Secrets to Easy Floral Arranging

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While at SNAP last week, we attended a flower arranging workshop presented by our friend Brittany from One Charming Party. I can count on one hand the number of flower arrangements that I’ve done, and Aimée had zero experience. To be sure this was both of our first attempts at a “real” arrangement that involved more than one type of flower. The class was taught by the darling Megan Dunford of Persimmon Floral — love her!

Megan began by teaching us six basic design forms in flowers: Focal, Form, Mass, Line, Filler and Greens. She arranged these inspiring buckets of blooms, the varieties she chose were both hearty and inexpensive (good for beginners!). I love the little signs she made telling us how many of each flower type to grab. These numbers were for a one-sided arrangement, so if you want to make an arrangment that has no front or back you’ll need to double up on the Focal and Form flowers.

How to Pick Flowers for your Arrangment

Interestingly without any consultation Aimée and I picked out the EXACT same flowers — right down to two pink carnations and one coral — you know what they say about great minds!

The flowers we chose (from left to right): Misty Blue (Filler), Bear Grass (Line), Football Mum (Focal), Lemon Leaf (Greens), Button Mum (Mass), and Carnations (Form)

Hardy Flowers for Easy Floral Arrangments

Those darling little Button Mums were my favorite.

The big secret we learned from Megan was to use clear floral tape to make a grid on the top of your vase. This little tip truly made arranging the flowers easy since it helped hold the blooms right where you placed them. It also provided a great organizing framework.

We first placed our focal flower at an angle in the vase — it could NOT be right in the center. We then built around the focal flower adding groupings of odd numbered stems. Another designer secret we learned was to clump like flowers together.

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Megan had loads of ideas for fun containers — tin can, soda bottle, goldfish bowl, mason jar. She emphasized that using something unique will automatically give your arrangement a more designed and professional feel. We used square glass vases, but added extra polish by wrapping them in strips of scrapbooking paper.

Finish your Flower Arrangment like a Pro

I secured the paper on my vase (below left) with an orange rubber band that complimented the orange stripes in my paper — totally cute, right?

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This flower arranging class was one of our favorites at SNAP, and Megan’s darling display was a big part of why — Aimée and I are real suckers for pretty arranged tables. Plus how creative is that business card garland Megan made for the front of her table? I think we were probably the teacher’s pet.

Ready to get your hands on some flowers? Read this post all about how to host your own Flower Arranging Party or learn how to make easy flower crowns with fresh flowers.

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Bettijo Bridges

Administrator at Paging Supermom
Bettijo is the founder and designer of Paging Supermom where she shares creative ideas for family fun. Known for practical and kid-friendly activities, free printables and holiday entertainment. Bettijo was a guest on the Martha Stewart Show and has frequently appeared on local TV. Her work has also been featured in national magazines including Real Simple, O, Redbook, Parents, Family Circle, and Health. She enjoys art, retro-modern design, photography and making new things. Mom of 4 kids.

4 thoughts on “Secrets to Easy Floral Arranging”

  1. I Loved this class at SNAP! Though, I must admit, I’ve had quite a bit of experience working with flowers previously. Megan’s displays were breathtaking, and I hadn’t ever used a taped grid before. It was really fun having out with you gals for a little bit!

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  2. I love this but I can’t read the signs. I would love to know what they say. All I see is 1 focal2 greens but I can’t read the rest.

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