Thinking about making something for your mom for this Mother's Day? Well, look no further! Here is an easy (and cheap!) floral arrangement, she will surely love! All of these flowers are from my local supermarket (Publix) and it was $18.99 for all of them! The tulips were $6.99 and the fillers (other flowers) were 3/$12. The vase I chose was an old one I had around the house, but you can get one for $1.00 at the dollar store and you can spray paint it if you want to add a little special touch. All materials totaling out to $19.99 (without tax). I have created a step by step process on purchasing and designing the flowers, so they look like you ordered them from a florist!
Okay, are you ready? Let's get started . . .
Materials:
-Flowers (main flowers + pop of color flower + fillers)
-Glass vase
-Flower Scissors or regular scissors
-Ribbon
[From Left to Right: Green stem from a tree in my backyard, flower scissors + gold painted glass vase, light blue ribbon + pink tulips, maroon/purple mums + yellow fuji flower, white carnations with pink outline + pink tulips + solidago + florida ruscus]
Step 1: Choose your flowers
When choosing your flowers, make sure you have a clear budget in mind, so you don't go over it. Your first choice should be your "main flower." This should be the flower that your mom loves or the main color you are trying to go for in the arrangement and will stand out the most in the design. I chose pink tulips as my "main flower" because they were only $6.99 for (10) stems and that's what I wanted to have the most of in the arrangement. I love their color and shape, which is perfect for the look I was going for. (Main flowers can also be roses or lilies, you may choose your favorite one!)
The second choice is your "fillers." These are your greens and other filler flowers, such as the mums and carnations above. These were a part of the 3/$12 package deal at Publix, so I was able to get 3 different packages of different kinds of flowers. While choosing the 3 varieties of the 3/$12 deal I made sure one of my choices included a "pop of color flower" to compliment my "main flower." I chose the yellow fuji flower, which came in a package with the solidego and some other mums. So, one package had the caranations, the other only had mums and the last one included the fuji, solidago and more mums.
Some of my greens (pictured all the way to the left of the picture above) are from a tree in my backyard, which means they were free! I cut (8) stems from the tree in my backyard to use as green fillers.
Finally, find a vase you want to use for your arrangement. The vase I chose was one that I already had at home, but you can find some for $1 at the dollar store or even at the grocery store. Just make sure your vase opening is not too large or too small. About 2-3 inches should be good enough for this amount of flowers.
Step 2: Prepping the flowers
After you've purchased your flowers and vase, you must go home and take all of your flowers out of it's packaging, cut about 1/2 of the bottom and put them in water before you begin your design. (Inside a different vase than the one you are already using).
Step 3: Design your base
Once you have prepped your flowers, you're able to start designing! First, fill your vase about halfway with water and star placing your "greens" in the vase. For a whimsy look like arrangement in the picture below, the top left stem should be the highest point of the arrangement, everything else should be several inches shorter. The greens should be on both ends of the arrangement with the highest point on one side and the lowest point on the other side (an asymmetrical shape). Start with (2) green stems (one on each side). Then, start filling the bottom of the arrangement (closer to the rim of the vase) with the colorful fillers (carnations and mums). After putting about 5-6 stems of colorful fillers, fill in the empty spaces with the green fillers. This will make it look fuller. If you still have a few empty spaces, add more colorful fillers.
Your base should look as full as the picture below with green and colorful fillers.
Step 4: Add the "Pop of Color Flower"
Once your base is ready, you are able to add your "pop of color flower." I chose the yellow fuji flower as my pop of color flower because it complimented the pink and purple shades of the other flowers. Since I only had (1) solidago and (1) yellow fuji flower, I decided to put them diagonal from each other, so they would balance the arrangement. You don't want to put this pop of color right in the middle because the arrangement is not symmetrical and the brightness of the yellow flower really pops at the bottom of the arrangement.
Step 5: Add your "Main Flower"
Now, it's time to add the pink tulips, which were my "main flower" choice. Since I had (10) stems, I was able to add a lot of pink, like I wanted. You want to cut the stems of these flowers in different sizes, so they have different heights and are at all levels of the arrangement. You want some to stand out and others to fill in around the bottom and the center of the arrangement. There is no true science to how you should place these, so just let your creativity run wild and move them around as you please until you love it!
Step 6: Final touches + Instagram it!
If you have some extra flowers, you can add a few more to add more fullness if you'd like or if you have another vase, you can even make a smaller arrangement for your grandma, your aunt or even to keep for yourself! Once you feel your arrangement is finished, you can tie a nice little bow around the vase and make your mom a pretty card. But before you give it to her, just remember to share a pic on Instagram and tag me on it, so I can see your beautiful masterpiece!
[@mustardandplum / #PeplumFlowersForMom]
I can't wait to see what beautiful creations you decide to make for your mama! She really deserves the best and I am sure she'll adore your beautiful creation!
xoxo
