited (for both of us) that it was so easy. It really sounds simple the way you described it! A flower, a little wire and some tape and voila...
You should try one w/ribbon around the bottom too! And don''t forget to keep posting those practice pics. You''re boosting my confidence and I haven''t even started yet!
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This is nice to have a cyber-partner in crime
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I really have to get cracking on those invites next!

I think the shape of the calla adds to it''s interest tho. It really boosts the project. In fact, it seems it''d be impossible to make it look bad lol.

FYI: I did poke around JoAnn''s today (my favorite place on the planet besides Outback Steakhouse and Olive Garden) and they have these little black, silver, or gold bout holders with pins on the back for $2! It looks to me like if I used one, the wire wouldn''t even be needed (if the stem could natrually be about 3 inches long) as it seems one would only need to place the flower in there with it''s greenery etc and voila! A little florist tape to keep the components (flower, greenery, berries whatever) together inside the holder.

I should have picked one up to try a fancier calla bout tonight but for some reason I walked out w/o it
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akw94

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Um, where do you find all these Joann''s coupons????? Actually, I rarely go there but usually go to Michael''s. There''s one not far from where I''ll be today though so I''m taking a look. You''ve inspired me so I''m ready to start shopping!
 

akw94

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Is the place actually called the Christmas Tree Shop?
 

So_happy

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**I find JoAnn coupons easily by subscirbing to thier online/email flyer (there''s always a coupon or two in there) and also by checking around when I actually get there because there are usually different flyers there (w/coupons) too. I don''t know if this is true for all J''s, but mine takes all competitor coupons as well (just learned this) so I''m going to check out M''s and also Ann Hope for coup''s too.

**Michael''s is the same kind of store except J''s has fabric etc as well crafts. At least, I think that''s the difference. Our J''s is a brand new superstore so, really, they have more crafts than M''s AND more fabric and quilting stuff than I''ve ever seen in my life in one place so we just go there. (Plus, since it''s new, it is brigher, cleaner, and more organized lol) So, I think if M''s is closer to you than you''d find the same kind of product. ButI don''t know yet about how many coups they put out. I''m going to have to check that out......

**I guess you don''t have Christmas Tree Shops around you? lol. I forgot it might be regional. But yes, that''s what they''re called and they house much more than christmas related things VERY inexpensively. They don''t offer online shopping
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akw94

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I will go subscribe to JoAnn''s today! I get some Michael''s coupons too from their online mailing but I forgot about JoAnn''s. Also, I found this great M''s coupon for 40% off one purchase but I think I threw away that magazine.
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I may have to browse through some magazines just for that coupon, b/c I''m pretty sure I''ll get the invites from there.
The M''s nearest me isn''t great but some others are huge and lots of stuff. I''ve been to J''s but forgot that it has so much more than fabric.

I''m going to buy some supplies this weekend!
 

So_happy

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Of the crafty-type stores, there is also AC Moore, which I have just realized I''ve been calling Ann and Hope
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. I have no idea now what a Ann Hope actually is !! But anyhoo.....AC Moore is the name of the other big craft house :)
 

Tacori E-ring

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My husband had a white one at our wedding. I loved how it looked in our photos. There might be a shot of it in my wedding photo thread.
 

brgirl

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Date: 4/13/2007 12:53:42 PM
Author: dixie94
I will go subscribe to JoAnn''s today! I get some Michael''s coupons too from their online mailing but I forgot about JoAnn''s. Also, I found this great M''s coupon for 40% off one purchase but I think I threw away that magazine.
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I may have to browse through some magazines just for that coupon, b/c I''m pretty sure I''ll get the invites from there.
The M''s nearest me isn''t great but some others are huge and lots of stuff. I''ve been to J''s but forgot that it has so much more than fabric.

I''m going to buy some supplies this weekend!
There are also Michael''s 40% off coupons in the Sunday paper every week if there is a Michael''s flyer in it! (there isn''t always one in our paper!)
 

akw94

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Thanks Brgirl. I forgot about looking in the paper!
 

So_happy

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quick update for anyone interested in the longevity of mini callas..............

the bout lasted 3 days w/o any water source and w/o keeping it in a fridge etc. It wasn''t even misted, poor thing. Pretty much, we gave it a worst case scenario type-of-life.

This sunday will mark 3 full weeks that my cut calla lilies are surviving in my florist foam on my coffe table. they seem to be deepening in color which is pretty but I''m thinking that indicates they may finally be on thier way out.
 
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