Tightly Coiled or Spiraling Out of Control?

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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Like many of you , 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 we are experiencing this year.  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 since the cruise industry is still basically shut down so I am focusing on putting Christmas displays together!

A Bit of Background

A few weeks 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.  It was there that I found 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 haven’t found the perfect spot for it yet but I have some ideas!  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!

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:

and 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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