Rittners School Of Floral Design
In Boston Presents....

Three Floral Designs In One

Three designs in one? What is that all about?

I think you are going to find this lesson really fun and interesting, because in this mini lesson you are going to learn how to do three very contemporary floral designs.

What is rather neat is that each design requires the previous design as a starting point!

Each of these designs is easy to do.

Each of these designs can stand in it's own right. Each one is interesting individually. Taken together, the progression is fascinating!

What You Will Need

Design No. One--Design in Glass Cylinder

At one time we thought of foam as simply a mechanic that had to be covered. That is, until the foam manufacturers started to create all kinds of wonderful foams in various shapes and in a rainbow of colors!!! The concept behind the various colored foams is that the mechanic becomes visually interesting, not necessarily something that we would want to, or need to cover up.

Take a section of colored foam and measure it so that it will fit easily into the cylinder container.

Place an open lily into the center of the foam.

Add a little sheet moss, for texture and interest, not to cover the mechanics.

Place a small section of curly willow or other branch for a dynamic effect.

Add several roses at different heights.

Insert the assembly into the cylinder as shown in the photograph.

The design can be left exactly as you see it here. Alternatively some designers are stylizing designs in glassware and then filling up the glass container with water.

In other words this design can actually be under water, almost like a miniature aquarium! If you decide to do that here, be sure to first rinse out your moss, to keep the dirt factor as low as possible, or consider the use of spanish moss

A design such as this would work nicely on a kitchen counter, a workstation or possibly on a small table next to a bed in a bedroom.

You could stop at this point............BUT WAIT............THERE'S MORE!!!!!!!!

Design No. Two--Elevated Sphere Arrangement

Ok. Let's put the arrangement in the glass cylinder to one side for a minute.

Let's take a woven branch sphere and decorate it.

Weave some raffia through the surface of the sphere.

Next let's take some flower jewelry, and weave that through the surface of the sphere as well.

Insert approximately a dozen roses into small water tubes filled with water. Place these randomly through the sphere as shown in the illustration.

Now here's the really fun part!!!

Take the decorated sphere and place it right on top of the design in the glass cylinder!

Quick, easy and a totally different look than the first design, although it incorporates the first arrangement in the glass cylinder as part of its effect!

This is a very different way of presenting, say, approximately a dozen roses. Here is a shot of the bottom part of the design too.

Isn't it a striking piece? It definitely says "contemporary," yet it is so quick and so very easy to make!

Consider making two or three of these for a contemporary mantle decoration.

How about three or four of these in cylinders of varying heights for centerpieces down the center of a long table for party or function work?

It may be adapted to a contemporary church, chapel or synagogue.

Think about these possibilities:

You could stop at this point............BUT WAIT............THERE'S MORE!!!!!!!!

Design No.Three--Dynamic Diagonal/Spherical Variation

Follow all the earlier steps discussed up to now.

Create a design in a glass cylinder.

Add the spherical component to the design as shown above.

Now let's add some river cane to the composition.

Notice how these pieces are embellished with a little bit of decorative wire.

They are also deliberately placed at angles, and tied in place, giving a dynamic diagonal feeling to the arrangement.

Be aware that the addition of the river cane makes this design a rather large composition.

We hope that you really enjoyed this brief floral design lesson. At Rittners Floral School in Boston we provide floral design instruction that includes a wide range of different styles and techniques. Please come and take one of our hands-on workshop programs!!