How to Make a Gift Bouquet

This past weekend, my girls had their dance and tumbling recital and I wanted to give them the traditional flower bouquet for such an occasion.  They worked so hard throughout the year and I wanted to congratulate them on a job well done. 

If you have been reading Cultivate Create for any length of time, you might have gathered that I love to DIY!  My philosophy is why pay a lot of money for something that I can do myself for a fraction of the cost.  In this instance, I adhered to that very philosophy.  

I started by making a trip Winn-Dixie to pick up some fresh flowers.  They were three bundles for $12.  Since I was making two bouquets, I grabbed six bundles.  (They did have ready-made gift bouquets, but they were $18.99 each, and they were very small.....probably a fourth as big as the ones I made. And buying a gift bouquet from a florist would've been even more money!) 

I made sure I got greens, filler flowers, and showcase flowers. I wanted pinks, greens, and whites only. 

Once I got all of the plastic off of the flowers, I spread them out in my sink so I could easily get to them.  I kept some of the clear plastic from a couple of the bundles to use around my flowers. 

Making one of these bouquets isn't like a normal flower arrangement where you try to get a uniform look all around the container.  You want to try to layer with a definite "back" and "front" of the arrangement. That means starting with a green base.   

Once your green base is in place, layer your filler. I used Baby's Breath. 

Then, I layered the small green flowers and the largest flowers on top. 

Then, I layered in my "feature" flower, the hot pink carnations.  Once I got those in place, I filled in with a little more Baby's Breath to finish it out. 

Once I was satisfied with the arrangement, I wrapped the bouquet with the clear plastic and secured with a rubber band.  

Then, I wrapped the entire bouquet with some thick wrapping paper I already had from Home Goods, tied with ribbon and adorned the front with flower that can later be used in their hair if they want. (It has a bobby pin on the back.)

I was really pleased with how they turned out! For a fraction of the cost of what I would have spent at a Florist, I had large, beautiful bouquets to give my girls. 

I think they may have liked them, too! 

It really wasn't that hard or time consuming.  It is the first time I have ever made a gift bouquet like this, but it won't be my last. Not only for recitals, but maybe for hostess gifts or for birthdays.