Anyone who knows me will tell you that I love to decorate. I decorate my home, the window in my home and I mean all of the window in my home, and I love autumn. The only time of year I like more than autumn is Christmas. Anyway, I have a very simple project for you that when completed looks absolutely beautiful. You can use this anywhere in your home to brighten up any space.

Image: Kathy Zengolewicz

Here is what you will need:

• A 20 inch carvable artificial pumpkin (you can use a real pumpkin if you would like)
• Craft foam
• An assortment of fall sprays (flowers or small ornaments)
• 2 Fall floral picks
• A hot glue gun and glue stick
• A pair of wire cutters
• A sharp knife (I use an xacto knife)

Now you are ready to get started. First, cut a hole around the stem of the pumpkin about 5 inches in diameter. You can cut the hole in the very top of the pumpkin or you can cut the hole closer to the face of the pumpkin, that’s what I did in with mine. When you cut it closer to the face (front) of the pumpkin, it is a lot easier to get the full effect of the flowers. Fill the inside of the pumpkin with craft foam. Make the foam fit tightly so that the items don’t shift when you lift or move your pumpkin. There is a styrofoam glue that you can use to glue the styrofoam to the pumpkin, but I don’t think it is necessary to do that unless you will be moving it around once you have it all put together.

Place two fall sprays, one on each side of the opening, bend them downward over the sides of the opening. Place the largest spray in the center and work around it to fill in the spaces with picks and sprays. Fix your arrangement any way that pleases you.

That is all there is to it. You now have a beautiful fall floral arrangement that you can use any way that you choose. You can also use it for a centerpiece for your dining table. Enjoy!

Kathy Zengolewicz is an author, ghostwriter, editor and proofreader. To learn more about Kathy and her services, visit her website at kathyzengolewicz.com.

Post from: Blisstree

How to Create a Fall Floral Arrangement

Image: sxc.hu

This post [Flowers for Weddings and Special Times] brought back memories. When our younger son got married, his wife was so busy she had no time to prepare for the wedding, so Chip took over. When we arrived, he had a two-page spread from a Martha Stewart wedding magazine ready for me. It outlined how to make a bouquet. He’d bought all the necessities except the flowers which we bought together. In general Chip has about as much interest in this stuff as he does in jumping out of a plane, which is to say, none. But he was determined to make everything beautiful for Sam and despite the fact that I had never done a bouquet before, it came out beautifully. Looked like it had cost a fortune! Thanks for the reminder.

Have you created floral arrangements for special times?  Share the memories with us.

Post from: Blisstree

Joys of Bouquet Making for Weddings

Image: sxc.hu

A couple examples of keeping expenses down are my daughter’s and my weddings.  Perhaps you have some other tips to contribute.

Neither my daughter nor I had the traditional floral arrangements and bouquets for our weddings.  I had natural flowers and my daughter silk ones.  For both of us, the cost wasn’t exorbitant.

For my wedding, my mom purchased a mass of flowers from a local florist.  My mother-in-law-to-be made the bouquet for my aunt (who was my attendant), corsages for the mothers and two other aunts, boutonnieres for the men, and a floral arrangement that encompassed the small white Bible I carried.  She also made up vases of flowers for the luncheon tables.  The reception took place in the yard of my parents’ home.

Our daughter was married 600 miles away from our home, so there wasn’t a great deal I could do personally for the wedding.  I took care of the flowers and arranged for a local silk flower artist to make up the bouquets for the bride and bridesmaid, corsages for the moms, one grandmother and aunt, and boutonnieres for the men.  These arrangements were lovely and looked like real flowers.

You can order the traditional flowers for weddings or look to your or someone else’s talent for creating artistic arrangements.  If you plan well, you can keep your special event flowers within a reasonable budget.

Any tips on what has worked for you?

Post from: Blisstree

Flowers for Weddings & Special Times