Creating a Beautiful Floral Bouquet as a Gift

I love flowers. Giving, receiving, walking in gardens, and those you see at the grocery store or market. The colors and the smells all make me happy. I work hard to make each floral bouquet last when I receive them by changing the water to removing withered stems to help freshen the flowers left in the arrangement. It gives me joy to have them around as long as possible, and then I keep a collection of vases.

My friend and fellow blogger, Christina, has a fabulous post about DIY floral bouquets. She originally posted it as a Valentine's Day feature, however, you can easily adapt it for ANY occasion like Easter (it's not too late!) or Mother's Day. Or drop it off at a friend's house as a sweet surprise. Everyone needs fun surprises in their life! I wanted to share her how-to steps for this idea from her article Non-Traditional Valentine’s Day Bouquet: A Grocery Store Bouquet.

A Homebody's Adventure

Now now, don’t let the title of this blog fool you. When I say cheap, I’m not saying you should skimp out on your Valentine’s Day present for your significant other. But I know personally, I struggle with how expensive floral arrangements are when you buy them pre-done from a florist and I love my flowers. I find that the quality doesn’t always match the price and lately I’ve been finding awesome flowers at the grocery store. So why not add some extra thought and put together your own Valentine’s Day Bouquet that’s a little cheaper.

As you all may have noticed, I love designing floral arrangements. Going to a floral nursery and walking through the fresh cut flowers is my happy place. So this Valentine’s Day, I’ve decided to create a bouquet series to showcase different non-traditional bouquets you could give to your partner or any loved one.

What do I mean by Non-Traditional Valentine’s Day Bouquet?

Your traditional bouquet is a dozen (or two) long-stem roses – typically, red. While I love these – and actually my boyfriend is a huge fan of traditional roses – I wanted to switch it up this year. These rose bouquets are perfect for your significant other, but since they’re so romantic, you’re not going to want to send these to your mother, or friend, or anyone else. I guess I should also note that I love Valentine’s Day as a day of love for everyone in your life, not just your partner. I grew up buying Valentine’s for every member of my family and will continue that tradition until the day I die.

What you’ll need:

Since this is your cheaper option, you’re going to want to hop in your car and head to the grocery store with the biggest floral section. Most grocery stores sell bundles of flowers for $5.99. If you buy about $5, you should actually probably have enough flowers for two bouquets – making each bouquet around $15. Here’s a list of the flowers you’ll need for your Valentine’s Day bouquet:

Eye-Catchers:

• Pink hydrangeas

Supporting Flowers:

• Daisies
• Mums

Fillers:

• Baby’s breath
• Wild flowers

To Wrap:

• Tissue paper
• Kraft paper (optional)
• Twine
• Tape (optional)

Putting Together your Valentine’s Day Bouquet:

Now this is fairly simple, but I’ll give you a few helpful hints and tips.

1. Lay your tissue paper on the ground, layered, and so the corner is facing you like a diamond.
2. Take your flowers and cut them at an angle. Next dry all the stems so that it doesn’t make your wrapping paper wet.
3. Start to place your flowers on the tissue paper, start with a layer of your supporting flowers and then add your eye-catcher. Make sure to place them where they aren’t hidden – give them each their own little window. Place the next layer on top of the previous, but lower on the stems so that you’re letting the first layer be seen. Continue until you have a full bouquet.
4. Once your bouquet is done, pull the bottom corner of the tissue paper up and wrap the sides over it. Secure with tape if you’d like. If you’re using decorative kraft paper, wrap this around the center of your flowers. Tie and secure with twine.

Make sure not to wrap these up too early before giving them to the person you love. These lil cuties do need water to survive and you don’t want your flowers looking wilted.

Again. this bouquet can be given for ANY occasion. Isn't it beautiful? Christina has very creative ideas and I love to follow her on her blog and Instagram.