How to make a dried flower arrangement – DIY tutorial for making an exotic and frugal table centerpiece

Good things in life come in small packets. In here, few dried flowers, small twigs and sticks are being used to make a striking centerpiece that does not wilt or sag.

Dried floral centerpieces are easy to make, look great and last for as long as you can make them last. They also need less maintenance, no-watering and care. Far away from the artificial and synthetic flowers, these flower arrangements are natural, eco-friendly and bring in the much needed color burst into any setting.

Dried flower arrangements are hassle-free so they are perfect for daily decoration. But when special occasions call for exotic decorations,  the same can be achieved with dry flowers and twigs such as this wonderful eco friendly wood-roses wreath for Christmas. Another advantage of dried table centerpieces is that they can be scented with essential oils and kept fragrant.

Here is a quick tutorial to show you how easy it is to conjure up a simple and elegant dried flowers & twigs table centerpiece.

Any floral centerpiece needs to take into consideration the platform on which it will be placed and the area surrounding it. The idea is to either blend the centerpiece into the surrounding or make it stand out. The floral arrangement can be of any shape, follow any geometric pattern, or borrow the ikebana logic in the centerpiece arrangements.

But for a dried flower table arrangement, it is very important to make it simple with a lot of space around it. You can either bunch up similar flowers or twigs to tie it up into a simple and elegant centerpiece, or use varied flowers and twigs sparsely to create a medley of interesting figures and patters, whilst letting light and air in and through. This DIY tutorial uses the latter technique.

Take special care to balance the arrangement with a good vase or the base holder. It is always important to have a vase or container that compliments the arrangement. Here, I have chosen the terracotta earthen pot (more so because I had nothing else to play around with or rather the pot was too inspiring). Here I have some twigs, scissors, floral arrangement metal pin holder, florist’s foam, and a bit of excitement over what this might turn into.

Gather all the dry flowers, dry branches, dry twigs and keep them at hand. Don’t follow any fixed rule in selecting the twigs are they are the most beautiful creations of nature. Let each twig, uncut and pure, determine its placement in your arrangement. More often than not, you will end up with a great centerpiece when you follow the dictates of its content.

Step 1
Use a floral pin holder if the flower twigs or stems are heavy as it will provide a firm grip and the arrangement will not topple. Having pushed the heavy stems into the vase, squeeze in florists foam to fix in the heavy stems and to help fix the lighter twigs around the heavy ones.

Step 2
Follow a step down approach starting with the big heavy flowers/ twigs, tapering down to lighter/ delicate ones. Since this arrangement has 3 heavy twigs, they went in first to balance themselves and form a base for further additions.

Step 3
The light and wispy twigs and branches come in at the end as fillers to fill in empty spaces as well as to give fullness to the arrangement. Whilst I could stop at step2 as it is my favorite, few more elements have been added to make it more fuller.

While inserting the flowers and twigs, take care to let the arrangement cast light and shadows. Dried twigs and branches create interesting shadows on the wall. Take advantage of this beautiful thing to cast natural and beautiful shadows thereon by letting the floral arrangement be light, and breathy. The sunlight in this picture was not deliberate; I just could not find a neutral place in the room to make this. 🙂

These basic steps can help you make fantastic floral and table centerpieces in no time. There is no end to what you can use in your table decorations. From branches, twigs, flowers, candles, glass, fruits, cloth, artifacts, and more. Just look around your house and you will find many ways and ideas to make your frugal yet one-of-a-kind centerpieces in no time.

Just go and enjoy what you make. Just create – out of nothing.

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