On my online workbook this week: Let me float my Wednesday idea by you for a bit

Dear

This week's inspiration is the little floral bits that are signs of even better floral bits to come.

This week my tip is all about creating for what is yet to come or happen in your design. Our floral material changes over time. And we need to keep that in mind as we design.

Floral designers are particularly skilled in four dimension designing. We have to be! We all know about considering the three dimensions (height, length, and width) with the fourth being what this design will turn into. Because we work with living flowers and plant material we have to create in a way that honours our design changing a bit over time. Tendrils continue to grow, flowers continue to open or mature, stems curl, geotropism… It is exactly what makes our floral art so exciting.

My master tip is: Make sure whatever you place will mature into a flourishing upright rather than a drooping or wilting position. The best way is to offer your design details a bit of support.

In a floating design this also means keeping the design details from looking flat or even sadly sinking or seeping.

Give your design at least some height to make it look more vibrant. One way is to add some tendrils or stems that continue to grow above the floating design details. But that is not enough. Because yes, flowers naturally float in water; they just don’t naturally float on water. To get it to float on the water and keep water from seeping between the petals over time and weighing it down you need to design a foundation. Have a look at the flowers and foliage that you want to float. Use the flattest and largest to create the basic raft for your float. You can also give it a “secret underwater support” if needed. Once that is secure you can start to add your foliage or flowers with more exaggerated natural curves and ruffles to lift the design slightly by resting parts of it on the raft material. Simply dip that small part of the plant material in water and then place the wet plant material on the raft plant material. See the picture above. The water helps to keep the floral material in place without restricting the movement as glue would.

This little bit of attention to detail, giving the design some height, is what also elevates your design and makes it look more professionally designed and styled. Well worth the effort!

Enjoy!

Every good wish,

Christine