Floral arranging brings me joy. They don’t have to be real flowers. They can be silks or faux floral and they make my heart happy as well. Another thing that makes me happy is good deals. When you can combine the two I am extra excited. I recently made several new arrangements for our home. After a trip to Home Goods to pick up some faux orchids and finding they have been sold out of them for months, I decided to check out Michael’s and see what they had in stock. Lucky me, they had 70% off their spring and summer floral bunches and stems. This included a variety of orchids. Orchids are my favorite for faux floral, because they can look so realistic. They are also timeless in the scheme of decorating (in my opinion).
I will explain how I made my arrangements, so that you can do the same thing if your heart so desires. You can check out your local Michael’s to see what kind of sales they have in your area. Another good place to find quality faux floral stems at a decent price is Hobby Lobby.
Below you can see the photos of the arrangements that I made from my purchases from Michael’s. All three had a common theme and that is orchids.
Good faux orchid stems can look just a real as a living plant. When Brielle was born Grandpa Baudino and his wife Evelyn gave us a beautiful orchid plant. We watered that lovely plant for months until we finally realized it was fake! That is how good some of the faux orchid plants can be. You have to look at the quality of the stems and determine for yourself. Buying online is not a good idea, because you cannot feel and touch the plant to determine the quality. Often the photos of a product online are different than they appear once they arrive on your doorstep. My advice is to shop for faux floral pieces in person at places like Michael’s, Hobby Lobby, and Home Goods.
Faux floral arrangements can be pricey. Typically in the hundreds of dollars range and up, depending on size, quality, and number of stems. One way to help reduce the cost on this type of decor for your home is to make it yourself. I have a few hints to make it easier to create a professional look without really having the expertise or a big budget.
The first tip is to start with a beautiful vase or pot. I went to Homegoods and purchased the blue and white pots for these arrangements. The correct pot or vase can make or break the look of the arrangements. I like the classic look of the blue and white porcelain. Choose your pot based on the decor in the room where you plan to place the arrangement.
The second tip is to purchase a bunch or a bundle. You can see what this is in the photo below. It is a pre-arranged bunch of flowers. The one in the photo is what I used and it is called a “Tropical Bundle” at Michael’s. Regular price is $19.99. I didn’t pay retail. Like I mentioned previously, I got all of my floral stems and bunches in the 70% off display at my local Michael’s. I paid $6 for the bundle.
Hobby Lobby often runs 50% off sales on their bunches, usually on rotating weeks. That is how they run their sales (just any FYI, so you are in the know).
Once you have selected the bunch, then you add coordinating stems and greenery. I added orchid stems to each of my arrangements and greenery that looked good to my eye, matched well with the orchids, and were also 70% off. The orchid stems were regularly $14.99. That brought them down to $4.50 each.
I played around with the arranging. For the circular potted arrangement, shown below in the first photo below, I used the tropical bundle, 4 orchid stems, and 1 greenery bunch. Arranging is an experiment. I typically put the bunch in the middle and then place the other stems on both sides of the arrangement. Finally, I use the greenery bunch around all sides. I will secure with a rubber band or floral wire if needed. If the pot top is snug enough, such was the case of the circular pot, then no securing measures were needed. Grand total for this project including the Homegoods pot ($24.99), 4 orchid stems at $4.50 each ($18), greenery $3 (regular price was $9.99), and the tropical bundle ($6) came to around $52. Not bad for a forever fresh looking floral arrangement. Keep in mind that half of that cost went to the pot. If you shop estate sales you can find even better deals for pots and vases.
You don’t have to pay a fortune to have the beautiful look of floral arrangements in your home. Shop the sales at stores for the faux floral stems, stalk estate sales for the right quality pots, and get the items when they are priced right. Then have fun experimenting with the arranging. Keep in mind that you can always return the floral stems that you decide not to use.
