How far can a bunch of spray roses go?

Quite far is the answer! I bought a bunch of spray roses from Waitrose, I was looking for white but they didn't have any so I bought this amazing pink and white bunch instead. I was originally just planning to make the bouquet - I'd seen a photo in a magazine with the wire collar in a bowl shape and I wanted to try it out. Unfortunately I ran out of pink wire which is why it looks a little sparse in a few of the photos! I love the outcome though - it's probably not big enough for a bride but it would be good for a bridesmaid.

The foliage used in these is all from my mum's garden - she's planted a load of stuff just so I can use it in my arrangements, bless her.

I really enjoy making teacup arrangements so I thought that was an ideal use for some of the spare roses. I also still had some gyp from a previous arrangement so I used some of that as well. I'm not sure what the little berries are but the pink edges go perfectly with the roses!

The buttonholes were a bit of an afterthought but they meant I didn't waste any roses! I've never made a proper buttonhole before either so I thought it would be good to get some practice in before the summer when I've got my first two weddings! I may be blowing my own trumpet but I think they're pretty good for a first attempt! And I wired them all then covered them to finish them off.

Wedding: week 7

Here is the result of week 7 of my floristry course, and something a bit different! This was fun to make, if a bit fiddly, but I'm not really sure what I think of it. I'm not a big fan of the orchids dangling off. I like the incorporation of the wire flower frame though with a few beads and I might try that idea out again sometime.

Playing with wire

I mentioned in a recent post that I thought some of the wiring techniques we use in my college course would be good to make a brooch. I have now tried it out, and here's what I came up with. I also tried manipulating the wire into random shapes to make a necklace and a bag accessory. I also made a little charm for my car rear windscreen but I don't have a photo. I really like this technique and I think the results are really interesting. I have an online shop so I might think about making a few more and trying to sell them.

Wedding: week 6

We made two designs at college this week - a corsage and a designer buttonhole. The corsage is very similar to the one we made before but my technique is better this time - I've practiced my wiring and taping so it's a bit more delicate and light now.

The buttonhole was fun - the wiring technique is quite clever but very simple once you know how to do it. If you make it small enough it would probably make a nice brooch as well so I may give that a try at some point.

Wedding: week 1

I started the wedding unit of my floristry course this week, and we made a corsage. The smallest arrangement we've ever made and it took the longest! I didn't appreciate how much time it takes to wire and tape all the materials. I'm also not very good at taping - it was much too thick - so I need to work on that skill!

We're off for 2 weeks now for Easter, then I'll be away for the second week of the wedding unit so it's pretty much a month before I'm back in college!

Sympathy: week 9

Week 9 of the sympathy unit of my floristry course. And I'm really not keen on this design! We got to vote as a group on which design we wanted to make and I was on the losing side so I wasn't keen even before we started. I did actually quite like the wire pillow after I'd make that part, but once I started adding flowers I disliked it again! I think they're just too big compared to the size of the pillow so I may try it again at some point with smaller flowers.