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Mrs. Penguin, Northern California Age and Occupation: 27, Weddingbee Editor in Chief Fiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Doctor of Physical Therapy Engagement Date: January 29, 2007 Wedding Date: June 7, 2008 Blogging Since: September 14, 2007 Venue: Winery in the Gold Country About Me: I love the Spice Girls, dogs with underbites, bean burritos, making messes, high fives, avoiding showers, crossword puzzles, blogs, weddings, and blogs about weddings!
About Mrs. Penguin

DIY Flowers

November 6th, 2007 @ 9:30 am by Mrs. Penguin

The incredibly adorable and talented florist, Karen Chang of Huckleberry Karen Designs held a DIY flower workshop this weekend. I learned some valuable information for my own flowers, and even had a beautiful bouquet that I made to take home. We learned how to hand-wire and arrange our own boutonnieres, corsages and bouquets. Karen will be doing the majority of the flowers for my wedding day, and I will be taking care of the bride’s bouquet and a few other details the night before the wedding.A rose Boutonniere being made:

Stem is wired, floral tape applied, and greenery also applied with floral tape.DIY Flowers :  wedding diy flowers sacramento Bout1
Stem is trimmed, ribbon added, and I went from zero to florist in 1 hour flat.
DIY Flowers :  wedding diy flowers sacramento Bout2

Here are some more pics from the workshop…

Karen working her floral Mojo:DIY Flowers :  wedding diy flowers sacramento Dsc0066
Prerequisite Bridal-Bouquet Shot with bride-to-be Jackie and the fruits of our labor:
DIY Flowers :  wedding diy flowers sacramento Img 171
Taping my bouquet:
DIY Flowers :  wedding diy flowers sacramento Dsc0070
My bouquet, finished, using Roses and Cymbidium orchids. And nothing says Klassy like a Bud Light pint glass/vase:
DIY Flowers :  wedding diy flowers sacramento Dsc0071
Callas and orchids, SO pretty! I’m so amazed these bouquets were made by first timers:
DIY Flowers :  wedding diy flowers sacramento Img 170
Beautiful Bouquets:
DIY Flowers :  wedding diy flowers sacramento Dsc007101

The Ladies:DIY Flowers :  wedding diy flowers sacramento Img 17001

Here are some tips that Karen provided about buying loose or boxed flowers:

-When selecting flowers, look for flowers with upright, firm petals and buds beginning to open. Yellow, spotted or drooping leaves are signs of age.
-Keep your flowers in a cool place until you can get them in a flower food solution. Don’t forget how important it is to follow the mixing directions on the flower food packet.
-Fill a clean (washed with a detergent or antibacterial cleaning solution), deep vase with water and add a flower food from your florist
-Remove leaves that will be below the waterline. Leaves in water will promote bacterial microbial growth that may limit water uptake by the flower. Re-cut stems by removing 1 to 2 inches with a sharp knife. Place the flowers in the vase solution you’ve prepared.

Source: www.aboutflowers.com

Tags: diy, flowers, sacramento |
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24 Responses to “DIY Flowers”

1 2 

1.
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Bee
Mrs. Violet (message)  253 posts, Helper bee

Wow the florals turned out great! Sounds like a fun experience you had!

 
2.
loveletter
Member
loveletter (message)  96 posts, Worker bee

Those are absoultely gorgeous.. awesome job! I love the pink ribbon wrap!

I did my own flowers too, but I used silk. :)

 
3.
Mrs. Toucan
Bee
Mrs. Toucan (message)  1,327 posts, Bumble bee

Really lovely! Looks like you had fun, too! :)

 
4.
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Guest
Liz

Wow. you are so talented. If i didnt book my florist already, i will totally book you!

 
5.
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Guest
acklesgrl

wow, they turned out beautifully. i love the bouquet you made especially.

 
6.
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Guest
bride

wow, they look like the bouquets i’m ordering!!

 
7.
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Bee
Miss Daffodil (message)  565 posts, Busy bee

wow those look beautiful! i am planning to make my own bouquet too, but i had a question…did karen say it is ok to do it the night before? i was planning to do it the morning of, but that would be a little stressful! how do we make sure it will last through the next day??

 
8.
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Guest
alexinwonderland

If you don’t mind sharing, how much was this workshop? Were materials provided? With what florists charge for bouquets, it would be interesting to see what a class would cost.

 
9.
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Guest
Tea

oooh, they all look so pretty!

 
10.
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Bee
Miss Chickadee (message)  208 posts, Helper bee

Those are some gorgeous bouquets Miss Penguin! It looked like such a fun class, thanks for the tips!

 
11.
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Bee
Miss Cherry Blossom (message)  723 posts, Busy bee

Those rock the house! I LOVE EM! Can you make mine? hahaha - Man I loVE IT! I may use those DIY flowers for bouquet inspirations - shanks!

 
12.
stargazerlily
Member
stargazerlily (message)  942 posts, Busy bee

Miss Daffodil - It definitely depends on the flower, and temperature. The orchids that I did looked great the next day, and I didnt even put them in the refridgerator, although I live in the bay area where the air is moist and the temperature is cold anyway (60 degrees)…if youre using hardier orchids like cymbidiums or dendrobiums orchids, you can do them the night before, cover them with a plastic bag, and put them in the fridge.
Roses, peonies, spider mums should be kept in cool temperatures in water, and they should look fine overnight. Try not to touch the petals, they may bruise. Darker flowers (like red) will last longer than lighter flowers because they wont show bruising as easily.

What flowers are you using?

 
13.
stargazerlily
Member
stargazerlily (message)  942 posts, Busy bee

Alex in wonderland - the workshop was $45, held in San Francisco. ALL materials were provided (flowers, ribbons, pins, wires, rose strippers, floral tape etc)…we brought our own clippers (if we had them) and gloves (which i didnt use)

The course was 2 hours. I would say I would have paid 2x as much for the class and still got my moneys worth.

visit her website and drop her an e mail if youre interested in attending a class

huckleberrykaren.blogspot.com

she holds them in San Francisco a couple times a year.

 
14.
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Guest
Jennifer

AMAZING! I love the callas and orchids

 
15.
Mrs. Bee
Bee
Mrs. Bee (message)  3,235 posts, Sugar bee

wow that is soooooo super affordable. i know theres a class in ny but it’s super expensive. your bouquet turned out beautiful - i would love to do a class like that!

 
16.
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Bee
Miss Jasmine (message)  1,170 posts, Bumble bee

Wow, I’m impressed!!! Your bouquet is gorgeous. I think I would be all thumbs when it came to something like this. And that’s a great price for that class.

 
17.
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Guest
M.Crosby

Gorgeous. The more I see things like this, the more I just want to DIY my flowers! I’ve ‘worked with’ dendrobium stems before and I can say they are EXTRA hardy. They lasted beautifully for me in an arrangement for more than two weeks!

 
18.
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Guest
jenny

gorgeous wedding flowers!

 
19.
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Bee
Mrs. Emerald (message)  1,062 posts, Bumble bee

Ohhh those are soooo lovely!! I would love to take a class like this too!! Hrmm, time to find one in Chicago…

 
20.
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Guest
Becca

Miss Penguin- Those are SOOOO beautiful!!! If you don’t mind my asking, where did you end up buying the flowers from for your wedding? I’m planning to do, at least, the centerpieces with a friend but I’m not sure how to pick a place to buy!

 
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Mrs. Penguin
Mrs. Penguin

Mrs. Penguin, Northern California Age and Occupation: 27, Weddingbee Editor in Chief Fiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Doctor of Physical Therapy Engagement Date: January 29, 2007 Wedding Date: June 7, 2008 Blogging Since: September 14, 2007 Venue: Winery in the Gold Country About Me: I love the Spice Girls, dogs with underbites, bean burritos, making messes, high fives, avoiding showers, crossword puzzles, blogs, weddings, and blogs about weddings!

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