A dried floral arrangement brings lasting, natural beauty to any space. While the process of preparing, shaping, and arranging your flowers and grasses might seem intimidating, it only takes a bit of practice before you’re making your own gorgeous bouquets and centerpieces. Learn how to create a dried floral arrangement with our favorite tips and tricks.
Preparing Your Materials
Start by untying and laying out all your materials so you have a good idea of what you are working with.
“Fluff” your materials by gently spreading out the stems, leaves and flowers. This will make them appear more voluptuous. Be gentle, but if a few pieces break, don’t sweat it.
Clean and edit your materials by removing foliage from the ends of the stems. This will help when arranging and moving elements and give an overall cleaner look.
Making Your Arrangement
Do you want a tall, airy arrangement? A full and compact style? Symmetrical, asymmetrical? Perhaps you wish to keep your elements in clusters for a more modern approach? Or maybe you only want to use certain flowers and preserved foliage for your design.
Start with your greens and textural elements. Think about the shape and style you want your arrangement to take on and use these elements to start crafting an ‘outline’ or flow.
Once you are satisfied with the rough shape, begin adding your focal flowers. For this set, the banksia has the showiest head, and we recommend highlighting it. The protea and straw flower can also act as focal points, depending on how you craft your design.
Tips and Tricks
Now that you have the basics of how to create a dried floral arrangement down, use these tips and tricks to expand your skillset and experiment with new designs.
When cutting your elements, be sure to cut a little at a time. You can always cut shorter if need be but not the other way around.
When arranging your stems, always try to insert them on a diagonal. This will keep your arrangement from looking too rigid and upright.
Work all sides of your design simultaneously, consistently turning and evening out the design.
Step back. When you are up close and personal with your design it can feel intimate and romantic, but don’t get blinded by love! You can’t always see the full image of your design unless you take a few steps back. We recommend doing this periodically to make sure you are happy with how things are coming along.
Frustrated? Unsure? Crying? Don’t give up! Walk away from it for an hour, day, or even a few days. You’ll come back with a fresh perspective and experience under your belt.
Most importantly, don’t overthink it. Have fun! No matter what design you come up with, they are flowers and they are beautiful, just like you.
