How do I Make Thanksgiving Floral Arrangements?

Fall flower arrangements bring the crisp autumn colors indoors.

Beautiful autumn colors, flowers, pumpkins and gourds can be combined to create lovely Thanksgiving floral arrangements. Whether it is a gift to a friend or a centerpiece for your own holiday dinner table, this simple to construct project can be enjoyed year after year. Construction takes less than an hour of time and supplies are found at any local craft store. Each one is unique and can be easily adjusted to fit any size space.

Things You'll Need

• Polyurethane pumpkin
• Sharp knife
• Foam floral blocks
• Small wire cutters
• Artificial chocolate hydrangeas
• Artificial yellow aspen stems
• Artificial orange poppys
• Natural wheat stalks
• Natural or chocolate colored raffia
• 3-5 small artficial gourd picks

Instructions

1. Cut the top of the pumpkin off just as you would for a jack o' lantern. Set the top aside and fill the hollow inside of the pumpkin tightly with foam floral blocks. The blocks should come almost up to, but not even with the opening.

2. Decide how high you want the top center of the arrangement. Trim the stem of one chocolate hydrangea with the wire cutters and insert straight down into the center of the floral foam until it is the 3-4 inches lower than the total height you desire. Trim and place several other hydrangeas in the foam around the pumpkin so they are lower than the first stem. These flowers will give the most coverage and hide the floral foam from view.

3. Trim and insert an odd number of orange poppy's in the floral foam so that they are about 1-2 inches taller than the hydrangeas. Place them at random and vary the heights of each so they do not look too uniform.

4. Place 3-5 stems of the natural wheat in the floral foam around the arrangement so that they barely show up through the flowers. Place several more at varying heights around the arrangement so that the entire shock can be seen. This will give the arrangement a more natural, full look.

5. Cut and place several aspen stem throughout the arrangement. Aspen stems should be 3-4 inches taller than the hydrangeas and used sparingly as their bright yellow color can be overpowering.

6. Thread multiple, long strands of raffia through the holes in both the lid and pumpkin and tie with a snug bow so that the lid hangs from the side of the pumpkin. The lid should not hang lower than the bottom of the pumpkin.

7. Step back from the arrangement and walk around it adjusting stems as needed. The flowers should form a dome shape over the top of the pumpkin. The floral foam and cut edge of the pumpkin should not be visible from any angle.

References

• Eight Basic Flower Arranging Designs

Resources

• A Master Guide to the Art of Floral Design: Alisa A. de Jong-Stout; February 1, 2006