First Come Flowers

Part 2: How To Gift Wrap Using Fresh Flowers

 

Gift Wrapping With Fresh Flowers

This is Part 2 of our series called, Flowers and Gift Wrapping. You may read Part 1 here.

 

How To Gift Wrap Using Fresh Flowers

Fresh flowers can add an elegant touch to your gift wrapping.

But fresh flowers won't last too long without a source of water. It's best to cut and place the flower on your package shortly before giving it to the recipient.

Traveling for an hour on a hot day before you give the gift? Use a fake flower instead. Nobody wants a gift with a wilted flower on it!

Here are 2 ways to wrap a gift using fresh flowers without having them wilt before the gift has been given:

I    Use Flowers That Don't Wilt Quickly

Carnations, chrysanthemums and cymbidium orchids can last quite a while without water. If these fresh flowers have had the chance to drink lots of water before you place them on your gift, they'll still look great when you present the it.

II    Use Any Kind of Flowers In Water Tubes

Florists and floral departments in craft stores, often carry little green tubes that hold water for fresh flowers.

Fill the tube with water, but not all the way to the top. Cut your fresh flower on an angle and stick it in the tube. Do this over a sink or the water may spurt out on your gift.

I would use this technique for a gift that can stand upright rather than one lying down. The water tubes sometimes leak. You don't want to ruin your gift wrapping and/or your gift trying to make it look pretty. 

Add a piece of foliage to enhance the look of your flower if you like.

How to Cover The Water Tubes

You can cover the water tube with ribbon or use a bow with lots of loops to cover it. Play around with this until you get it right.

Wired ribbons make it easy to make a bow with lots of loops that will stay put. Here's a link to a video called, "How To Make Ribbon Loopy Bows" 

 

How Many Flowers Should You Use?

You can either add a single flower stem or a nosegay which is a small cluster of flowers.

Single Flower Stem on Gift Technique

Cut the fresh flower stem 4 inches long. That's probably too long. But it's better to cut it too long at first than too short. Then just stick it under the ribbon near the bow.

If the flower has a stem that is very short, like a cymbidium orchid you can either tie it or wire it to the ribbon near the bow.

You can cut a 6 inch piece of wire and stick it through the stem of the cymbidium orchid just under the bloom.  Twist the ends together a bit then wrap the ends around the ribbon to secure it to the package.

If you are totally lost with my directions or want to provide some water to your cymbidium orchids,  then check out this link for a tutorial on wiring cymbidium orchids.

 

 
  

Nosegay on Gift Technique

Collect a bunch of small fresh flowers such as: spray roses, pom poms, mini carnations, etc. and a bit of foliage.

Arrange the flowers in an attractive bunch to create a nosegay. Learn how to wrap the stems with wire, then green floral tape here. Cut the stems to an appropriate length and stick them under the ribbon. 

Now you know almost everything I know about wrapping gifts using fresh flowers. 

Read Part 3 of this series "How to Gift Wrap Using Fake Flowers" in our next post.   

Which fresh flowers would you use on a gift?

Mimi 

P.S. You can also use dried flowers on gifts.

 

Image:   Blue Hydrangea    Girl Inspired    Sunday In Bed    Holly Maus

Part 1: How To Gift Wrap Elegantly

 

Why Gift Wrap Elegantly?

 "We all know that wrapping a gift prettily is not a necessity. It is merely a small, but thoughtful, gesture that can add to someones enjoyment of a special occasion.

It's a chance to display a bit of our creativity as well. So relax, have some fun, and get pleasure out of your efforts - the nicest gift of all."     Carolyne Roehm    

 

I was inspired to write this series on Flowers and Gift Wrapping by a book written by Carolyne Roehm called, Presentations: A Passion for Gift Wrapping.

I've seen this book many times. But when I saw it at the library today something told me to borrow it. So I did. 

By the time I walked up the hill to the shop,  I had already outlined the blog series in my head.

 

Flowers and Gift Wrapping

Part 1    How To Gift Wrap Elegantly

Part 2    How to Gift Wrap Using Fresh Flowers

Part 3    How To Gift Wrap Using Fake Flowers 

Part 4:   How To Make Flowers for Gift Wrapping 

 

 How To Gift Wrap Elegantly

  
 
Containers - You can wrap your gifts in traditional gift boxes, hat boxes, decorative shopping bags, decorative containers or paper cones. The sky is truly the limit.

 
 
Paper - Select either plain or simple patterns (stripes for example) that can be used for many different occasions. You also want paper that can be used for males and females.

The paper above fits none of the criteria. But it is simple and elegant. Brown kraft paper, white, black and your favorite colors are a good start. You can even use newspaper to wrap your gifts. One of my favorites is that peachy colored N.Y. newspaper.

Some stores sell decorative wrapping paper by the sheet. You can also use scrapbooking paper for small items.

Generally speaking, the simpler the paper the more elegant the gift. You may quote me on that! LOL!

 
 
 Fabric - I've used scarves and pieces of unique fabric to wrap odd shaped items. The wrapping actually becomes part of the gift. This gift is wrapped in felt cut to look like a pocketbook. How clever!

  
 

Ribbon - When possible use real ribbon. I mean ribbon made out of fabric like satin, velvet, grosgrain etc. That satin acetate ribbon, that feels more like paper than ribbon, looks cheap and is hard to tie into a nice bow.

Buy real ribbon at fabric stores or craft stores. Michael's usually has spools of real ribbon at the front of the store for one dollar. Select colors and patterns that will go with your wrapping paper.

Buy ribbon that is between 7/8 of an inch wide - 1.5 inches wide or wider if you like. You can buy solids, stripes, polka dots, etc. 

Ribbon in natural and muted colors looks elegant. You can buy the neon pink for that special someone, but I wouldn't make it a habit if you want a sophisticated look.

 

Flowers - Fresh or nice fake flowers add a real touch of class to a gift. Parts 2 and 3 of this series will discuss how to incorporate flowers into your gift wrapping. To discover how to select realistic fake flowers read "How To Fool People With Fake Flowers" here.

 

Embellishments - You can add other little items to the outside of your gift such as miniature wooden spoons for a cookbook, beads, holiday ornaments, whatever you like. Just don't overdo it.

So these are the basics of elegant gift wrapping. Read Part 2: "How To Gift Wrap Using Fresh Flowers" 

It will discuss how to include fresh flowers in your gift wrapping for special or not so special occasions.

Here are a some nice gift wrapping blogs:

A Gift Wrapped Life

The Gifted Blog

Paper Source Blog

What was the most unusually wrapped gift you ever gave someone?

Mimi 

Image:   Heather Bullard   Absolutely White   Simplified Bee 

             Heart of Light   Houz.com

             Heather Bullard

Floral Inspiration: You Are Unique!

 

"You are unique, and if that is not fulfilled then something has been lost."  

                                                        Martha Graham    

    

Image:   Fly Me to The Moon Florists 

Amaranthus Flower Arrangements

Green Amaranthus at NYC Flower District

I really like the drama amaranthus adds to a flower arrangement. Just seeing it in a bundle on the ground outside of one of the flower wholesalers on Monday inspired me.

 

Here's an amaranthus flower arrangement I made a while back for one of our corporate clients. Amaranthus looks and feels a lot like it was knitted. 

I love the mix of textures in the red gerbera daisies and roses, and the green trick carnations, hypericum berries and amaranthus.

Types of Amaranthus

Learn about the various kinds of amaranthus on the Martha Stewart website.

  

The copper colored amaranthus in the above arrangement looks great with the purple lisianthus and burgundy cymbidium orchids. I know the lisanthus looks blue, but it's really purple. It's the lighting that makes it look blue. 

Hydrangea and amaranthus make a great combination in this flower arrangement. Since this variety of amaranthus hangs, using a vessel like this one really shows it off nicely.

 

Amaranthus is shown in all of its glory in this dramatic green and white floral arrangement. Several different types of foliage are used here that make it truly unusual.

Which of the amaranthus flower arrangements do you like best? You won't hurt my feelings if you like others more than mine.
 

Images:   Fly Me To The Moon Florists   Fly Me to The Moon Florists      Get Married.com   

             Bollea.com   Silver Rose

A Pale Pink Flower Moment

 

"We all have them... Moments when our lives could be snapshots from a magazine. These are my snapshots."  Jane Cameron

I love this quote. It reminds me that no matter how hard life gets sometimes, there are still sweet moments that can take our breath away. Little moments of joy.

I just discovered a blog called, "A Magazine Moment," when I was reading one of my favorite blogs, "this is glamorous." 

A "Magazine Moment" is written by Jane Cameron, creative director of an Australian Wedding magazine. It's full of short posts with interesting pictures she takes herself. Stop by and take a peek.

 So the next time you find yourself stressed out about something, just remember the magazine moments in your life.   

 

Here's one of mine. On Monday, after I selected my flowers for the shop, I decided rather than just rush back uptown, that I'd stop and have breakfast. I took this picture with my telephone at a pedestrian mall near Madison Square Park.

It began to drizzle ever so lightly. But it didn't bother me at all. Beause I was sitting under one of those pretty blue table umbrellas without a care in the world. Happy to be alive. And living in New York City. 

Please share one of your magazine moments.

Mimi 

 

Image:   A Magazine Moment   Fly Me To The Moon Florists

Floral Inspiration: Flower Arrangement In Footed Bowl

 Flower Arrangement in Footed Bowl

 I just love the casual elegance of this beautiful centerpiece. It's  by Brooklyn, New York floral designer and stylist, Amy Merrick. You can visit her website Amy Merrick Flowers here.

What do you think about this style of flower arrangements?

Mimi

 

 

Image:   Amy Merrick Flowers 
 

How To Make A Flower Pen

 

Flower Pen at Fly Me To The Moon Florists

We get lots of compliments each week about the pen we have at our register. It's just a simple flower pen. I threw it together so customers would have something interesting to use to sign cards and credit card receipts.

Most people think it's a real flower. I just love seeing my male customers pick up this dainty little pen. 

Flower pens make great party favors, teachers gifts and crafts for kids.

How To Make A Flower Pen

They're really easy to make.  And don't require a lot of materials. Here's a link to a video called "How to Make A Flower Pen". 

 

Here's what's called a flower pen "bouquet." It's actually a flower pen arrangement, but I won't tell anyone if you don't.

Flower Pen Tips

The more sophisticated the fake flowers, I mean permanent botanicals are, the better your flower pens will look.

Wrap the flower pens all the way down to the pen tip with green floral tape. Some tutorials leave room at the bottom so you can put the pen cap back on. But once the pen is totally wrapped the pen doesn't dry out. The first one I made lasted 2 years.  

Look for flower bunches that have 5 or more flowers on each stem. You can make a lot more flower pens for less.

You can find flowers at craft stores. But be on the look out for nice ones at dollar stores.   

You'll need either wire cutters or a pair of scissors you don't care about. Cutting the stems with your good scissors will ruin them. Some times, if the wire isn't too thick, you can just cut the plastic wire coating then crease and bend the wire back and forth until it breaks.

Some tutorials instruct you to remove the pen "stopper," you know that piece that keeps the air out on the top of the pen. Then remove the top of the flower from the stem (it just pulls off) then hot glue it into the hole. I've never done it that way though.

Flower Pen Tutorials

• Ready, Set, Craft
• Blog Jessica Weible
• Seaside Stitches

So go ahead! Make some flower pens and let me know how they turn out.

Mimi

 

 

Fall is a great time to make these because fall flower colors are so beautiful/

 

 Image:   Fly Me To The Moon Florists    Everyday-Pretties  

Big Trouble at Fly Me To The Moon Florists?

 

Red Monochromatic Flower Arrangement 

We began the month creating floral arrangements for two special events for the same client. The first was on a Monday. 

They requested arrangements with an Asian flair. So we created centerpieces with burgundy cymbidium orchids. They loved them. Said they hadn't seen anything like them before.

The next day we were asked to create flower arrangements for an event for men. They specifically asked that they not be too frilly or feminine.

So I create what I thought were "stunningly beautiful monochromatic flower arrangements" for this event. 

I decided to use burgundy calla lilies, red roses, black magic roses (a huge and magnificent  deep red rose), red ginger, hypericum berries, celosia, and burgundy leaves.

I was in a hurry when I took the picture of the red monochromatic arrangement above. So it really doesn't do it justice.

Anyway, we checked each of the arrangements to make sure they were perfect. Packed them in boxes and loaded them into the vehicle.

My business partner, Dave, decided to take the invoice with him. As he reviews it, he noticed the following words: "bright and colorful."

We thought the arrangements looked great, but by no stretch of the imagination could they possibly be called "bright and colorful."

As a matter of fact, when I ran out of burgundy leaves and began adding green ones I thought they looked rather Christmasy.

There was no time to make any changes. I didn't have enough "bright and colorful" flowers to add to them anyway. 

They were elegant. They were sophisticated.  They just weren't" bright and colorful."

I was frantic!

I had two things going for me though:

1) I didn't have to deliver them. That was Dave's job. In my eyes, that would have been "a fate worse then death."

2) Since it was an event for men, there was little chance that there would be carefully coordinated pastel napkins or "bright and colorful" favors at each place setting.

So I do the only thing I know how to do in these situations. I pray. I prayed that they would be so overwhelmed by these "stunningly beautiful monochromatic flower arrangements" that they wouldn't care what color they were.

After major flower deliveries, I usually get a call from Dave giving me the low down on how everything went. He didn't call. And I was way too scared to call him. Figured I'd just wait to hear the bad news when he returned.

As soon as Dave walked into the venue, the staff began calling to him, "Let me see. Let me see." They were apparently so pleased with the flower arrangements from the day before that they could not wait to see these.

Our contact at the venue took one look at them and said,  "These are beautiful!"  The rest of the staff were saying similar things.

Once Dave realized that we were not in big trouble. He said, "We were worried when we realized at the last moment that you had actually requested bright and colorful floral arrangements. " She told him,  "No, this is EXACTLY what I wanted."

Every day I'm learning. When I really do my thing with flowers. Truly my thing. People are always delighted.  More and more of you are just calling and trusting us to make arrangements for you.

I knew the reds would work for these men as long as I made the arrangements sophisticated, textural and interesting.

But you better believe I won't be making that mistake again!

What have you done wrong that ultimately turned out to be just right? 

Mimi

How to Be Truly Beautiful

 
Red Celosia Flower Arrangement 

 "For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise,  walk with the knowledge that you are never alone." Audrey Hepburn

 

Hope you guys are enjoying your summer!

Please forgive me for not posting for such a long time. We were super busy last month with a major wedding and large special events.

And when we weren't busy, I was taking time off to catch my breath.

But, I'm back now and looking forward to posting regularly.

What have you been up to this summer?

Mimi