Armature Collared Vase

Video Transcription 

Welcome to the Flower School.com Video Library. I'm Leanne Kesler, Director of the Floral Design Institute and today, want to share with you a fun summer time vase with an armature collar. The inspiration for this design was this kicky vase. It's kind of fun. Kind of sixties-ish. It has a wonderful triadic color harmony. The flowers on it come in the pink, the yellow, and the blue, so a triadic harmony. That's why I started with the Cherry O! Roses, some tansy, echinops, little bit of Queen Anne's Lace, a little bit of greenery and we're ready to go. 

To pick up the white in the vase, I decided to work in some midelino. The sticks come in all different colors. I'm using the natural bleached and then cut it down to size. If you remember in a previous video, I showed you how to make the triangles. So you cut them down and then loop them together using the bullion wire. So to create a collar for this design, I started by making dozens of lovely triangles. 

Once I have the triangles, all different sizes, I lay them out on the table and start creating a collar, looking at how they connect back and forth, leaving the center free because that's where the flower stems will go. Then once I like the placement, then using U-Glu dashes, just take a dash and stick them together to make sure that they won't slide apart so I just place it on and then peel it off. Place it down and then once you have all of those secured, using additional pieces, weave in and out, creating more lines. So you kind of weave in, up, over, under, over, so it's just kind of like going back to kindergarten, feeding them in, then giving it a cut. It'll be long than you need then going back and feeding it again. Once you've finished, you'll have a structure that's secure. Everything woven together. You can continue weaving if you'd like, feeding it in, bringing it through, up and over, pulling it and just feeding back and forth, wherever you would like until you get a full collar. It can be oval, round, triangular, rectangular. It really doesn't matter. You get to choose. 

To secure it to the vase, again, the U-Glu dashes. Just peel it off, secure it directly to the vase and repeat that. It really only takes about two. It doesn't have to be super solid but you don't want it to slip and slide all around as you're working. You can maybe put one on each side and then just set the collar right on, centering the hole, and then pressing it down so it secures in place. 

Once the collar's ready, just set it aside. Then it's time to create the bouquet and I find when I'm working in a spiral format, it's easiest to go ahead and just get your materials prepared. Remove any damaged petals, extra leaves. Lay them out on the table, ready to work with because once you start, you don't want to have to guess what do I need, where is it? Adding in the foliages and the tansy and just laying everything out on my table so that I can see what I have. The echinops, and the Queen Anne's Lace. Get a few more roses here. 

Then as I begin, I just start with a cluster in my hand. Maybe two of the Cherry O! Roses, little bit of the ruskus, and a tansy. The red and yellow is so pretty together. You could even bring in some of the echinops. Then once I have that started, then I start with an angle and everything I put into my hand, I place it with a bit of an angle, just like so. You can do more than one thing at a time but it's always the same angle. Then turn it, add in another material, maybe another rose, and turn. Maybe more of the echinops, clustering together. A Queen Anne's Lace, letting it a little bit taller, turning it, coming back and the trick when you're working that spiral format, is always head to the side with the stem coming out at an angle and then turn, head to the side, you can add in multiple stems, that's okay as long as they always have that same direction, head over, turn. You can see the round bouquet begins without any trouble at all. 

As you continue on, just keep adding and spinning, till you get a look at where the flowers are ending up. Think about your spacing. You can leave them a little bit longer so that you get some depth. Holding it loosely. If you try to hold it too tight, it'll just get you a little bit frustrated so you don't want to do that. Then turning. Thinking about dotting a little bit of the white all the way around so it isn't just in one area. Remembering to add in the foliage. If you decide you want it to be a little taller, you can just give it a tug, pull it right up, then turning. If you want the Queen Anne's Lace to be taller, maybe bring in another one over here. Then you can see, I've grouped the echinops and then scattered the tansy so that it's throughout, giving it a really beautiful triadic harmony. As I go, I turn, looking for holes, continuing to fill until I'm happy with the round form. 

To secure everything together in the finished hand tie, I use raffia. It's secure, tight, won't cut through, doesn't stretch as it gets wet and just wrap it round and then knot the two ends together. Then using a clipper, cut all the stems to length to fit in the vase. 

The bouquet then, just hold the stems tightly together, place it down into the armature, and then let it relax into place. So fun. So easy. So fabulous. 

For more creative inspiration, you'll find it on the website, Flower School.com. The website contains hundreds of floral design how-to videos, floral design classes, online floral classes and DIY Flowers. 

If you've got questions, you can reach me there or pick up the telephone and give me a call at 503-223-8089 and of course, I'd love to see what you create. You can send it to my personal email, Leanne@FloralDesignInstitute.com or post it on social media and tag Floral Design Institute so we all can see because now, it's your turn. Have fun and do something you love.