Williamsburg Inspired Hostess Gift

Last weekend, hubby and I were graciously invited to spend the weekend at my dear sister-in-law's timeshare property in Williamsburg.  We jumped at the chance to see Williamsburg in its Christmas glory, especially all of the beautiful and natural floral displays on and in the colonial buildings.

The use of firs and fruits make it quintessentially Christmas and can be easily reimagined for a lot less than a commercially bought arrangement.

I knew I could design a floral centerpiece for a hostess gift for an upcoming dinner party, I knew exactly how I was going to use my Williamsburg inspiration.

The first this was to gather all my needed supplies.

Cuttings from my yard of various bushes and trees, holly cuttings from my neighbors gigantic holly tree, floral foamed and soaked container, WHOLE cloves, large yellow lemons, three $4.98 floral bunches from the grocery store, faux floral picks with a Christmas theme, wooden skewers (the kind you find in the grocery for shish-kebobs), floral foam, paddle wire, wire snips, and scissors.

I started by prepping 3 lemons.  I used an ice-pick, but the wooden skewer would have worked just as well.

I poked about 7-9 holes in a straight line, from bottom to top, and then pushed in the whole cloves.  When doing this, spill the cloves out on a paper towel so you can find ones that have the whole clove head on top of the stem.

I repeated this in opposite "lines" on the lemon, finishing with 4 sections.  I placed the lemon on a wooden skewer and help it up temporarily in the floral foam.  I made 3 of these in all.

Next, I opened and organized my floral and found this...

Womp, Womp.

But, I wasn't concerned because I knew I could fix it to work.

All was not lost!

Here's what I did.  I cut off a bit of the stem on the bud side at an angle.  I took a bit of the paddle wire and folded over.  With the folded side, I shoved it up into the stem of the rose.

(Because roses have stuffy woody-type stems, this is easy to repair.)

Next, I cut an angle in the lower part of the stem and pushed in the other side of the paddle wire.  

It sort of "puzzles" the two pieces together.

I used the floral tape to secure AND protect the "wounded" stem.  I also made sure to use this rose in a place where the bud would be supported by other parts of the arrangement.

This bud may or may not fully bloom, and will probably be the first rose to wilt, but when used in this way, you can at least salvage it and give it a chance.

At this point, I was ready to start assembling.

I always start with the filler as it becomes the stabilizer for the florals.  The woody stems are stiff enough to "hold" the other pieces and provide needed bulk.

As I've stated in other posts about flower arranging, the vessel you use dictates the overall shape of the arrangement.

Here, the vase is a short round that's about 6 inches in height.

I made sure that my filler went up around 12-15 inches and then fanned out "fat" all the way around.

Here it is ready for the flowers.

Now, if you are trying this, you might think it looks like a hot mess at this point.

It does!  

That's okay.  You need this substance to make it work, and you can always "jooge" the individual parts of the arrangement until you get it right.

In go the florals.

Tip:  Make sure that some of your elements really go "in" the arrangement at different depths.  Flowers don't all grow to one length, so you should never arrange them at all one length.

The eye should be drawn down into the arrangement because in your brain it created dimension and interest.  Your brain "searches" for the things it can somewhat see.  When it discovers it, it makes you happy...hence the reason flowers make (most) people happy to look at!

Anyway...

I start with a center floral that I want to use to draw the eye into the arrangement.  I picked the best bud of the roses and placed it at the highest point.  I then worked the other roses (including my repaired bud) around the arrangement.

Tip:  When working on arrangements, remember to rotate the vase often so that you have symmetry from every angle.  This is especially true when it will be placed on a table that can be viewed from 360 degrees.

If you are placing the arrangement in front of a picture, wall, or something that obstructs the view from any angle, you will build it forward from there and not waste your florals where they won't be seen.

Credit here

This arrangement will be seen from all sides and is perfect for a coffee or dining table setting.

Credit Here

This mug arrangement is made to be viewed from the front.  You can see that in the "back" is only greens and no florals.

I used a skewer and some floral tape to make the picks the perfect length for placing in the arrangement.  When the florals are all spent, the recipient can save these picks and use them again.

And just like that...

It was done.

You can see the purchased florals nestled in among the yard clippings.  The faux floral picks and the lemons were randomly scattered in as well and add depth, color, and texture.

Here's another view from the back.  

Texture, color, and different elements make it visually appealing and lovely.

I will tell you that my hostess loved the flowers ( I knew she would, she's as crazy about having fresh flowers in her house as I am.) and everyone there thought they were purchased from a "real florist!"

I priced out similar "real florist" arrangements and they would have cost anywhere between $65-$125!

Mine totaled around a whopping $24.

I reused and gifted the vase, and other than the flowers, picks, and lemons, I had everything else on hand.

Savings in my pocket is a great way to break the rules!