Aren’t fields of sunflowers one of the happiest things in the world? I usually have a long row of sunflowers in my garden to cut and bring in, but this year the bunnies ate them all!!! Since I won’t have any fresh ones this summer to make a sunflower arrangement I’ll have to go the fake route!
Last week when I was doing my weekly Walmart run I found the most amazing sunflower stems in their craft department…they were so real looking and the best part is that they were only $3 a bunch! I also found some faux lavender stems, the sweetest baby’s breath, and a big bunch of fern (that was only $5!). I’ve been really impressed with the quality of the Mainstay line of flowers at Walmart lately; they rival some of the craft store florals for sure at a fraction of the price.
I saw a photo in a gardening magazine year’s ago of a sunflower centerpiece in a rusty ‘ole tin can that was the centerpiece of the prettiest garden party. I’ve had that image stuck in my head but have never gotten around to replicate it. So here was my chance!
I didn’t have a rusty container on hand (surprisingly, that’s probably the only thing I didn’t have in my decor hoarding stash!!) but I had a great idea on how to recreate one on the cheap!! I had just made a big pot of sauce (yes, it’s summer and 90 but my son asked me to make meatballs and stuffed shells) and had one of those giant cans on hand.
SUPPLIES
- LARGE ALUMINUM CAN
- SUNFLOWER STEMS
- LAVENDER STEMS
- FERN STEMS
- FLORAL FOAM BLOCK
- ACRYLIC PAINTS
- SMALL SQUARE OF BURLAP
- FRESH FLOWER TAG
STEP 1
I peeled the label off and cleaned my can. Using a foam brush I did a coat of dark gray paint over the entire can- I intentionally did a rough job with the paint to let some of the original can show through a bit.
STEP 2
Dip the side of a clean foam brush into a little black acrylic paint. Tap the brush randomly around the can.
Next, do the same thing with white paint using a clean foam brush.
Step 3
Now, I wanted to add a little patina to make it look old. I tapped my foam brush into a teal blue paint and added just a few patches around the can; I then dipped the same brush into brown paint and added it to the center of the blue patches.
I let the paint dry before starting the next step.
Step 4
When the container was dried I grabbed my Mod Podge and ground cinnamon…yes cinnamon!! I applied the Mod Podge to only the areas where I added the patina in Step 3; I then sprinkled the cinnamon on top of the Mod Podge. You will be amazed how this will look like rust when it’s all dried!!
Step 5
I wanted to make a cute label for the front of the container. I designed this little label that you can print out.
FRESH FLOWERS LABEL DOWNLOAD
You may have to resize the label depending on the size of container you are going to use. I set my printer for a 4×6 photo.
I cut a piece of burlap bigger than the label. I made it look frayed on all sides by removing some of the fibers. I Mod Podged the burlap to the can first then coated the back of the flower label with Mod Podge, centered it on the burlap and coated the top with a coat. I used my finger to smooth out the label and the burlap (yes, this is sticky,messy business!!)
If you’ve never worked with Mod Podge it dries completely clear.
Step 6
After the Mod Podge had dried it was time to make the flower arrangement. I hot glued a block of floral foam to the bottom ( you could easily skip this step if you don’t have any on hand). I started with the sunflowers since they are the real stars and also the biggest stems.
I removed a few of the fern stems and added them to the outside edges of the arrangement. I bent and shaped the ferns to look more natural.
I added four stems of the lavender to my arrangement. I popped in a little baby’s breath stem into the center of the arrangement to finish it off.
I couldn’t wait to put this right in the center of my table! I think this would make a lovely hostess gift too.
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