flowers

Preserving Flowers Easily and Affordably

- Mama 1 Comment

It’s prom season. Can you believe it? It seems like just yesterday was Christmas, then Valentine’s Day, but now, it’s the season of puffy, glittery dresses, limousines, and flowers. I remember my own prom like it was just days ago, and then suddenly realized that it’s been nearly a decade. I find it so hard to believe that I’m closer to my ten year reunion than I am to my high school prom… what’s even more amazing is that I still have the corsage from my senior prom tucked away in a box.

How did the corsage survive almost a decade? With careful preservation. But you don’t need a lot of expensive materials or a difficult process… it’s actually quite simple to preserve flowers from a special occasion like prom in the comfort of your own home.

You only need 3 things: your flowers you’d like to preserve, a shoebox (great opportunity to recycle the box from those pretty prom heels!), and Borax, which you can find at retailers like Walmart in the laundry section. Borax has many great uses around the house, and it’s often in the homemade laundry soap recipes floating around the internet. Borax can be used to unclog drains, deodorize garbage pails, and more. The great thing is that it’s about $0.08-$0.12 per oz, which is incredibly affordable.

Grab your shoebox, pour a nice layer of Borax in the bottom, and gently nest your flower, corsage, or other floral piece onto the Borax. Carefully pour Borax over the flower, covering it. Make sure you’re gentle to not distort the flower.

Close the box (and optionally, tape it to ensure it won’t spill), and mark the date. Let it sit undisturbed for two weeks.

Now, it’s time to unseal the box and see if it worked!

On the left is an unpreserved pink carnation, and on the right, the preserved pink carnation. As you can see, the vibrant color was preserved, the shape and size was preserved, and each fold of the flower was carefully preserved. It looks pretty true to the unpreserved carnation, which you can tell is starting to experience a little bit of wilt.

 

Now, you never have to worry about a treasured memory going to waste, because preserving a flower at home is easy and affordable.

What memories do you have of your prom? Did you save your corsage? Talk about it in the comments below!

Some Keys to Floral Design

- Mama 2 Comments

I recently shared a post about a candy buffet, and mentioned that I had repurposed the canvas and some of the vases into a new piece of art in my home.

Every year, I know that spring is on it’s way the moment I see my favorite flowers in stores… Crazy Daisies! They’re basically the daisy we all know and love, dyed bright, springy colors.

For me, these flowers add a pop of springtime to any room that they are in, and I love the idea of using them to decorate.

Whenever I incorporate flowers into my home decor, I keep in mind a few basic principles to keep the design seamless.

First, I try to select vases that coordinate together. You can do this in a couple of ways… for one, you could choose vases that match exactly in every way. For example, three short, square vases, or a set of tall, skinny, round ones. Or, you could have the vases be different shapes, heights, and styles, but keep them the same color scheme. I chose pink.

When using colored vases, it is good to find a work of art behind them that complements them, rather than takes away from them. I chose artwork with a pink bike to match the pink of the vases, without being too overwhelmingly pink.

Also consider your flowers. You can try different types of flowers in the same color, or, like I did, the same type of flower in different colors. You can also try the same flower in the same color (for example, all pink roses), or even flowers that complement each other (lemon leaf, red roses, baby’s breath, and white mini carnations  are my go-to combo). You really have to play with it and see what works best for you.

Sometimes, I’ll snap a picture of my flowers in black and white to see if they look good together shape-wise, then consider the color combination.

If it doesn’t work in black and white, I take out whatever isn’t working for me.

Try different groupings, too. Odd numbers work very well together, like sets of 3 and sets of 1

Every once in awhile, though, an even number grouping will work well together.

I decided to add in these vintage books I loved as a child, to complement and ground the design a bit.

I also try to make sure my love for fresh flowers doesn’t break the bank. I look for discount flowers by finding ones that have one or two dying. Often, only one or two flowers in a set will be wilting, but they will mark them down to half off!

I also try to build a relationship with the floral department, because often, if they have some flowers that are extra or leftover, they will simply give them to me or let me have them at a lower price.

I look for vases at thrift sales, auctions, and antique stores, often for only a dollar or two a piece. These were purchased from Hobby Lobby, the most expensive being $5 after coupon.

Flowers can make a huge statement on an end table or as a focal point of a room. Not in the mood to spend money on cut fresh flowers? Grab some live orchids or a peace lily for a plant that will add lots of beauty, but won’t die off as easily. I particularly like Just Add Ice orchids, and tended mine for over a year by adding an ice cube each week.