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His book Flowers for the Home: Inspirations from the World Over will be released on October 20 and we hope to have an excerpt around then. We've already had a sneak peek and it couldn't look more enticing. Handy drew inspiration for the 100+ designs from places as diverse as India, the English countryside, Mexico and the American South. Think rose bouquets in teacups and unusual arrangements in Chinese takeout boxes, complete with chopsticks.
Here, Handy shows you four ways to use a dust-gathering florist's vase to make a stunning arrangement.
One Vase, Four Ways
Look familiar? Chances are you have some of these classic, inexpensive vases dwelling under the kitchen sink. After the Happy Anniversary bouquet died, the vase sat, lonely, waiting for you to use it. Don't be intimidated--we got professional florist Grayson Handy, creative director and co-owner of New York's Prudence Designs, to show us four easy ways to make use of them at home. It's simple, we promise!
Every morning, Handy and his team hit up Manhattan's flower markets for the freshest and most vibrant seasonal flowers. He then sorts them by color family while taking care to include a variety of textures. For the first bouquet, he stuck to oranges, reds and yellows.
If you have two vases, use them both for a layered effect, Handy says. Here, he filled a smaller vase about 3/4 full of water and placed it into the larger vase. He used plastic lemon slices because the acid in real lemons can harm the flowers. Find yours at a craft store or online here. Layer the lemon slices to close gaps and camouflage the inner vase as best you can.
Ta-da, the finished vase! The lemon slices overlap, stick out the top and show gaps, and that's okay--it's not an exact science.
Handy recommends experimenting with other fillers for different occasions, like blue and white M&Ms for a baby shower, jelly beans for Easter, candy hearts on Valentine's Day, rocks, seashells, sand, colored water and so on.
Handy assembled the flowers into a bouquet, tied it, then cut the stems to equal length and dropped it into the inner vase. He said making hand bouquets--like a bride would carry--rather than arranging flowers in the vessel is often easier, because it's more flexible.
The finished product includes pincushion proteas, hydrangea, asclepias, dahlias, roses and yellow calla lilies. Handy used craspedia--those cute yellow pom poms--to fill in holes. "As important as knowing what to do is knowing when to stop," he says. Wouldn't this arrangement be perfect on a summer tablescape?
Handy's Prudence Designs storefront houses much more than a florist's business. Prudence is a company that produces events, designs affordable wedding dresses and sells one-of-a-kind refurbished vintage furniture.
For the next creation, Handy put strong double-sided tape all around the vase then wrapped it in birch bark. Get yours at a craft store, nursery or online here.
Fully wrap the vase once or twice and tie with wired twine. You can easily trim the birch bark with scissors. Then cut floral foam to fit, put it in the vase and fill with water. Handy uses Oasis brand foam, available at craft stores or online here.
The finished vase is a rustic creation that looks like something you paid a lot more for than you did.
