Fall is Here

It has been a busy summer so I haven't done much in the way of arranging until recently. It was time for a new arrangement for church and a wreath for the door at home.

I just created one arrangement because the stage area gets a lot of use in the fall with our fall fest and the children beginning to practice for the Christmas program. Luckily this arrangement only looks heavy. I used a mix of dried and artificial flowers in this piece. The eucalyptus, seed pods, yarrow, and cat tails are all dried. The mums, dahlias, artichokes, and leaves are artificial. The container is a barrel, which I think is fun for fall. 

Our church is hosting the area presbytery meeting this month so I was asked to make an arrangement for the foyer too. I found this great large cornucopia at the pottery several weeks ago and just had to have it. I decided this was the perfect use for it. I created some asymmetry with an arrangement containing a cream rose, a pomegranate, a seed pod, an artichoke, an ornamental cabbage, some leaves, and wheat.

I had three more pomegranates and some chinese lantern flowers that I removed from their branches. I placed these items in a glass bowl. I love these colors!

After the fun at church, I was in the mood to make something for the house. I used the rest of my wheat and some red and orange grass. I added a curled bit of bamboo for interest on the right side of the wreath. I used a greenery base. This picture was taken with my phone so it's a little fuzzy.

Happy Fall!

Recycled Flowers

Both the Palm Sunday and Easter flower arrangements were only used one day, but the flowers lasted much longer. I recycled the flowers into 5 new arrangements. First the Palm Sunday recycled arrangements...

 I placed the alstromeria, gypsophila and palm in a milk glass epergne that was my mother's mother's. The epergne made the flowers appear rounded without having to use oasis.

 I simply placed the pussy willows in a tall slim vase with clear gems in the base. Hopefully the branches will root so that we can plan them in the yard.

 Now for the Easter recycling...I placed the roses in a red vase with some eucalyptus and baker fern. The flash obscures the vase a bit, but the color combination is lovely.

 To recycle the tulips, I lined a square vase with tulip leaves and placed a small brick of oasis in the center. This held the tulips better than simply letting them droop on their own. The leaves hid the oasis floral foam.

 I had two tulips left, so I placed them in a hobnail milk glass vase that is one of my mother's favorites. I added some baker fern, eucalyptus, and a sprig of pink-tipped dogwood from the yard. The top two I will take to work, but mummykins gets the hobnail vase arrangement.

Holy Week Flowers

We use artificial flowers at our church normally, but I like to use live when I can on the "high holy days". For the two Sundays in Holy Week I made the following arrangements.

For Palm Sunday I used two new bell bottomed vases that I found on sale at Target. (I actually bought all 3 off the shelf.) I used pink and candy cane alstroemeria, baby's breath (gypsophila), pussy willow, and palm branches. The children sang an offertory song waving palm branches, I was able to incorporate some of the extra in the arrangement.

For Easter Sunday I used cream roses with pink tinged edges, yellow tulips, purple iris, eucalyptus, and baker fern in two large urns. My sweet mother helped me with the arrangements. The idea was to look like spring bursting forth.

I also placed several lilies in pots on the stage and in the foyer. It isn't Easter without lilies!