Creative Touches - Floral Design

Inspired by arrangements I found in Creative Touches, a book my mom gave me years ago when I was first married, I went out this weekend to buy some fresh flowers and greens for my home.  Usually I just buy fresh cut flowers from Whole Foods or our local farmer's market.  This time, I did things a little different.

Contemporary Elegance
This would make a fabulous Mother's Day gift, hostess gift or even baby/bridal shower decorations!  I actually made two of these arrangements, one for the family room and one for my bedside table.

WHAT I USED

3" potted Parade Rose

4.5" cylinder clear glass vase

green moss

rafia

WHAT I DID

I placed the potted roses in the cylinder vase (still potted) and stuffed moss down around the edges to cover up the plastic pot the roses are in.  To finish it off, I simply tied a bit of rafia around the vase!  It was super simple.  I think this arrangement would look great with most potted flowers or plants, I just happened to find these roses on sale!

Serene & Sophisticated
I went to the market with a picture in mind of an all-green arrangement with very specific foliage that I wanted.  Of course, they didn't happen to have anything I had in mind!  This was a last minute plan that I put together while browsing all my options.  I really wasn't sure about it at first but it's definitely growing on me!

WHAT I USED
white rectangular vase - $12 at Michaels (4" W x 4" D x 12" H)
cut flowers and greens in different textures and shades of green

WHAT I DID
At the mouth of the vase, I placed baby's breath so it was just popping out the opening.  From there, I layered lady's mantle and then lime green chrysanthemums.  I topped off the arrangement with a spray of bear grass.