DIY Bouquet

So I said I was planning on making my own bouquet for my sister's graduation and I did. I'm too cheap to go to a florist for flower arrangements but I'm not always a fan of the pre-made bouquets at grocery stores. My solution for these types of situations (where what I want and what I want to pay don't mesh) is always to just make my own.

What I used:

flowers - I bought two bundles of pink peonies

greenery - I used mint from my garden

rubber bands - I just used the ones that were used to wrap up my flowers

scissors

tulle (or cellophane)
ribbon (I used glitter tape)

I started by getting a vase of water ready.

Here are the peonies (from the store) and the mint (from my garden). I love peonies. They're one of my favorite flowers (along with hydrangeas and poppies). I decided to use mint because unlike most people, I don't really appreciate the smell of flowers. Mint adds a pretty green color and an amazing smell.

Next, I trimmed the flowers. I cut off the excess stem on an angle, which gives the flowers more surface area to suck up water.

Next, I gathered the flowers and mint in a bundle; I didn't take too much time to arrange everything carefully - there's a lot of beauty in imperfection - but I did do my best to make sure things were evenly spaced and pretty. Then, I used two rubber bands to hold the bundle together.

Next, I used some tulle (6" wide) to wrap around the flowers. I tucked the end into the rubber bands and then swirled up the length of the bouquet. I thought tulle would be prettier than the plastic cellophane wrap typically used in these types of bouquets. And I kept the tulle loose so that it wouldn't look too bridal.

To secure the tulle, I knotted it in a few places.

Then, I used a little glitter tape to decorate.

And tada! A pretty looking congratulatory bouquet.

Then, I stuck the bouquet back into the vase so that the flowers could drink water until it was time for them to be given away.

Love these colors, don't you? And I think the mint looks so pretty as well.

And here are a couple shots of the grad girl with her bouquet:

Cheers!