Ranunculus Bouquet

Posted by Khris in Bouquets + Flowers, DIY Projects & Tutorials

For this bouquet project I wanted something easy, ultra-feminine and delicate. I chose ranunculus because it’s one of my all-time favorite flowers and, sadly, is underused in weddings. It’s my new mission to give it some high profile flowerly love.

The ultra-wonderful team at FiftyFlowers (a DIY Bride advertiser) provided these beauties. I had not yet worked with ranunculus in a project setting so I was a bit unsure what to expect. Ranunculus turns out, are pretty easy to work with. Unlike many white flowers their petals did not bruise easily and they stayed fresh and vibrant for days. (Tip: Be sure to check the care instructions provided by FiftyFlowers before you place your order. It’s helpful to be prepared on delivery day with proper tools and containers.)

If you’ve never worked with flowers before, a simple “all the same flower” bouquet is the best way to go for most.

Step 1: Remove leaves and stray offshoots from each ranunculus stem. Place the stem back in water to keep it hydrated while you work through your bunches.

Step 2: Once you have 40 – 60 stems prepared take 4 flowers in one hand, at an even height, to create the center of your bouquet. Holding the center bunch in one hand, begin adding flowers around the center, one by one. You’ll be creating a dome shape as you go along; each row lower than the next. Depending on how big your flowers are and how big you want your bouquet, it’ll take 3 – 6 rows to get a standard bouquet size.

Step 3: This is the toughest part of the process – place a rubber band around the stems to hold them in place, about 3 inches below the blooms.

Step 4: Wrap it up! I used 1.5″ velvet ribbon to wrap the stems. I tucked one end of the ribbon under the rubber band and wrapped the ribbon around the stems, moving from top to 1″ from the bottom of the estimated length of my bouquet.

Step 5: I then secured the end of the ribbon with a long floral pin and trimmed the ends of the stems to a uniform length.

The final touch was to add DIY Floral Pins (new from FiftyFlowers). They’re much shorter than regular floral pins which makes them super for decorative use. I have a post coming up to show you some ways to use them to make all sorts of pretties.

The flowers in this project were provided by

Vase Alternative

Posted by Khris in Bouquets + Flowers

Always on the lookout for unusual vases and containers, I stumbled on this beauty when I was cleaning out our household storage cubby.

Can you guess what it is? It’s a glass globe that goes over porch/patio lights! I found it at a local hardware shop a few years ago for around $10.00. Filled with these ultra-dainty ranunculus, it transforms into an unique and affordable centerpiece. I used about 25 full-bloom ranunculus for this project.

The thought of using a globe (without a flat bottom) as a vase may seem odd (hey, I’m all mavericky when it comes to this stuff) but it works for smaller arrangements. The secret is to create a soft base for the globe to set in such as a pile of sand, salt, or sugar — things you have easy (and cheap) access to. Pour a mound of sand on a table, place the centerpiece in place, and brush away the rest. (A mini vac is also helpful when you’re doing several tables worth.)

Flowers for this project were provided by: