Valentine’s Day bouquets can get crazy expensive when purchased at a florist. My suggestion? (And this is mostly for guys.) Make your own. Not only is it cheaper to make your own bouquet, but it’s also rewarding, fun, and you can personalize to the person you’re gifting the bouquet to.
My flower shopping tips: head to the grocery store. I purchased the below stock flowers, roses, and spray roses for a total of $16.97 at Trader Joes. And the flowers pictured below are not even all of the goods that I got…these were just the pieces that I used for the bouquet. Other great places to buy flowers are at Whole Foods, Costco, and if you’re in the Bay Area, the SF Flower Market has amazing flowers at wholesale prices.
What you’ll need:
kraft paper is great for wrapping your bouquet, but if you don’t have it on hand, use a grocery paper bag. It works just as well!
I made sure that I bought roses that came with some “filler” greenery to add to my bouquet. I wanted to make a bouquet that was full length and width wise, so I made sure I purchased some long stem stock flowers as well.
Step 1: Cut 1-2 inches off the stems of all flowers to be used, at an angle.
Cutting the stems at an angle allows for more water absorption, resulting in longer lasting flowers.
and done! Let’s pretend I inserted photos here of all of the other flowers being cut.
Step 2: Layer 2-3 of your standout flowers on top of the longer stems and greenery.
Criss-cross the stems of these flowers, in my case they were roses.
Step 3: Add in smaller flowers, AKA filler flowers (which in my case almost became the main flowers, but that’s ok!).
Add 1-2 fillers in between the two criss-crossed main flowers.
Step 4: Repeat this layering process until you’ve achieved your desired fullness.
Step 5: Loosely tie the stems together with a rubber band.
Step 6: Lay out a sheet of kraft paper or a paper bag (cut open), place your bouquet on top with the flowers and a 1/2 inch – inch of the stems coming up above the paper.
Fold the kraft paper into a triangle on each side of the bouquet, then fold both sides over and together.
Step 7: Secure with a bow.
You can choose any size/color of ribbon that you like – my tip is to choose a color that goes well with the color scheme of the bouquet.
And voila! A gorgeous bouquet that makes a statement and doesn’t break the bank.
P.S. The ring I’m wearing in some of these photos is from Rocksbox, which is an ahh-mazing company that sends 3 designer pieces of jewelry to you per month. Just in time for VDay, I have a code for you to use for one month of free designer duds at Rocksbox – use code allgussiedupxoxo at checkout to get your first box free!
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