* Get creative with a DIY floral arrangement
* Get these 10 essential tools you’ll need for pro results
* Save money and add a personal touch by making your own bouquets
With fall wedding season and the social swirl kicking back into high gear, there are plenty of reasons to entertain. While all the elements of a good party can always be outsourced, a personal touch makes any event that much more memorable, like the natural beauty of a fresh floral arrangement.
Here, find 10 tools that will quickly and easily elevate your floral arranging skills far beyond a dozen tulips in a jar of water.
1. Flowers
It goes without saying that floral arranging starts with the flowers. If you don’t live anywhere near a nursery or floral wholesaler, no problem: You can get the blooms of your choice delivered to your door through Amazon.
Related: 7 Best Places to Order Flowers Online
2. The Flower Chef: A Modern Guide to Do-It-Yourself Floral Arrangements
Get inspired: After finding what’s available or in season, hunker down with author Carly Cylinder’s comprehensive yet easy to understand guide to floral arranging. Pages of full-color photos and instructions even a beginner can grasp should provide a solid starting point.
Related Stories
3. Flower Food
If you’re going to put in the effort to create something beautiful, make sure the raw materials are in tip-top shape. Keep your flowers fresh longer with a bit of flower food — basically a mixture of minerals to enhance their color and lifespan.
4. Floral Snips
After fortifying your water mixture with flower food, it’s time to trim off thorns or any excess leaves and branches. The small jaws of these floral snips are just what you need for detailed and precise cutting.
5. Oasis Floral Bricks
The secret to your arrangement staying put lies with a foam floral brick. Best used with opaque vessels, these spongy but stiff blocks sit at the bottom of the vase, into which the stems are inserted and held in place.
6. Floral Tubes
A necessity when working with a foam floral brick, fill these tube with flower food-fortified water and snap them onto your stems; the pointed ends were made stick into the foam.
7. Floral Arrangement Tool Kit
An essential set to have on hand, the tape and wire will come into play if you’re creating a hand-held bouquet or an arrangement in a clear vase where a foam brick would show.
8. Flower Arranger Frog
Another discreet must-have when using a clear vessel or a vertical arrangement. It works similar to a floral brick, but disappears easily once filled with flowers.
9. Glass Hexagonal Flower Vase
What you place your arrangement in matters as much as the arrangement, and this simple glass vase keeps the focus on your flowers, but the unusual hexagonal shape keeps it from being too basic.
10. Ceramic Hobnail Jars
Consider a ceramic vase when working with an arrangement that requires a foam brick. The hobnail details lend a vintage touch to your final creation.
If you buy something because we told you about it, we may receive compensation from retail partners.