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Health & Fitness

Holiday Flower Design: Step-by-Step

Professional flower designer and owner/founder of Flowers by binaifer provides a step-by-step design for a lovely holiday centerpiece and introduce herself and her flower designs.

Step-by-Step Holiday Flower Design

Good afternoon, McLean.  This afternoon seems an appropriate time to launch my blog on McLean Patch.

As a professional flower designer, and the owner/founder of Flowers by binaifer based in McLean, I want to give you a step-by-step design  for a lovely holiday centerpiece, which has been likened to a fountain or waterfall. Then, I want to take a moment to introduce myself and tell you a little bit about me and my flower designs.

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Step-by-Step Holiday Centerpiece:

The inspiration for this Holiday design was one of the instructors in my class at The Judith Blacklock Flower School in Knightsbridge, London. The design links the colors of the holidays and creates the look of a fountain or waterfall.

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You will need:

Plant Material:

~ Bear grass (used as an inexpensive filler and available @ all florists and grocery store floral counters)

~ Berries (Hypericum, Nandina, Ilex or Holly, Pyracantha, Cedar, or any other little berry)

Supplies:

~ A tall, very slim glass or crystal vase. A glass or crystal wine decanter works perfectly!

~ A straight pin (to make a tiny hole in the bottom of the berry)

~ A scissors

Caution:

Bear Grass has sharp edges, so wear gloves or be careful in handling to avoid paper-like cuts.

Method:

  1. Choose your vase (or, have several and see which one you like), and fill with water.
  2. Take 6-12 pieces of Bear Grass. Rinse the grass, and trim the bottoms (often cream-colored and muddy or sandy).  Trim the top of each strand of bear grass to a point (cut on a diagonal, like cutting a ribbon).
  3. Twist off 6-12 berries (one for each strand of Bear Grass), and poke the bottom of each with the straight pin. You only need a tiny hole or the berry will fall off the Bear Grass.
  4. Place the strands of Bear Grass in the vase. Hold the end of each strand of Bear Grass, and insert a berry on the end.
  5. Add or delete strands of Bear Grass, as you wish. The effect should be pieces of Bear Grass bouncing or springing to the touch (from the weight of the berries), thus creating your dancing holiday fountain or waterfall.

About Me:

My unique design aesthetic ~ elegant, contemporary, and minimalist ~ has been enhanced by training at the renowned Judith Blacklock Flower School in Knightsbridge, London.  My flower designs have been influenced by the work of artists such as O’Keefe, Miro, and Calder.  As an award-winning fine art photographer, I have an eye for line, form and presentation resulting in exquisite flower designs.

~ In July 2009, I was selected as one of twelve semi-finalists for the position of Chief Flower Designer at the White House!

~ In March 2010, I was honored to design THE centerpiece for Rabbi Amy Schwartzman's 20th Anniversary Champagne Dessert Reception at Temple Rodef Shalom in Falls Church.

~ Now, I design the flowers every week for the Friday night & Saturday morning services of this temple with a congregation of 1,500 families, a significant number of them from McLean! I incorporate lovely vases and flowers to make even a traditional triangular design exquisite and gorgeous.

~ In July 2010, I designed THE centerpiece for the Atrium of the Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center. The centerpiece, incorporating English crystal vases and purple Vanda orchids, was the focal point of a private reception on the upper level of the Atrium.

~ My flower designs have been donated to silent auctions for Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Georgetown and the Great Falls Foundation of the Arts.

~ I have been commissioned to design intriguing flower sculptures for Thanksgiving, holiday, hostess, anniversary, and birthday gifts.

My hand-tied bouquets and flower designs are non-traditional: elegant, contemporary, and minimalist.  I incorporate vases into my designs, resulting in flower sculptures. My technique included creating swirls and loops of curly willow, often on its side, to hold the flowers, I secure my designs with fine-gauge jewelry wire; fine, cellophane tape; and pebbles.

An eco-conscious artist, I use native, indigenous, or local meadow-grown flowers: blue-cloud larkspur, which looks like dancing purple butterflies.  Or, I cut branches of dogwood, forsythia and pear from my own garden. When not possible, I select unusual flowers: red gloriosa lilies, purple Vanda orchids, yellow oncidium orchids, and copper cymbidium orchids. All of my flowers are grown in the U.S. (and, if not possible, Canada or Holland), and each stem is hand-selected to ensure a close-to-perfect flower.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to e-mail me: info@flowersbyb.com. Stay tuned for: Eco-Consccious Flower Sourcing and Forcing Flowering Branches from your Garden!

 

 

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