Using a hydrangea as an armature is an easy way to make a hand tied silk bouquet! Let me show you how to do it!
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Before I get started, I would like to explain a few floral design terms!
What in the world is an armature?
In floral design, an armature is used to add support to an arrangement. An armature can be made out of natural materials such as curly willow or non botanical material such as aluminum wire.
What is a hand tied bouquet?
A hand tied bouquet is a bouquet that is designed by arranging the flowers in your hand rather than in a vase or other container. It can be a bit tricky to master, especially if you have small hands! Once you get all the flowers arranged, you then tie the stems together. Bridal bouquets are often hand tied.
Why are they called silk flowers?
In the late 1800s, artificial flowers were actually made out of silk. Since that time, advancements have been made in technology and now they are made out of a variety of materials. The term “silk flowers” is widely used when referring to artificial flowers . I personally think it sounds better to call them silk flowers rather than artificial flowers. I do sometime refer to them as faux flowers also.
Regardless of what they are called, the advancements in technology have also allowed the silk flowers to look more life like or botanically correct. Silk flowers are available in all price ranges.
Silk flowers are very long lasting. They are low maintenance but not necessarily no-maintenance! They can attract dust and become faded if left in a bright location. Lightly dust the silk flowers with a feather duster to help remove dust particles. Sometimes, you can even wash them in a sink full of soapy water, rinse them well and let them dry! I have done that many times.
Whew! Now that we are done with the floral vocabulary lesson, let’s get to the fun part! Designing!
The Stems
One large green hydrangea head
Red tulips : we will use three for the bouquet
Assorted Lamb’s Ear for added texture
These berry stems are individually wired so that I can twist the stems around a pen to make whimsical curlicues to add interest and movement to the arrangement.
The Process
Since I am right handed, I will hold the hydrangea head in my left hand. With my right hand, I add the tulips into the hydrangea at a slight angle. The blossoms of the hydrangea are supporting the heads of the tulips. Continue to add the stems to the bouquet, always inserting the stems between the blossoms of the hydrangea. You may need to turn the bouquet in your hand so that the stems are easier to insert .
Because I am going to be using the bouquet as part of a larger arrangement, I made this one one sided. If I was only making one bouquet, I would have made it more symmetrical and used the lamb’s ear all around the edge to form a collar. There are many ways to design your bouquet. As long as you are happy with it, that is all that matters!
Once you have all your stems in place, it is time to tie the bouquet together. I simply used green floral tape to tie the stems. I chose this method because my stems aren’t going to show in my final arrangement. The floral tape will stick to itself as you stretch it around the stems. A gentle pull is all it takes. If you pull too hard, the tape will rip.
If you were making the bouquet for a wedding, for example, once your stems were secured you could wrap them with ribbon. Or you could use twine, as I did here:
The Finished Bouquet
Once I had one bouquet finished, I simply repeated the process two more times. I wanted a trio of bouquets.
Because of the colors and textures I chose, these bouquets could be used in my home from late fall until late winter. A very simple way to display them is to place them in an oval tin bucket.
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Another way to display them would be to use them to fill an antique tool carrier similar to the photo below:
Once you have the basic techniques mastered, you will be able to create beautiful silk arrangements for any season!
If you are curious about the white wooden bench in the background of the picture above, you can read more about it here:
Thank you for stopping by today!
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[…] I bought this set of three tin containers. Two of them are in the box with the sap buckets. The other one is being used to hold some silk bouquets detailed in this post A Quick Way to Make A Hand Tied Bouquet […]