Hydrangea and Rose DIY Centerpiece

There's really nothing like fresh flowers around the house to brighten things up.  They can really make a big impact on a fireplace mantel, on the guest bedroom end table or like the below arrangement I made for our Sunday Supper last weekend.  Let's call a spade a spade, by NO means am I capable of putting together elaborate wedding floral bouquets or centerpieces.  But if you keep it simple, you too, can save a buck and create your own charming arrangements.  Hey... all flowers are beautiful, so you're half way there!

I love to use low priced flowers from the Farmer's Market or Trader Joe's.  If time permits, I sometimes drive downtown to hit up the LA Flower Market... (again lets call a spade a spade, I've been twice... time never permits but it's still a really great place to get gorgeous flowers on the cheap).  In this case, I picked up a dozen roses for $6 at the Farmer's Market and Trader Joe's had this pack of 3 Hydrangeas for $4.99.  

On the rare occasion Whenever I receive flowers from a professional place, if the arrangement's container is reusable and charming I'll keep it - like this stainless steel gem!  I also keep a few of these green Oasis foam cubes from Michael's stored away in the garage.  They work perfectly for arrangements in odd shaped containers.

Start with your big blooms.  Be careful not to cut the stems too short, start long and keep trimming down until they are the height you want.  The oasis will hold the flowers in place once you stick the stem into it.  Tip: Flowers with big blooms like these hydrangeas, peonies, or sunflowers are easy to work with - just a few of them will fill a lot of space.  I feel like I could have stopped here with an all white hydrangea arrangement. 

Then start filling any holes with the smaller rose blooms. Be sure to continuously rotate the container so that one side is not heavier with flowers than another.  It has to look good from all angles if it's going to be a dining table centerpiece!

Continue filling...

Here's a view from the top...



And a shot of the whole tablescape.

Not bad for $11 spent!