Help with corsage technique

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TheDailyBlossomFlorist

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Sep 8, 2006
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Hi!

I am pretty new in the industry. For Prom, I made several corsages, and there are 2 that I know of that broke. For one couple, I refunded the money and also gave the girl some free flowers. The girl is a junior, she told me that even though her corsage broke, the experience was wonderful with us, so she will def come back to us next year for her prom. The other corsage that broke, the girl tells me a week later, I offered her a refund, she actually refused it. She just wanted to let me know. Besides that, I am doing more flowers for her.

I know our service is what keeps these girls coming back; eventhough my beautiful corsages are falling apart.

Help!? How do I keep my corsages intact? I use tons of glue. Any ideas? Thanks!

P.S. I was told to use wire also-any suggestions on how I incorporate the wires? Thanks!

-The Daily Blossom Florist
 
Some of this stuff may be "elementary" but it's the important steps for gluing corsages. We do over 150 corsages for each prom and we have never, knock on wood, had one fall apart, yet.

-Make sure to create a good base for the flowers to stick to by using ribbon, greens, decorative wire, accents, etc. The flower needs lots of surface area to hang on to.

-Use cold glue (Oasis floral adhesive)! Hot glue will frost and pop off in the cooler. When using cold glue make sure to put it in the cooler for at least an hour after using...this cures the glue and makes it hold like concrete.

-Don't use too MUCH glue. If you use too much glue there is a chance that the flower will slip out of the glues hold before it dries and fall off.

-Make sure to cover the backs of each flower completely with glue. This will ensure that the flower lasts by sealing in moisture and it will also help with holding power.

- Don't cut the calyx of the flower too short otherwise you won't have a good connection point and when you let pressure off the flower it could "pop" up.

Those are just some suggestions...here are some other threads for gluing corsages:

http://www.flowerchat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10241&highlight=gluing+corsages

http://www.flowerchat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10220&highlight=gluing+corsages

http://www.flowerchat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9734&highlight=gluing+corsages

http://www.flowerchat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9721&highlight=gluing+corsages

http://www.flowerchat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9480&highlight=gluing+corsages

http://www.flowerchat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8585&highlight=gluing+corsages
 
Hi Heather!

Thank you so much for your advice and the thread links! Much appreciated. I will def try these methods. I was reading about wiring before gluing. Do you recoomend that everything is wired before we glue onto the wristlet? Please advise. Thanks!

-Lien
 
Lien,

No, we do not wire anything at all we just use the glue as the holding medium. The way we secure the base to the wristlet is to make a bow from our choice of ribbon and then we tie the ribbon directly onto the wristlet. This ensures that the ribbon will not budge and creates a sturdy base to glue the flowers into. As a supplement or replacement to the ribbon, you can use raffia, bullion wire, and other items as well.

If you have more questions, or if I didn't explain something well, feel free to ask!

I am sure others can chime in on this thread as well since there are so many here that have converted to glue!

PS- I just took a look at the corsages on your web site..not sure if they are glued or not but I think the key to keeping them all together is to add more greens...hope this helps!!
 
Thanks again for the great advise Heather! In regards to adding more greens, will that serve as a sturdier base; hence more base to glue onto? I have been following instructions on the John Henry book on how to make corsages. Sad to say, but I am quite the "noob" in the corsage area. How would I incorporate more greens? Your help is GREATLY appreciated! Thanks so much Heather!

-Lien
 
Lien,

Anything that you can add to the corsage BEFORE the flowers will help provide greater surface area for the flowers to stick to. To add more greens just tie the ribbon to the wristlet base (metal or plastic whichever style you are using) and then glue in the greens to both the base and into the "folds" of the ribbon. We use unique greens such as euphorbia marginata (aka snow on the mountain) since that adds both texture and volume to the corsage.

The easiest way to think of it is this: A corsage wristlet base only has so much surface area to add flowers to. Anything that you can do to increase that surface area ie: ribbon, greens, accent flowers, etc. will greatly increase the security of the focal flowers that you are going to include.

You can add more greens after adding the flowers if needed but, that doesn't help the security of the flowers, it's sheerly for looks.
 
Heather,

This totally gives me more insight! Thanks! I will def use these techniques the next time I do corsages. I was glad I didn't have much corsages to do. (Our local HS prom was on Mother's Day wkd; so I actually refused quite a few orders.) I ended up calling all the HS kids that I did corsages for. Not all of them fell apart, THANK GOODNESS! This is so embarrassing! So whatever I can do to improve, I will. Thanks again! :hug:

-Lien
 
Lien,

One thing that I did when I taught myself how to glue was to practice, practice, practice. Lol, you should have seen the first glued corsage I ever did...it was a riot! I used so much glue that it was literally dripping out of the bottom of the corsage...ICK! Whenever you have leftover flowers or extra short stems just play around a bit with the glue and corsage bases. The bases cost next to nothing and teaching yourself how to make a great, sturdy corsage is priceless!!

Good luck and if you need any other suggestions don't hesitate to ask or PM me for more info.

Best Wishes!
 
Thanks again Heather! You have been great! I will def PM you for any other things (if you don't mind). :)

My first corsage came out pretty bad...I used wires to wire it down so it was all lumpy..ugh...then I started improving on the designs, but just can't get the corsage to stay in position...lol!

How long have you been in the business? We just started a year ago; coming up on our one-year anniversary of open-date soon! YAY!!!

My partner and I have both been in the banking industry for the past 10 years...so as you can see, we prob have no business opening up a shop, except of course for my passion with flowers. =)
 
Lien,

I have been in the biz for about five years but have only owned my own business for three. It can be hard at times but, it's so worth it. Feel free to PM anytime you need. That's why I stop by this board so often...to ask questions and help out with others quesitons whenever I can.

Like I said...if you ever have any questions feel free to email or call...my phone # is in my signature.
 
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