Fabulous Foam Free Design
As the popularity of foam free design continues to grow it is important to learn the proper techniques and mechanics for creating stable designs. In this how-to video Leanne creates a gorgeous spring arrangement with magnolia branches, Italian ruscus, tulips, roses, hydrangea, stock, heather and jasmine vine. You will love the finished arrangement. Enjoy!
Video Transcription
Welcome to the Flower School .com video library. I'm Leanne Kesler, director of the Floral Design Institute. Today I'm here to share with you a fabulous design foam free, sustainable, on trend for today. The base mechanics, a simple armature, it's going back to the days prior to floral foam for this one, using magnolia branches. Which become a very wonderful part of the design, weaving them, placing it right in and around. Creating a structure. You can even use smaller pieces, bringing it through, weaving it in, then just setting it right into the vessel.
I've already got flower food in the water. It's all ready to go. Nestling them in then adjusting until it's right where you want it. To enhance the structural stability, adding in foliage, Italian ruscus, weaving through from one side to the other, bringing it around. Even larger blooms like hydrangea, add wonderful stability. Just give it a cut, dip it into the alum powder so it will last well and then weaving that right down into the design.
By building this nest, you'll have natural mechanics so that you can have stability for the rest of your blooms, in a totally sustainable foam free design. Once you had the stable armature, the nest, you can add your flowers knowing that they'll be fine, they'll stay right where you want them to be. Bringing in some beautiful roses. It's the cool water color. They're very long lasting, gorgeous lavender. Weaving it into the armature that you stabilized at the beginning. Coming back with some purple tulips, knowing that they're going to continue to grow, so placing them so that they can grow out within the design. Looking beautiful now and then later as they get longer.
Grouping them, maybe coming back with some stock. Oh, so fragrant, bringing it up through the center, having a little bit of hype and then continuing to add the tulips, the roses, and the stock until it's full and lush. Now that the design is finished with the flowering, I just need to go back and enhance with a little bit of texture and wonderful vines. Some Jasmine vine would be grand, just giving it a cut and then sliding it into the vessel. Making sure it gets down into the water deeply enough that it can keep drinking.
Then once it's in there, taking the individual strands, just kind of winding them through. I had them come up and over such a nice long strand. Bring it from the opposite direction. Maybe some out towards the front, so I mean with the tulips, finding the perfect little hole, slide it in. Then down into the water. One at the back side. Keeping it unified all the way around. Lastly, just a bit of heather for softening some texture to bring out the color to the sides and a little more movement.
The recipe for this starts with the magnolia three branches. Then I added in 3 stems of the Italian ruscus, 4 hydrangea that created the base armature. Then I went back with 10 tulips, 8 roses, 6 stock about half a bunch of the heather and about a 1/4th bunch of the jasmine vine, altogether, pretty fabulous.
Being eco-conscious, green, foam free, sustainable. It's all easy. Once you know the mechanics, here it is with an armature supporting all the flowers. You'll find more creative inspiration at the website, Flower School .com. If you have questions, you can reach us through there or pick up the telephone and give us a call at (503) 223-8089. Now it's your turn, what are you going to create? Make sure you take a picture, post it on social media and tag Floral Design Institute. That way I can see as well as everyone else as you have fun and do something you love.
