HOW TO MAKE A FAUX-REAL FLOWER ARRANGEMENT
Beautiful friends, I have a crafty project today that is just perfect for Spring!
But first I’ll reveal what items I kept from my mini-makeovers painting marathon! Ya’ll know me so well! I kept the corbels of course…how could I not?
Thriftshop Shakedown #5
I also kept one of the lamps since it looks so sweet here in my office:
Marathon painting! Restocking my smalls for my booth!
But I also have yet to drop off another item… this sweet little napkin holder I shared:
I just love the vintage feel of it! Thanks for guessing! 🙂 If you missed any of these 15 mini makeovers, you can visit them HERE and HERE!
Now onto today’s project:
I love having fresh flowers throughout my house, and I love using them in my photo shoots, really I do. I also love perusing the faux floral aisle at HomeGoods. You know the one? The one that has already arranged florals in vases WITH water. Faux water, that is.
When we bought this house, I found this arrangement at HomeGoods for $40:
Thrift store lamp made over with DIY chalk paint from confessionsofaserialdiyer.com
I rationalized that $40 wasn’t too bad since these flowers will never die, and then I bought another arrangement just like it for my bedside table.
I’ve included a few affiliate links so you can find the products I use.
Then it occurred to me…what if I could make my own “faux-real” arrangements? I figured they have to sell that fake water somewhere, and guess what? They do! I found it at Hobby Lobby near the faux florals:
Quick Water for faux florals
(If you don’t have a Hobby Lobby, they also sell it on Amazon HERE.)
We planted tons of beautiful flowers at our old house, especially hydrangeas that I could cut and bring in during the warmer months…
Holy hydrangeas!
They lasted from the end of May all the way through early Fall. I loved using them to style my photos:
Petite Side Table painted in Fluff by Dixie Belle, with stripes in Annie Sloan French Linen.
Reclaimed Wood Bookcase from Confessions of a Serial Do-it-Yourselfer
I also brought in clippings of Russian Sage:
Decorating with Thrifty Finds from Confessions of a Serial Do-it-Yourselfer
And whatever this is…pretty much anything that was blooming at the time!
This house has nothing to clip whatsoever (yet). So instead of spending a fortune buying the real deal, making a few good fakes might do the trick until I have fresh flowers to cut again.
You may have seen these pretty white roses I’ve used in my photos recently:
Tray painted with DIY chalk paint.
Well…they’re fakes, but really good ones don’t you think? The water in that photo is real, just to make the flowers look more realistic for the photo.
I chose to use these same white roses to test out the Quick Water.
I think this arrangement looks pretty darned realistic:
How to make a Faux-real flower arrangement with Quick Water
Right? Doesn’t it look like I went out to the garden and snipped some roses to dress up my tray?
How to make a Faux-real flower arrangement with Quick Water
If ya’ll are interested in making your own faux-real arrangement, here’s what you’ll need:
1. Faux florals (The more realistic, the better!)
2. Floral wire cutters
3. Glass container
4. Quick Water (Find it online HERE if you don’t have a Hobby Lobby near you.)
5. Plastic container and something to stir with
6. Hot glue gun and hot glue (optional)
I started by finding my florals. I found five of these beautiful white roses at Michaels as part of their Spring collection. They were $4.99 each plus 40% off:
Realistic as possible is key, including the stems, since you will see them through the glass. These stems even had faux thorns on them.
I started by trimming the stems to the desired length:
How to make a Faux-real flower arrangement with Quick Water
Then, just as I would with real flowers, I trimmed away any leaves that would fall below the water line:
How to make a Faux-real flower arrangement with Quick Water
Then I started dry-arranging them:
How to make a Faux-real flower arrangement with Quick Water
Once I had them arranged how I wanted, I opened my Quick Water box and pulled out the contents, which consisted of two bottles of clear fluid:
The instructions stated to mix the two, equal parts of each, into a plastic container for at least five minutes. I used all of both bottles:
How to make a Faux-real flower arrangement with Quick Water
This tongue depressor worked perfectly. (I found it in our first aid kit!)
Once it was mixed thoroughly, I removed my florals from the glass container and poured the mix into it, making sure to pour it in the center as not to get on the sides, per the instructions.
Then I added back my roses. There’s no need to rush…you have about an hour before the liquid starts to set up.
Finally, I decided to add back some of the greenery I had snipped off earlier:
How to make a Faux-real flower arrangement with Quick Water
I used my cordless glue gun to add them back here and there:
How to make a Faux-real flower arrangement with Quick Water
I think the greenery adds to the authentic factor:
How to make a Faux-real flower arrangement with Quick Water
Then I let the whole thing sit to cure, and that was it! Now I will be able to enjoy this little arrangement forever!
I should add a disclaimer that I am NOT a professional floral arranger. I go for an “I just cut these and brought them inside” kind of look which is a bit more haphazard.
How to make a Faux-real flower arrangement with Quick Water
This was a nice sized arrangement to start with. I’d love to tackle something a bit bigger next time.
How to make a Faux-real flower arrangement with Quick Water
The water looks pretty authentic too:
How to make a Faux-real flower arrangement with Quick Water
The instructions say that any air bubbles will rise to the top in the first hour. I don’t see much in the way of air bubbles at all.
How to make a Faux-real flower arrangement with Quick Water
This little arrangement cost me around $25. That’s not too bad in my opinion.
Now when you see it in a photo, you’ll know my secret ha ha! Shh…that’s just between us friends okay? Don’t tell my guests!
How to make a Faux-real flower arrangement with Quick Water
I hope you enjoyed this quick project and are inspired to make your own faux-floral arrangement!
I’ll be back on Tuesday with my Trash-to-Treasure girls sharing how I gave this desk some love:
Don’t Miss a Thing!
If you like what you see, there are several ways to follow along!