Purple Flower Hand-Tie

Video Transcription

Neotropical, the combination of tropical blooms and temperate blooms, so on trend. In a classic hand-tie, so fabulous for any event. Let me show you how it's done.

The materials. We looked worldwide to bring in treasures, starting with Hawaii for the lovely violet tulip anthurium, then California for the jasmine vine. Right here in Oregon, just outside of Portland, the burning bush euonymus. South America for roses. We've got cool water, blueberry, and carnations. Then again, back right here to Oregon with beautiful ranunculus to add that local flare.

As I create this hand tie, I'm going to think in layers. I'm going to start with a base of the burning bush, clustering the stems together. Making sure everything below my hand is bare, no leaves, and then all the beauty at the top. And just holding it loosely, a finger and a thumb. Then adding in heavier materials. It's where the roses come into play, tucking them, weaving, giving it a turn. As they slip and slide, you can just give it a tug right back up. Then filling in again, the blueberry roses, turning. You can see they start shifting and that's okay. Let them have their own personality because when you're done, they will have shifted again, and that is part of the joy of a casual hand-tie. Coming back with the carnations and creating different levels, tucking some down even lower. This will just be the base of the bouquet, adding a spot of color. And turning, weaving through. By weaving, you get the stability that you need. Turning. And as I finish with the carnations and the roses and the euonymus, I'm ready to move on to the next layer.

For the next layer, I start extending a bit more. The anthurium, they have beautiful curvature, letting them come in and outward. And repeat. You can adjust their faces, giving movement within the design, and out the opposite side so we'll have more of an oval form than round. Just keep adjusting a bit. Then coming in with the ranunculus, they're so beautiful. A little bit of bounciness, soft movement. Their buds are spectacular. Just feeding them in. They're a little smaller. And that muted hue, it's a tone with a grayed version, sometimes doesn't show as well. So, grouping them to get the visual value so that they stand up strong along with the beautiful anthurium and carnations. Now, that one I just broke. When that happens, just pull it out. Set it aside, use it in another arrangement. And go back, start again. Because that does happen. And you don't want to keep using it because it won't drink water. All of these are going to last so well, so long. Then for even more draping movement, going to the jasmine vine, tucking it in, letting it come outward. And this is the point you might want to stand and work in front of a mirror so that you can see where the stems need to go to balance out. Continue adding anthurium and ranunculus and jasmine vine until you're happy.

You can see I added additional blooms, balanced out. Now I'm ready to finish. Adding onto the back to conceal my mechanics, I wanted to use magnolia. Its beautiful, shiny green on the front, and then a bit of the suede finish on the back. Picking up the color of the burning bush euonymus. I'm going to use the suede side. So I broke the leaves off of the stem and then I just wired and taped them individually. That way I can just tuck them right into place. Turning, filling in a few more, until I get a solid coverage all the way around the back. And then I'll tie it off with bind wire to secure.

The recipe, I stood it up so you can see. A hand-tie when designed correctly should be freestanding. I made this one two-sided, so it has actually two fronts. It goes all the way around. The recipe itself, I used seven Carnations, nine Anthurium, ten of the Ranunculus, then three cool water Roses and three blueberry Roses. I started with two branches broken apart of the burning bush Euonymus, ended with the Jasmine Vine, which I used four stems that I broke apart, giving it a nice full lush look, and then about a dozen of the Magnolia Leaves to finish the back.

The beauty of creating a hand tie is then the client can take it and put it in whatever vessel they have at home and it's just beautiful, ready to go. They can mix and match. If they decide they want it in a clear vase, they can swap. You'll find more creative inspiration, more design tips, more education on our website, flowerschool.com. If you have questions, you can reach us through there. But now it's your turn. Gather your favorite blossoms, create a hand tie bouquet. Find your favorite vessel. Be sure to take a picture. I want to see it standing and in the container. Then post it on social media, #FloralDesignInstitute. That way we all can see what you do, as you do something you love.