Isn’t it frustrating when you’re looking for something to spruce up your decor but can’t find it? We think so! We had a vision for our Christmas porch, but couldn’t find anything we wanted that was already made. What did we do? DIY! We took a trip to Michaels of course!
White Winter Floral Arrangements
We wanted to get the most mileage out of our arrangements, so we chose to go with all-white artificial flowers dusted with glitter, which will easily carry us through Christmas, and all the way through the winter season. If white doesn’t go with your earthy colors you can always choose cream flowers instead. We had a vision of a blue-and-white color scheme, taking a cue from our lovely blue front door. We also knew we wanted a couple of large flocked Christmas trees. We planned to make the front entrance the highlight of our porch and wanted to create symmetry. The rest came together once we got to the store.
We walked into Michaels not knowing how much inventory they had ready for Christmas, since it was still not quite November, but we were in luck! We were greeted by aisle after aisle of sparkling white poinsettias, tiny baby roses, luscious gardenias, and faux evergreens crusted with “ice”. A plan immediately started forming in our minds. Barely speaking, we gathered armloads of glittery blooms and greens, rubberbanding bunches at a time to keep items together. We bought enough supplies to make all of our outdoor, and multiple indoor arrangements.
How-To Make Your Own Christmas Floral Arrangements
Step 1: Plan your Floral Arrangement
If you’re not sure what you’re looking for, check Pinterest or Instagram for ideas.
Step 2: Decide Where to Shop for Supplies
We chose Michaels because it is close to home and their florals and supplies never disappoint.
Step 3: Make a Supplies List and Purchase What You Need.
To make a winter white arrangement like ours, you need the following:
- Container (we chose a galvanized bucket for our outdoor arrangements)
- Floral foam that fits firmly inside the container
- Floral tape
- Hot glue gun and glue sticks
- Gravel or pebbles to add weight, especially if your arrangement is for outside*
- Wire cutters
- Faux flowers that fit the scale of your container; don’t be afraid to use large flowers such as poinsettias, especially a large single bloom (cut short) in a small container
- Artificial greens that compliment your flowers
- Artificial snow (stuffing)
- Clear acrylic spray to protect outdoor arrangements
Step 4: Create Your Winter Florals
- Lay out all supplies so you can clearly see everything. Plug in your hot glue gun.
- Using your glue gun, hot glue the floral foam to the bottom of your container.
- For outside arrangements, fill in around the floral foam with gravel for weight.
- Eyeball your flower height BEFORE cutting stems with wire cutters. Bend or fold the stems and estimate how much stem to cut. Start long; you can always cut more off, but you can’t reattach once you cut.
- Arrange all flowers at slightly varying heights for interest. Poke all the way into the floral foam.
- Tie a length of floral tape around your flower bunches to help them stay upright.
- Fill in around all flowers with your evergreens, cutting individual stems as needed. Fill the entire container so it is lush and full.
- If your arrangement is going outside, we recommend spraying it with clear acrylic.
- Shake the acrylic spray well and only use outside or in a very well-ventilated area. Pay attention to the direction the wind is blowing so the acrylic doesn’t blow back on you.
- Spray the entire arrangement and allow to dry for approximately 30 minutes.
- Pull apart small fist-sized bunches of artificial snow and stuff in around the base of your arrangement to fill in any gaps.
- Admire your work! Wasn’t this simple?
How to Make an Indoor Winter Floral Arrangement
1. Decide on your color scheme.
As always, choose a complementary color in your decor and repeat it in your floral arrangement.
2. Select a vase or container.
Make sure to consider the height of the arrangement you want to create.
3, Decide where your arrangement will be placed.
We like to place them on entryway tables, the kitchen island, coffee tables, and end tables.
4. Gather your materials
- Vase or container
- Floral foam
- Floral tape
- Wire cutters
- Hot glue
- Tissue paper, if needed
- Moss, if needed
- Faux flowers
- Greens
- Pinecones or berries, if desired
- Santa Snow
5. Assemble the flowers:
- Decide on the height.
- Clip your flowers, discarding stems. Leave enough stem to pierce the floral foam.
- Hot glue your floral foam with a few dots of glue to the bottom of your container.
- Start from the center, with taller stems in the middle, and work your way out. Shorten stems as needed as you work toward the outside edge of your container.
- Place greens, filling in all holes. Again, start at the center and work your way out, shaping greens and flowers to cascade over the edge of your container.
- If you have extra space in your container, you can stuff with crumpled tissue paper to help hold your arrangement in place.
- Fill in any gaps or edges with light brown moss.
- Spray flowers and greens with Santa Snow, repeating several times until you have achieved your desired result.
- Wasn’t that easy?
Where to Place Your Faux Flowers
Once you have finished your arrangement, decide where it looks best. Sometimes this fits your vision, but other times you just need to play around a little.
Tips for Faux Outdoor Flower Arrangements
Because our outdoor arrangements are relatively protected from the elements by our porch roof, we simply move them back against the house when it rains so they don’t get wet.
Planning Christmas 2021 and Beyond
As crazy as this sounds, we are already working on next year’s color scheme. We hinted at this last year, but due to supply issues and extra-busy upholsterers, we were unable to make such a drastic change. It’s in the works now though!
Thank you for spending time with us this year. We really appreciate you and look forward to 2022! Have yourselves a merry little Christmas!