Paper Flowers

   It seems as though Cancer is effecting everyone now a days.  It seems to be widespread and doesn't show any signs of dwindling.  That means that there are a lot of people out there looking for ways to encourage a loved one and let them know you're thinking about them.  I was in this situation recently.  I have a very dear friend who was diagnosed with classical lymphoma.  Of course I am crying out to the Lord for her healing, but I was also looking for a way to lift her spirits and let her know she was in my thoughts.  She loves flowers, but because of her chemo treatments she can't be around them.  Well, I thought this will just not do- so I decided to make her a bouquet of paper flowers.

{sorry for the bad picture and not the finished product, but I didn't get a chance to take a picture of the finished product. You get the idea though.}

   I tried a bunch of different ways to make paper flowers using a couple of different tutorials.  These are the ones that worked the best for me:

For this pretty white peonie I used coffee filters and got the tutorial from Michella Marie's Blog.  THEN, I ran out of coffee filters.  Typical.  So I thought I would take a stab at using colored tissue paper instead.  After I found a tutorial on Folding Tree's Website to make carnations, there was no stopping me.

   Making the paper flowers is a little time consuming, but totally worth it.  I loved being able to give my friend some flowers to lighten up her day.  I definitely recommend trying these tutorials out, either to give some flowers away or to make some for yourself.  You can make a beautiful bouquet of flowers that look real but will never die.   Good Luck!

P.S. Some other gift ideas for loved ones going through cancer:

books- especially books on tape (Cracker Barrel has a great program for books on tape)

mints or gum- the treatment gives them bad tastes in their mouth

pictures to put up and surround themselves with

Edible Arrangements- as long as the fruit is cut up

a good cd

magazines

comfy cozy blankets/clothes or houseshoes

housecleaning/cooking/dog walking (even if you can't be there to do it yourself you could pay to hire someone)

gift cards to a favorite restaurant/store/spa for the gloomy days that they need a lift

peppermint or chamomile tea

I'd love to hear any other gift ideas.....

Wedding Flowers

   I saved so much money by making my own bouquets!  I knew I wanted lilies- in fact that was one of the only things that I absolutely knew that I wanted; They have always been my favorite flower.  I chose stargazer lilies because they went perfect with my teal and cranberry wedding colors.  I went around to a couple of places to get quotes for my bridal bouquets and was stopped in my tracks by how much they were charging for them.  The cheapest florist I found was Kroger, but even their prices were way up there.  They quoted $70 for my bouquet and $50 for each bridesmaids bouquet.  At first thought, this really didn't seem that high but then I broke it all down.  (My bouquets were going to be simple- lilies and alstromerias- thats it.)

3 stem lily package - $9.99 (out of season, they are probably even cheaper in the summer)

Alstromeria package - $3.99

   One bouquet probably has 3 lily stems and maybe 2 packages of alstromerias in it which would cost about $18 RETAIL.  The rest of the cost is the little amount of ribbon and wire they use, so we will generously give that about $2.  Which means they are charging $30 per bouquet in labor for one of the simplest bouquets you can get.

   So, I bought some cheap flowers to experiment making my own bouquets.  EASY easy Easy!  It was so much easier than I thought it was going to be.  I bundled some flowers together, rearranging the flowers to look full, and then tied the stems together tightly with a rubber band.  You can also wrap it with floral tape to secure it. Then I cut the stems to all be the same length.  After that, I wrapped some ribbon around the stems to cover up the floral tape/rubber band and hot-glued the end to keep it in place. (I also experimented by not even using tape or rubber band and just wrapping it in ribbon and that worked too!) To add a little detail I put a couple of white push pins in- this also secures it a little more.  The whole process of making a whole bouquet took me around 20 minutes, and that was the first time I ever did something like this.  Try it!  I promise you can make your own, and they will turn out gorgeous!  

  Total cost of flowers for my wedding (includes 1 bridal bouquet, 5 bridesmaid bouquets, 7 boutonnières, 5 crosages, centerpieces for 22 tables, cake and table decor, and enough leftover to decorate the honeymoon sweet, AND tax) was $635.85!  And it could have been cheaper if I didn't want lilies everywhere!  Did I mention I love lilies :)

*Side Notes*
- I did go ahead and pay to have the florist make my boutonnières and corsages.  I probably could have figured out how to make them on my own, but the prices weren't too bad so I saved myself the time.  The boutonnières were $9.99 each and the nosegay corsages were $15.00.
- It would also be cheaper to buy the flowers wholesale. I did not have enough time to research and plan to do this but I know it would have been a cheaper option.  Or at least found a florist to give you a discount for buying so many flowers in bulk.