paper flowers…

Shortly after my daughter announced their engagement to be married, she suggested PAPER FLOWERS.

I might have balked slightly.

Not because I do not LOVE paper flowers, rather… because I was acutely aware of how much arduous labour they can require and… because I knew I could fall deeply into the pit of glorious making, causing me to blissfully ignore everything else.

SO… I promptly sent all my supplies to her (she lives across a mountain range that requires a dedicated road trip) with the intention of allowing her to commit to the process before I embarked into the crepe paper pit.

Needless to say, she created beautiful floral confections and I threw myself in.

There are so many more resources since the last time I ventured forth with paper flowers… Books, paper, you tube videos. The local library had several books on the subject! I now own 2 more books on the art and copious amounts of crepe paper.

As fun as I was…. my fingers are ready for a hiatus.

In addition to filling dozens of vases, I made two hanging arrangements. One was placed inside the pergola and the other was above the bride/groom table - which turned into the dessert table for the party later.

They were relatively simple to assemble… once I did a sufficient amount of overthinking and failed once or twice. The final product was concocted with branches that had been pruned from the apple trees that grace the park across the street. It was the dead of winter and I had scoured all the options that random google searches had suggested. I was loathe purchase branches, as the research kept suggesting… I looked out my front door and saw the pile of branches nestled there. It almost felt like a gift. Rather, it DID feel like a gift. Thank you apple trees.

I wired together two long branches - just thick enough to hold their shape and add stability. Then I wrapped the branches in far too much chicken wire - I cut away most of it as time went on. You really only need just enough to wrap around the middle. I hung the arrangements with thin craft wire.

The armchairs were also part of the day! There were a few more, but these matched the best for a photograph… I am uncertain if there are photos of the actual furniture ‘vignettes’ at the party itself - I do know they were enjoyed and people gathered and visited . I am afraid I was a photo DUD on the actual day. Maybe a dud is tad harsh… I was far too busy and beyond exhausted to worry about taking photos, as easy as phone makes it.