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Hello, my friends! For the next three blog posts, I teamed up with San Francisco Bay Area floral designer Annette Herras of Petals of Love Floral Studio and my affiliate partner the French Farm [affiliate link] to show you how to host your own elegant cheese party at home! The French Farm has even offered Miss Cheesemonger readers a 20% discount! All you have to do is enter the code word “DAHLIA” upon check out! (The code expires on August 15, 2016, and is good for one use.)
It was such a treat to watch Annette prepare these floral arrangements for our cheese fête, and she gave me some great tips for making your own show stopping floral arrangements!
1. Choose your color scheme.
It sounds easy, but I admit, I get easily distracted, and always want to use all the colors all the time! Annette based her color scheme on a scarf she owns. You can do the same using a color board, an image, or even a book cover. Take your inspiration item with you as you go flower shopping to make sure you’re staying on track.
2. Choose your container.
You usually want your flowers to be double the height of your container, so choose accordingly. Annette and I fell in love with two of her containers, and so we ended up with two flower arrangements. It was a lot, but both looked gorgeous on the table!
3. Gather your tools.
Annette’s main flower arranging tools are: a flower arranging frog [affiliate link] to hold your stems in place at the bottom of the container, a bit of putty [affiliate link] to hold your flower frog in place, and a set of clippers [affiliate link].
4. Shape your arrangement.
Annette often arranges flowers by creating a low center over the container, then cascading longer stems and branches over either side. She did this first with greenery to give her arrangement a basic shape. Have you got another idea—maybe a globe shape, or a cascade over one side?
5. Add your focal point flowers. Then fill in the space.
Your focal point flowers are often your largest and most eye-catching blooms. Place them in a central location on your arrangement, anchoring them into your frog. Then, fill in the empty space around them with secondary flowers, filler flowers, and other greenery, Anette shared that she loves using spray roses as secondary flowers because they have a beautiful form and fill out arrangements well.
6. Have fun, and be creative!
Annette emphasizes that there is no wrong way to create your arrangement! This is about you and your self-expression. This is your art piece.
Next week, Annette and I will show you how to set your cheese fête table! THANK YOU, Annette, for showing us how to make beautiful flower arrangements at home! Now go get your French Farm goodies [affiliate link]! Remember to use the coupon code “DAHLIA”!
Vendor Information:
Petals of Love Floral Studio, Annette Herras. Email: annette[at]petalsoflovestudio[dot]com. Telephone: (510) 610-3606. Instagram: @petals_of_love.
