Saturday, May 7, 2011

Mother’s Day Corsage

I know it’s kind of last minute – but you could still pull this one off.

There’s a lot of info on the web for how to make a corsage but I’m going to give you the short easy version. (The “short” part was a joke… you know me.)

First – I keep some things on hand

  • several thicknesses (gauges) of wire
  • green floral tape
  • ribbon (narrow and sheer is good for this project)
  • pearl embellishment sprays
  • wire cutters
  • sharp scissors
  • pearl-tipped corsage pins

There are lots of uses for all of these items, but I keep a box of “floral supplies”. There’s more in my box, but this is what you’ll need for a little corsage. (By the way – a corsage is basically a boutonniere with a bow. File that little tidbit away…)

Rule number one is to “wire everything”. If you don’t wire all your flowers you won’t be able to manipulate them and if a stem breaks you’re out of luck. If your flower is wired, even if the head pops off it will stay in place.

DSCN0679Wire the head of your main flower. I’m using a rose. Strip off the sepals (those leafy green petals that were protecting the bud before it opened.) and the outer petals that are beaten up.

Push the wire through the bottom of the head of the rose and twist down the shortened stem.DSCN0681

Wrap the short stem and wire with floral tape – twist and pull the tape slightly with one hand while you twirl the flower in the other. You want the tape to seal in the moisture of the cut stem so your corsage should last a few days (if kept moist and cool when you’re not wearing it.)DSCN0683

Wire some greenery, filler flower (or berries) and any embellishment beads that you want to use. Bend a U shape in your wire and secure it by twisting in your flowers or greens.DSCN0686

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Make a small loop bow with a narrow ribbon. I usually make a 7 or 9 loop bow. (I give a little bow tutorial here – leave out the step with the final loop in the middle for the “fake knot” – you can’t see it on a corsage.)

Use a finer gauge wire for your bow than you used for wiring your flowers – I had to use what I had on hand…DSCN0691

 

Make a couple of ribbon loops as well – Start with a tail, then make one loop and wrap some wire around the end. Then cover the end and wire with tape.

 

Once everything is wired and taped you’re ready to start assembling your corsage. DSCN0698

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Gather your pieces like you would a mini bouquet – some greens, filler and beads then the bow or ribbon loop. DSCN0703

After adding each piece secure with a little floral tape.DSCN0704

Give it one last smooth layer of tape to hold it all together…DSCN0708

Tweak the pieces and move them just where you want them (you can do that since everything is wired…)DSCN0710

Curl the end of your stem a little around a pencil.DSCN0711

Add a couple of corsage pins to the back  and you’re done!

You can buy corsage boxes at Hobby Lobby or a floral supply store, but if I’m not presenting the corsage as a purchased  item to a customer, (or the corsage was a last minute idea and I don’t have a box on hand…)  I just store it in a ziploc bag with a folded wet paper towel in the refrigerator. It might last a good week if you keep it in the fridge most of the time.

This is the corsage I made for my sister. She’s not a mom, but she’s a rockin’ Aunt.DSCN0712

I made one for my mom, mother-in-law and grandma – one rose representing each child. To have more roses – build each as a single rose corsage and then tape them together – don’t make each section too large…a little less filler flower and a single ribbon loop except for one section that will get the bow (at the bottom).

This one is for my mom.

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One for my Gramma…DSCN0713One for my mom-in-law…DSCN0720Shoot… nobody else is going to do it around here (until they have a little more training…) so I made one for myself too.DSCN0722

ALL of the flowers here were less than $20. Each corsage would run $15-25 each if you bought them at a grocery store floral department – and they probably wouldn’t look as nice! Using Lucy Ricardo logic I saved my husband about $100.

Now go make your momma (or yourself) some flowers – you can get everything you need at your local China-mart. You’ll be the envy of all the other kids at church. (Though that’s not our ultimate goal here… winning favor with MOM is the goal…)

Happy Mother’s Day!

I’m linking up to:

Funky Junk's Sat Nite Special

2 comments:

  1. How pretty. Great tutorial.

    If I had one with a rose for each kid, it would be so heavy it would pull my shirt off! LOL! Lisa~

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  2. Lisa - you bring up a very valid point. I actually considered you having to heft a bouquet on your blouse as I was making these.

    If you're going to make a corsage with more than two roses, use the mini or "spray" size roses. My corsage with three roses was very heavy. It was okay on my lined jacket but on the little sweater I wore today it was too much.

    ReplyDelete

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