Winter Designs

anytimeflowers

anytimeflowers

Linda
Nov 22, 2009
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West Saint Paul
any-timeflowers.com
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Minnesota
I was just wondering if anybody does designs specifically for winter. Over the years, I used to try to jump right into spring after the New Years stuff. For the past couple of years, I have done remarkably well stocking several winter-themed designs for the cooler and would love to see some of the creations the rest of you have done, if any.

I will post some as soon as I get my images. After searching the forum for photography tips, I was chagrined to realize that everybody else seems to use a tripod.:eek: That may explain one of my problems, huh?

Sheesh, guess I'll go get one, tonight!
 
I would love some inspiration for some winter designs to put on our website. Since our website is young (went live in Oct.) most of the images I have are for fall or Christmas. I'm not really sure what to put on the site for winter (although we get requests for "spring" designs all year long).
 
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There was a thread last year about using nice Christmas greens after Christmas.

Some said yes, and others said they used them in funeral pieces too.

Sandy what would you consider Winter Designs to be?
 
we never have had anyone request "winter designs".
We go from Holiday to "bright and colorful" but not to springy for another couple of months.
The winter is long here and bright and colorful is our most requested color theme.
 
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roysecityfloristand gifts said:
There was a thread last year about using nice Christmas greens after Christmas.

Some said yes, and others said they used them in funeral pieces too.

Sandy what would you consider Winter Designs to be?
Click to expand...

Good question!!

I guess I would think of them as using more "winter greens" like cedar and pine. Being in the northwoods, it's sort of year round look here. I know that our standing order tulip bouquets already start next week, so I guess I'm used to going straight to the bulbs after Christmas....but would like to see some differentiation between now and the real spring.

I'm hoping to get some good ideas on this thread!
 
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Winter for us can be lush wintery pine, berry, etc greesn with lots of branches (ssilver, snowy, gold) with focal flowers such as delistar mums, snowball mums, pink mink protea, or hydrangea.

We might also do a birdhouse with winter pines, brnches & red cardinals tucked into the arrangement -- some flowers but minimal on these.

Bright colors to hint at spring coming.

Tulips in vases -- or the ffirst blush of any of the early narcissis or others such as grape hyacynths.

We do one in a long designer dish with branches fastened ontop of moss. the branches can be natureal, silver or sprayed with "flurry" snow from design master. We tuck in pods, berries, red cardinals or other winter birds. Very wintery but fun.

(We watch the birds a lot around here!).

cheryl
 
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Minimalist, flat white ceramic container, with birch (natural or white), maybe some Christmas greens (as you said their year round for you) and that's what is green in winter, huh. Flowers...maybe bronze fugis or lily, line flower Leucodendron "Safari Sunset", roses leonidas, dark oranges/reds, hypericum, pine cones?

I have a cream/white ceramic tray/shallow bowl I found at DollarTree that I'm dying to design something in!
 
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I like Cheryls' Cardinal idea. We see them sitting in the cedar outside our kitchen window...there is nothing more appealing.

How about small ornaments from Christmas left overs, like small ski's, birch bark items, moose, that kind of thing. I know Walmart had alot of that left over here. What does a Texan know from moose and snow skiing ya' know, but for you a good idea. hehe!
 
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Well, here is one image that I shot, but it turned out so fuzzy, you can't really tell what is in it.

The big red blob over on the right side is actually a little cardinal. I also glued polished river rock to the front of the basket. Although you can't see it, the buck is walking along a path of reindeer moss. All of the greens are various evergreen, with some juniper stripped down to resemble deadfall. Oh, and there is a sprig of bittersweet. Wish I'd had some birch bark to tuck in.

 
anytimeflowers said:
Well, here is one image that I shot, but it turned out so fuzzy, you can't really tell what is in it.

The big red blob over on the right side is actually a little cardinal. I also glued polished river rock to the front of the basket. Although you can't see it, the buck is walking along a path of reindeer moss. All of the greens are various evergreen, with some juniper stripped down to resemble deadfall. Oh, and there is a sprig of bittersweet. Wish I'd had some birch bark to tuck in.

Click to expand...
Okay, here is another one, I sold the other one but this one is pretty similar, better image though. Sorta!Woodland Wanderingweb.jpg
 
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Not very clear but this design includes cymbidiums hyacinths and roses cones and birch twigs and twist of ivy and it has spruce in it but could have other foliage in it too. I did think about using hyacinth bulbs to grow as a kind of alternative pot-a-fleur. The twigs and cones are silver in this but they don't need to be, they could be left natural.
user3911_pic4068_1260379494.jpg
 
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One of the most effective and best-selling after-Christmas/Winter designs I have done is to create a design using your remaining evergreens along with other foliage, twigs, dried leaves, etc and then paint treat the entire design ( this is before flowers ) with a light coating of white spray paint, 77 spray adhesive, and shredded white styrofoam ( not the packaged kind but made by rubbing two white peices together getting a really fine dusting ), another light coating of adhesive, then diamond dust glitter and lastly, a light coating of spray can snow. The whole point is to get the design to have a wintery ice feel.

Then once that is complete and the paintings and coatings dried, I would insert spring bulb flowers like crocus, hyacinth, daffodil, etc. ( You have now captured the emotion, a re-birth, a renewal, of spring to come.
 
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We have so many hats to wear these days. Add photography to the growing list of things florists have to be good at today. I keep trying things with back drops, lighting, light boxes, tripods, but still I suck at photography. The light box was the best so far but it only holds small things and a bigger box would take up so much space I would have to take it down after each use. I'm trying to take pictures of everything before it goes out the door but things that look great in person look goofy in pictures so I keep fixing the arrangement to look good in the photo which ends up taking too much time. What's a florist to do?
 
Helen, I "cheat" just as the WS do...... I am now designing for the camera (in down times), meaning doing a 3 sided design not completely finishing it. I start with a vase design (long stems) move to the same flowers in a basket design - again not finishing entirely the design, then onto a round table design.........
I got in a bunch of new spring pottery so I'm working on Valentine's, Easter, and Mother's Day designs featuring those new containers. All designs are not fully done but photograph well.....
BTW, take the pic.......edit the design, take another pic until it looks "perfect" as we all know the camera "sees" what we, in person, don't.
 
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I'm really liking the idea of "planting" bulbs in "snow". The tulips are actually in shredded foam lol (another thread). Something else that I like to use on twigs and such is parafin wax for "icicles". I have an electric skillet, just like a glue pan, and I'll drip the wax over things. I'll do one up when we're done with the ceiling, took 7 hours today and we still aren't done. Then have to put the store back together, then a funeral on Sunday. Sigh.

Helen, do you have a good wall outside for in summer? I take some of my best funeral pix outside against my building, in the shade. (when I'm not shaking the stupid camera, that is!)
 
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