Tips to prettify inexpensive flowers

I
love having fresh flowers in the house, and my husband seems to know just the right time to bring them home. But if you’re not cost-savvy, they can cost a fortune.

Sometimes the most eye-popping flower arrangements contain simple, inexpensive flowers and supplies.

Take carnations, a jelly jar, and scrapbook paper, for instance. Yes, another use for scrapbook paper.

Simple flowers, like carnations, work best in all one color.

Eliminate fillers like fern leaves and baby’s breath. Those actually can look quite pretty in their own glass jar.

To make an impact, cut the stems short.

To find the best jar, look at its mouth. Too often, vases and jars are too wide, which makes the flowers too spread out. For the most bang for your buck, flowers look best squished together.

If the label doesn’t remove cleanly off your jar, like mine, cover the remains with pretty ribbon or scrapbook paper. I just wrapped a length of paper around and fastened it with a little piece of scotch tape.

Add whatever else you can think of that would make you smile. A little tag, some twine, or nothing.