Vintage or Juicing bottles
Antique bottles are popping up everywhere these days, and Juicing is a big trend as well, so I gathered my vintage glass bottles and my plastic juicing bottles that I recycle as vases and thought I’d show you how pretty they look with flowers in them.
Supply List
- 1-2 bunches dahlias
- 1-2 bunches ranunculus
- 5 stems bittersweet
- snips
- water
Step 1. Strip whatever flowers you select. (I’ve chosen dahlias and ranunculus) You may want to leave a few leaves at the top of your flowers for a more informal, natural look.
Step 2. Decide how high you want the bloom and snip the stems accordingly.
Step 3. I’ve chosen ranunculus for the tiny antique bottles and dahlias for the larger juicing bottles, but I also like to use bittersweet in the fall. It’s SO graceful and organic looking.
Step 4. Line the juicing bottles down your dining room table or mantle for a country, cool look. Or, cluster your antique glass bottles together on a tabletop or as I do at my house, on a lowboy done!
Stoneware Pitcher Filled with Rosemary
Rosemary stands for remembrance in the language of flowers so it’s a sweet and sentimental herb. I happen to have a wall of rosemary at my house, as does Karen, and I have this pitcher that lives in a corner cupboard in my kitchen, so I decided to make use of these everyday and easily accessible items
Supply List
- pitcher
- rosemary
- snips
- water
Step 1. Select any mid-sized pitcher. It can be informal like this stoneware pitcher, or glass, even fancy porcelain or silver—whatever you have that you like.
Step 2. Fill the pitcher with water, almost to the top.
Step 3. Using your snips, cut the longest stems of rosemary possible. Depending on the size of your pitcher you can need anywhere from 15 to 50 stems. I’ve used 30 in this mid-sized pitcher.
Step 4. Trim the bottoms of the stems.Step 5. Even out the bottoms and place the entire bunch in the opening of the pitcher.
Step 6. Once all the rosemary is in the pitcher, you can adjust heights, direction, etc. I even like to have one or two errant stems so that it looks really loose and natural.Step 7. This is a casual and very of-the-moment look—what with the repurposing of your water pitcher and the using of plant material grown by you or a friend. This should last for a week, or even 10 days, keeping the water fresh.
My Grandmother’s Silver Biscuit Box
This arrangement is pretty on an end table, a console, even a bedside table—or it can be used as one of a group of silver containers gathered on a dining room table and filled with roses.
Supply List
- 2 bunches hot pink roses
- 1 bunch galax leaves
- green floral tape; container (biscuit box)
- snips
- water
Step 1. Fill your biscuit box at least half way with water. (If you do it after you’ve taped it, the tape gets soggy and doesn’t stick.)
Step 2. Cut strips of green floral tape the width of the biscuit box opening, and then make a grid with the tape. (This becomes your quasi “frog.”)
Step 3. Strip your roses, removing all leaves and thorns.
Step 4. Snip off the very bottom of your galax leaves and gingerly place them in the outer spaces around the biscuit box, forming a “collar” for your design.
Step 5. Then, with the biscuit box on the edge of your surface, holding your roses with the stems over the side, measure and cut the stems so that the head of the roses are just a little above the lip of the box.
Step 6. Cut around 7 roses a little longer if you’d like more of a mounded effect. (Be sure to cut conservatively the first time—you can always cut more, but you really can’t add stem length after the cut.)
Step 7. Now you’re ready to “arrange” your flowers. You just place the roses in the holes in the grid until you don’t see any tape—and you’re done. If you desire a more mounded shape, simply start in the center with your taller stems and work outward with the shorter ones.
Have other ideas for floral arrangements? Leave us a note in the comments below and check our Ballard Designs Style Studio Pinterest Board for other Holiday DIY ideas!
Mercy
Just lovely. And, the instructions for making a frog look so easy even I can do it. Would love to see Margo do her own version of ikebana sometime.
Katherine
Great ideas that seem very doable!
Anna
Wonderful ideas, and such beautiful arrangements!
Catherine
These are beautiful! Very elegant and timeless- great tutorial, as to how to incorporate personal favorites into arranging!
Carolyn
Love the ideas presented by Margo. Thanks so much. Ditto the idea of
things like this every issue.
Peggy
Great ideas for beautiful yet simple arrangements that we all can do. Thanks for always inspiring us to make our surroundings beautiful with flowers or greenery. I love the colors of the flowers and how dramatic they are in that room. Can you do this every season? Keep up the good work!
Jan
Thanks so much for these ideas! I especially love the instructions for the silver biscuit box and how to create a “frog.” That is so clever! I’m going to incorporate that in my Thanksgiving centerpiece! Thanks again!