An Elegant DIY Fall Flower Arrangement

by Jen @ RamblingRenovators - 5:00 AM

Last night, I turned the heat on and slept with an extra blanket. It's a sure sign... fall weather is here. I don't entirely mind this season. It's a chance to slow down, make things cozy, and embrace new textures, scents, and fall decor. Today I'm joining many of my blogger friends in the Seasonal Simplicity series hosted by Krista at The Happy Housie and sharing a Fall DIY. Come have a look at how I put this fall flower arrangement together. It's an elegant look that I've made using dollar store supplies.

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I love having flowers in my home but fresh ones aren't always in the budget. Using faux florals from the dollar store is one way to get that look inexpensively. I love the convenience and the price - you can find lots of great crafting supplies at the dollar store - but sometimes, the materials can look and feel cheap and low quality. The furniture and decor I have in my home tends to have a certain polish so I don't really want my DIY crafts to look out of place.

Dollar Store Fake Flower Arrangement

How can you get a high end look from dollar store craft supplies? How can you make faux flowers look more realistic? Here's a few tips on how to elevate dollar store materials when creating a fake floral arrangement:

1. Pick an elegant vessel

The end result is not all about the flowers. The same dollar store flowers can look low quality if placed in a cheap plastic container, or higher quality in a crystal cut vase. To give my fall arrangement a vintage feel, I chose a silver plated champagne bucket that I've had for years.

The bucket is a generous size and has a pretty shape. The silver has tarnished and I purposely decided not to polish it, to make the arrangement feel aged yet still classic. A cut glass vase, handmade pottery, or simple ceramic vase are other options that can bring refinement to your arrangement.

2. Choose natural colours and shapes that occur in nature

Want to fool the eye? Use floral elements that look like ones you would see in nature. Nothing screams "fake" more than unnaturally bright flowers or leaves in a uniform colour. Branches and stems that have an irregular shape and random lengths and widths will appear much more realistic. As well, opt for faux florals that can be bent and shaped. For example, if all of your olive branches were manufactured the exact same with the same leaves and numbers of stems, you can make them look different by bending or spreading them out.

3. Mix real elements with fake

Give your flower arrangement a feel of authenticity by mixing in both real and faux elements. I like to use real greenery like seeded eucalyptus branches alongside faux flowers. Greenery tends to last longer than real blooms so save the leaves from your next store bought bouquet and use them in arrangements. You can also make your flower budget go further with this approach: buy a few fresh standout blooms like showy peonies or big hydrangea stems and fill out the arrangement with smaller artificial flowers and leaves.

4. Opt for an imperfect arrangement

Fake flowers run the risk of looking too perfect. Often, dollar store flowers come in a cluster or bush, with three or more blooms connected on a plastic stem. You can make the flowers look more imperfect by separating them and placing them randomly throughout your arrangement.

Your arrangement will look more unique and lively if you are loose and freer with stem placement. Instead of a symmetrical and crisp bouquet, try an asymmetrical layout where blooms are different heights and perhaps lopsided. Nature is not perfect and your fake flowers shouldn't be either ;)

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How To Make A Fall Floral Arrangement

Ready to make your own fall flower arrangement? Here's 10 simple steps to making this DIY floral project:

Materials:

silver plated champagne bucket
a pre-made floral swag that I disassembled into twigs, stems and floral sprays
medium sized faux pumpkins
floral foam
floral wire
2 small flower bunches with multiple stems
2 eucalyptus stems
assorted sprays and stems
chalk paint
craft paint
paintbrush
bamboo skewer

Instructions:

Place floral foam into the bucket
Take long twigs/branches and place them in a line curving along the back half of the bucket
Place eucalyptus stems around the twigs, one in the front, low, and out to the side; the other in the back, high, and straight up. This will create a backwards "L" shape to your arrangement
Cut apart the small flower bunches. Take 3 or four stems and place them in groups around the twigs. Have them sit at about half the height of the twigs.
Take a few small flowers and sprays and place them low along the front of the bucket
Add additional sprays to the left side of the arrangement, drooping over the side of the bucket
Paint your pumpkins with two coats of grey chalk paint. I used Jolie Paint in Swedish Grey that I already had on hand.
Add blue and yellow craft paint to your base chalk paint colour and mix. Use this light aqua colour to paint in the grooves of the pumpkin
Insert a bamboo skewer into the base of the pumpkin
Place pumpkin into your arrangement

And there you have an elegant DIY fall flower arrangement. I've placed the arrangement here in our entryway, but it could be a dramatic focal point on a mantel, on bookshelves, or placed on an accent table.