I am a huge fan of fresh flowers everywhere in the house… that is no secret.
But did you also know that I like to dry flowers and use them in various stylings?
Like in a basket or old metal grape gathering bucket
On the sideboard in the dining room
and even in something pretty for a romantic holiday styling.
Those peonies in abundance when they are fresh?
Are in abundance when they are dried as well.
I loaded up on flowers while shooting photos for the book- and so- have a ton of dried on hand- like these that were included in the guest cottage on the ladder.
And when creating that sweet little teepee/tent for this outdoor inspiration post recently-
I knew the perfect way to add flowers was with dried.
And it was so.simple to create.
I started out with building the teepee out of branches that my husband gathered up from our property. We have a lot of old growth trees with large limbs on our acreage- and it is just a matter of venturing out into those areas we don’t normally venture to and finding fallen branches.
He wired the branches together for me to create the shape- and then I draped old vintage lace over the top. Would you believe these are curtain panels? Indeed they are. I picked them up at a thrift store years ago to use for a styling and have had them folded up in the armoire in the back room all this time. They were perfect for using for a sheer romantic look- and also because those pins that they have built in- were ideal for securing to the top.
Once the teepee was built- I gathered up several buckets full of dried flowers.
For these garlands I used:
Sweet peas
Peonies
Larkspur
I started with the sweet peas since they have a natural green stem to them that is long enough and full enough to create a base. I simply started with one piece and lightly wired the next and so on until I had one full length of the teepee in greens. And then- repeated on the other side.
You can simply attach them to the lace with a tiny piece of wire or string.
I had a few issues where the garland fell off while shooting photos- and so I had to redo and shoot more photos- and I ended up attaching the flowers to a long piece of string attaching that string to the top of the teepee. It is a little more work- but it does the trick.
You could also hot glue the dried flowers to the string/sweet peas if you wanted to.
After the sweet peas were all in place- I tucked larkspur sprigs here and there and then added peonies and kept adding more until it felt full enough and then called it good.
This would be something so easy to do for a garland, for a poster bed or at the top of curtains in a play room- and of course, for adding a bit of romantic charm to an outdoor styling as well.
What do you think of how it turned out?
And side note: New Giveaway today!!!
Happy Monday everyone!
Sophie's mom says
Oh, I’m so glad you shared this idea. I kept looking at the teepee and trying to determine if those were fresh flower garlands, I have dried peonies, roses, and hydrangea, now just need to round up some sweet peas. Thanks for the inspiration
Pat
Cheryl Lawson says
I love, love, love the tent. Who wouldn't want to spend a summer night in there smelling the dried roses?
M says
I also am glad to see how you used the net for hanging the wreath and flowers. It's hard to get things attached to plastic frames. This has solved a problem for me. I will be using lace as a backdrop for many thing. THANKS,THANKS, THANKS !!!
Mia Coman says
Supeeeeeeeeeer!
Rhonda says
So gorgeous, you always give us something to dream about, Courtney!
Judy at GoldCountryCottage says
So pretty Courtney. Natural and elegant. Just wanted to say that I received your book and am in the process of reading it. Already looked at all the photos. Just beautiful and I am enjoying it..Happy Tuesday..Judy
Unknown says
So gorgeous and romantic, like you and your book! It hasn’t left my side!
Rhonda says
How do you dry Peonies? Mine always fall apart?