Hey party people! Happy love month!

I adore Valentines Day!

It could be my love of pink, red and every girly color imaginable. It could be the fact that chocolate is usually involved. It could be the fact that walking around with a bouquet of flowers is perfectly normal…even if you bought them for your self (hey…I have no shame in that). Of course, it could be all of those wonderful things combining in celebration of a day we remind people that we love them.

Flowers are certainly one of my favorite things about Valentines Day. There are few things that turn a room into something beautiful more than a vase of flowers. They just make me smile.

But the price tag of some of those bouquets?? That makes me frown. Especially around Valentines Day!  Since I’m all about saving some dolla dolla bills, y’all (hence the blog name Parties for Pennies), I thought I’d show you a way to create your own gorgeous Valentines Bouquet for a fraction of the cost.

Here’s what I picked up from my local grocery store for my bouquet:

 

First tip: Since roses get so expensive during this time, just pick up a few roses to add among cheaper flowers. It gives the wow factor minus the wow factor price.

I picked up: 1 small bouquet of filler pink carnations ($4), a bouquet of white spider mums ($7), a bouquet of pink roses ($9), plus a vase I got at the thrift store for $0.77.

There has never been a day when I went into a Goodwill and there wasn’t a vase for under $1. Don’t pay full price.You don’t have to pick up the exact same flowers. Just make sure you pick up:

1. Nice big flowers to act as the main event of the bouquet (like the spider mums)
2. Any color roses to serve as the romantic embellishment and
3. Smaller filler flowers (like the carnations)

The “pick” you see in the guide above was made from what I had around the house. I had one of those long bamboo skewers in the kitchen and wood grain drawer liner I had picked up a store last year for $1/roll. I just cut a heart out of the liner, added M + H (that stands for Mike + Heidi) with a silver paint pen and taped it onto the skewer. If you don’t have these exact items at home, use regular cardstock, construction paper or even an old Valentines Day card.

 

The height of your flower will be determined by the size of your vase. The guide above shows how many flowers you should cut for each length. Start by pulling out 3 spider mums (or your equivalent) and 2 roses. Cut these to where ¼ is above the vase with ¾ of the flower stem inside the vase. Set these aside.

The remaining 7 spider mums, 5 roses and 7 carnations – cut to where they are 1-2 inches above the rim of your vase.

Take the 3 spider mums and 2 roses you first cut and combine them in a small bouquet so that a mum and a rose alternate. Hold together with a rubber band. I use the rubber band to secure the anchor bouquet. This helps everything else fall in line around the anchor bouquet and you can’t really see the rubber band once you add the rest of the flowers.

After you fill the vase 2/3 full of water (adding the flower food), place your anchor bouquet in the middle. Alternating mums and roses, add the remaining flowers (just mums and roses) around the bouquet. This should end up with a mushroom-like shape. Finally, add your carnation flowers or filler flowers in any holes around the bouquet. I just intersperse them evenly around the arrangement.

Add your pick or tag and you’re ready to woo your love or adorn a beautifully set Valentines Day table.

 

In total, this bouquet cost me $21. Most bouquets will be at least $30+. So this really combines two loves: flowers and saving $$!

Hope your Valentines Day and month makes you feel really special and loved!

www.PartiesforPennies.com