Do you every wonder how designers get their ideas for displays? Today I am sharing how design elements work together to add personality to a display.
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Some days I feel like a tightly wound spring about ready to pop! Other days, I know that I am spiraling out of control due to all the uncertainty surrounding my health. I have different ways I try to manage these feelings. When I had the flower shop, I would clean out the cooler. There was something calming about washing the buckets, giving the flowers a fresh cut and organizing all the buckets in the cooler. Another way was to find something to look forward to, like a cruise. I love to plan trips involving cruising!
Right now, I don’t have a flower cooler to clean and I can’t plan any cruises yet so I am focusing on putting Christmas displays together!
A Bit of Background
A few years ago, I was asked to participate in a Blogger Challenge. We were tasked with making a footed tray and decorating it for the season. True to my character, I waited till the week before the Reveal date to start working on my project. I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to use for my tray so I went to one of the local resale shops. I didn’t find a tray to use but I did find this:
It was tucked back in a dark cubby in the back room. I think it is a vintage wallpaper roller! It is definitely a piece of industrial salvage! It is about 10 inches tall. I just love it! I got it for a very good price compared to what similar ones are selling for on Ebay!
As it turned out, I didn’t use the wallpaper roller as part of my entry for the challenge but I have used it in other displays!
Inspiration
See how the details on the tree and the star mimic the pattern on the wall paper roller? I have had the snowman for years. It was designed by the Lang Company. I was actually walking around with the snowman in my hand trying to decide where to put it when I decided to place it on top of the wall paper roller. After I placed it, I noticed the spirals on each piece mimicked each other.
To add a little more height to the vignette, I placed the wall paper roller on top of an old porcelain light fixture. I added a collar of apple green Oasis flat wire that I made .
The silver shell also mimics the spiral motif.
Spiral Techniques
A very simple way to add whimsy and motion to your arrangements is to a pen or other round object and twist the stems around it. The stems have to be wired in order for this to work. Detailed instructions can be found here:
How to make Wire Spirals
To make these decorative spirals, you need Oasis Diamond Wire which comes in many colors and a pair of needle nose pliers.
Measure a piece of Diamond Wire. I used a 12 ” piece for this project. Grab one end with the needle nose pliers.
Using the pliers to hold the wire steady, bend in a circular shape. You can make the spirals any size you want. It is a super easy way to add some “bling” to your arrangements! Information about more ways to use Oasis Aluminum wire can be found here:
Florist Secret
If you would like your spiral accents to be longer, you can use less wire and then attach the wire to a wooden pick or even a small branch. If you look closely at these you can see where I have attached them to a wooden pick with florist tape. The pick will be hidden in your arrangement. This is one way to make your Oasis wire go farther. The link I supplied at the bottom of the page is for green wooden picks that are 12″ long. These could be easily cut shorter .
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Your ideas are always so creative. Thanks for sharing this.
Thank you , Carol! I appreciate the compliment!
That piece was a great find! Your arrangement came out so pretty!
Thank you Danielle!
Oh I know what you mean about the stress of the unknown this year! Cleaning & decorating definitely help me! That wallpaper roller is so cool- I’ve never seen one!
I had never seen one either and almost missed this one! it was tucked waaayyyy back in a dark corner! I knew it had to be a “stamp” of some type and had to do a bit of research to figure out what it was!
So pretty! No wonder my arrangements never look good. I didn’t know half of this! lol
Thank you , Christin! So glad I was able to share a tip or two that will be useful!
Oh awesome! I love how talented you are at this! Thanks for sharing with us 🙂
Thank you , Mary! I have had some good teachers over the years!