Lovely Pretty Things: How to make a Hanging Floral Chandelier by Design Sponge

Hello again my lovely crafty people. How are we all today? Ready for the latest in all things Wedding?

Today we have a wonderful feature which will add that special something. It would brighten up any wedding and would work particularly well if you are having a barn wedding.

So here it is. As always drop us a line if you make these for your wedding.

All images and content courtesy of Design Sponge.

Hanging floral arrangements are everywhere right now, and they are a really beautiful way to show off flowers. They are perfect for events such as a bridal or baby showers, or a special birthday or dinner party. This is a also a great way to still allow for a good amount of flowers even if your venue/room doesn’t have a lot of tables or surfaces!

Most of the hanging arrangements I have seen out there are either in floral oasis or not in water at all. For me, it was important to find a way to have the stems in water so that the flowers would stay fresh longer. I don’t use oasis because it contains a lot of chemicals. I also wanted to be able to use more delicate flowers and not have to limit myself to just sturdy flowers. We created a chandelier-style structure using floral water tubes and as a result, the arrangement we made lasted for days rather than hours. -Ingrid from Tin Can Studios

Click through for the full how-to after the jump!

Materials Needed

For frame:
- Decorative punched sheet metal with holes big enough to push through a stem
(we got ours at Lowe’s)
- 4 pieces of simple wood trim
(we used salvaged wood)
- Tin snips
- Hammer
- Nails
- Tack
- Strong twine or rope
Alternatively, attach the sheet metal to an old frame if you don’t feel like building one!

For flower arranging:
- 3” floral water tubes with rubber caps (the type we used is made of recycled material and can be found online)
- Sharp floral clippers
- Seasonal flowers (we used lisianthius, ranunculus, blushing bride and viburnum)
- Vases with water for your flowers + to fill water tubes
- Clear soda, such as 7-up (not diet)
- Saw horse legs or two chairs to balance the frame on
- Strong twine, wire or rope for hanging the arrangement

Steps:

1. Start by building the frame. We built ours with scrap salvaged wood, but if you have an old frame, that is perfect, too! The easiest way to make the frame is to overlap the wood at the corners and nail the wood together. Then cut your sheet metal with tin snips, this is easy but keep in mind that the edges can be a bit sharp. Attach the metal to the frame with furniture tack, it will easily go through the sheet metal. Make sure everything is stable/sturdy enough for hanging.

2. Condition your flowers by removing all of the foliage and cutting them with sharp floral clippers. Immediately put them in clean vases with water. You can add a dash of clear soda, like 7-up, to help the flowers last a bit longer. Let the flowers drink for an hour or so.

3. Balance your sheet metal frame between two saw horse legs (or two chairs or tables). Make sure it is stable.

4. Fill the floral tubes with water by dunking them in a small bucket or vase. Attach the rubber caps to the tubes.

5. Take a flower and push the stem through an appropriate hole in the sheet metal. Once your stem is through the metal at a height you like, push it through the hole in the rubber cap and into the floral tube (above the metal sheet). We started by putting our flowers in the middle, then worked our way outwards. For an ombré effect, start from the left and move to your right. Hang each flower at different lengths so that each bloom is showing and not hiding another bloom.
Only push the stems halfway so the end of the stem stays in water, avoiding the air pocket above the water surface. Have the tubes filled to the brim, some water will squirt out when you push the stem into the tube. The water does not leak once the tubes and stems are in place/upside down. What is extra great about this frame/holder is that you can easily move your flowers around by pulling them out and pushing them back in another spot. Just be careful with more delicate stems!

6. Once you are pleased with your design, thread a piece of strong twine or rope through the corners of the frame and hang it from a couple of hooks in the ceiling!

Well conditioned flowers will last for at least one full day in normal temperature, the one we made lasted for three.

Lovely Pretty Things: How to make your own brooch bouquet from Wedding Ideas Mag

Hi-hi people. Welcome to Lovely Pretty Things this Tuesday. How are you? Have you tried any of the projects we have featured yet-  if so we would LOVE to hear all about it.

Today we have found a brooch bouquet tutorial. Personally I love flowers, I love their smell and colour. But what I love even more is sparkly shiny things. I am a human magpie with glitter pumping through my veins.

One of my Brides made her own and she did an excellent job. Her colour scheme was black and gold and she made a lovely brooch posy filled with gold, diamante, black and bronze detail. The end result was stunning and it is a lovely momento to keep after the wedding.

The only thing I would like to say before you go full steam ahead is that she said that hers was incredibly heavy to carry all day. She said its bit like carrying a weekender bag around whilst trying to be a Bride. So maybe don't choose things that will make it super heavy.

Well enjoy and happy brooch hunting :-)

Love

Katie x

Tutorial from Wedding Ideas Magazine
All photos courtesy of Wedding Ideas Magazine

Things you’ll need

Brooches

The more the merrier! You will need around nine brooches for a small posy, but the more you have, the bigger the bouquet can be.
Most charity shops and eBay sellers are now wise to the demand for vintage brooches, which means they cost more than they used to, but don’t get disheartened! Ask Grannies, Mums and other family members for vintage heirlooms that they no longer use. One really lovely idea is to ask every guest at your hen do to bring a brooch for you (you can be strict with your colour scheme if you want, or give them free reign, if you’re after for a more eclectic look). Otherwise there are plenty of new brooches available that capture the vintage vibe.

Wire

Silver or gold plated, non-tarnish wire in 0.6mm gauge. This can be bought at craft shops and online.

Tools

Wire cutters, flat nose pliers, scissors

Ribbon or fabric

Optional, but finishes things off nicely.

Masking tape

Strong glue

Such as superglue or a hot glue gun.

Instructions

• Cut a length of wire approximately 50-60cm.

• Take your brooch and thread the wire though the outer edge, (try not to buy ‘solid’ brooches, though you can twist the wire round the brooch pin if you have any) doubling it back on itself. Twist the two lengths together to hold fast and then twist the whole length of the wire, it doesn’t need to look pretty, but it does need to hold strongly onto the brooch.
• Repeat on the other side of the brooch.

• Then twist these two lengths of wire together to form your bouquet stalks. Twisting the wire can be tricky, and does take time, but persevere (it can help to hold the wire with the pliers and twist the brooch). Your brooch should be secure with no ‘wobble’ so that it will hold its place in the bouquet. At this stage it’s a good idea to wrap the wire in tape to prevent any nasty cuts from the rough ends of the wire (I write this wearing three plasters!).
• Repeat this for all your brooches.

• If you’re using any extras, for example feathers, sprays of diamanté or beads, this is the stage to add them. You can buy them already mounted on wire, and you can just twist them round your brooch stalks.
• Choose about three brooches to form the centre of your bouquet. Twist the stalks together gently, and build up the shape with your other brooches. This is the tricky bit and involves a lot of trial and error to get the shape and the effect that you want. Only twist stalks tightly together when you are sure that you have the look you want.

• Start twisting the stems roughly together to form the shape and design that you want.
• Use the wire cutters to trim the stems to the same length.

• Wrap the masking tape around all the steps to form your bouquet ‘handle’.
• Cover the masking tape with your ribbon or fabric – secure your ribbon using a dab of glue (super glue or, if you have one, a hot glue gun).
• If you want to use some fabric as a backing for the brooches, this is the stage to do so – lace and tulle look lovely.

Now you’re done. Enjoy your handy work and marvel in the fact you’ve just created a gorgeous bridal bouquet that you can show off you all of your guests, as you walk down the aisle.

Lovely Pretty Things: DIY Floral Hearts from 100 Layer Cake

Good morning lovely people. How are you today?

We bring you a new edition of Lovely Pretty Things and we have found a fabulous post featured on 100 Layer Cake recently. We do love 100 Layer Cake and here is our LPT for this Tuesday.

DIY Floral Heart

This gorgeous project by Nikki of Je Adore and The Scalloped Window was featured in both her daughter Immi's 1st birthday, and Rylie's boho 2nd birthday over on Cakelet. It would make such a beautiful addition to any feminine party, don't you think.

Supplies

• Faux flowers (Nikki recommends keeping them all in the same tones, as it really makes the number stand out, rather than a particular flower.)
• Strong foam (You can find the foam at any craft store or floral supply store. Make sure it is at least 1" thick. Between 1-2 inches works best.)
• Sharp serrated knife (A drywall knife works great.)
• A cutout of your number, shape, or letter
• Tape
• Sharpie
• 5" of wire and ribbon to hang the finished piece (optional)




1. Tape you shape onto the foam. Using washi tape makes it extra cute!



2. With a sharpie trace the outline of your shape.



3. Begin cutting. It's easier to cut off chunks at a time.



4. Cut florals so that you have about 1" of stem.

5. Insert stems into foam. Nikki recommends starting from the outside and working your way in. It really helps define the outline of the shape at the start.

6. Mix up the shapes, textures, size and colors of the flowers, while keeping within the same tone or color family.



7. Display!

**Optional** With your wire, make a horse shoe shape. poke the wire through the foam and bend the ends over like a staple. The tuck under flowers. Loop a long ribbon through for hanging.




Fabulous isn't it! If you try this for your big day please do let us know, we would love to see the results.

Love

Katie x