update & pumpkin with drieds design

[kynda]

Hi everybody–I haven’t posted in a while, so thought I’d give you an update on what I’ve been doing lately. I found a really sweet business where I was able to finish up my internship hours over the summer. The owner is a very smart small business owner and she’s been so nice to me. I’ve learned a great deal from her. Her business is out in the country, ten miles out of town. She has a large garden and a big barn that has been converted into a gift shop that features dried flowers and herbs. Actually I’ve been a customer for years and I absolutely love going out there.

Now that I’ve finished up the internship, I’m keeping a blog for her. I LOVE blogs, and I can’t believe I’m getting to do something this fun! I’ve kept my own personal blog for several years and I follow a lot of your blogs, including jduncan’s and sprout’s and twigs’ and smith’s and. . . okay you get the picture!

I’m still looking for a part time job in a flower shop, but it just hasn’t happened yet. I’m still looking and believe that I’ll find the right spot one of these days. Maybe I can find a florist who needs a blog! Now that would be awesome!

I’m in the midst of taking the ICPF classes. Next week’s topics are green & blooming plants and capturing & maximizing sales. And I’ve got one more class to take at the community college–greenhouse management in the spring–to complete the floral design certificate there. Okay, that’s enough of all that.

Here’s a design that I did using dried flowers with a pumpkin. Fresh will always be my favorite, but it’s been good to learn a new medium too. As always, thank you thank you flowerchat. I so appreciate being here.
Kynda

 

[Snapdragon Studio]

Um.... WOW. When you said "dried flowers", never in a million years did I envision something as cool as this design!

I think I need it for my dining room table. :thumbsup

 

[marigold]

Hi everybody–I haven’t posted in a while, so thought I’d give you an update on what I’ve been doing lately. I found a really sweet business where I was able to finish up my internship hours over the summer. The owner is a very smart small business owner and she’s been so nice to me. I’ve learned a great deal from her. Her business is out in the country, ten miles out of town. She has a large garden and a big barn that has been converted into a gift shop that features dried flowers and herbs. Actually I’ve been a customer for years and I absolutely love going out there.

Now that I’ve finished up the internship, I’m keeping a blog for her. I LOVE blogs, and I can’t believe I’m getting to do something this fun! I’ve kept my own personal blog for several years and I follow a lot of your blogs, including jduncan’s and sprout’s and twigs’ and smith’s and. . . okay you get the picture!

I’m still looking for a part time job in a flower shop, but it just hasn’t happened yet. I’m still looking and believe that I’ll find the right spot one of these days. Maybe I can find a florist who needs a blog! Now that would be awesome!

I’m in the midst of taking the ICPF classes. Next week’s topics are green & blooming plants and capturing & maximizing sales. And I’ve got one more class to take at the community college–greenhouse management in the spring–to complete the floral design certificate there. Okay, that’s enough of all that.

Here’s a design that I did using dried flowers with a pumpkin. Fresh will always be my favorite, but it’s been good to learn a new medium too. As always, thank you thank you flowerchat. I so appreciate being here.
Kynda

Very nice dried pumpkin design. We make and sell hundreds each
autumn. Attached is a photo . Our is a bit more contained, but
love yours and can't wait to make some wild ones tomorrow.
we do mostly the small "be little" pumpkins, and some Pie sized,
and also the cinderella and white pumpkins.
People come back year after year wanting them..

 

[kynda]

Dore, that's beautiful! I'll share yours with Gail too. She sells a lot of the pie pumpkins too. People love them and during open house, they were flying out the door as fast as they could make them.

She also sells a lot of the little bitty ones with just a sprig of sweet annie and a raffia bow. Really simple and easy, but almost everybody picked up at least one to go with the rest of their purchases.

Kynda

 

[marigold]

Dore, that's beautiful! I'll share yours with Gail too. She sells a lot of the pie pumpkins too. People love them and during open house, they were flying out the door as fast as they could make them.

She also sells a lot of the little bitty ones with just a sprig of sweet annie and a raffia bow. Really simple and easy, but almost everybody picked up at least one to go with the rest of their purchases.

Kynda

What do you sell them for? Our bigger ones go for 30.00, cinder, white and pie size,
minis are 10 and 12.00. They buy the littles in three's and usually
are to give as gifts.
It is a great way to use a lot of all those small pieces of drieds. We use
a little evergreen and mini pine cones too.

 

[coppercountryflowers]

prep and price?

Curious... are you using a plastic liner in the center of the pumpkin? Foam? AND how long do they last? Approximate selling price? These might make a great idea for the great north... and when the flowers die you can put the pumpkin out in your yard to attract deer for hunting!

 

[marigold]

Curious... are you using a plastic liner in the center of the pumpkin? Foam? AND how long do they last? Approximate selling price? These might make a great idea for the great north... and when the flowers die you can put the pumpkin out in your yard to attract deer for hunting!

These are all hot glued on....that is the beauty of these. No hollowing out
of the pumpkins...no need.
I like them so much better than fresh flowers inside of a hollowed pumpkin
because once hollowed, the pumpkins begins to rot pretty fast.
We just hot glue every thing on top. So easy if you line them all up and
do many at one time.
They will last thru thanksgiving and longer if the pumpkin does not get
punctured, which will cause it to get soft.
All but the pie pumpkin are more like gourds, which are hard and last
long.

 

[kynda]

She doesn't price hers quite that high, but I think $30 is reasonable for a design like you pictured. Love the idea of using evergreen and pine cones. Also it looked like there were some painted/gilded leaves included in your design? Seems like those elements would transition over into November really well. Thanks for replying!

Kynda

 

[elmo]

I have 24 of these baby's to do for this weekend's wedding. Food for thought... ya'll say they don't last after being cut... today is Tuesday... if I carve them out starting today, they will last until this weekend well?
The design just on top and not carved out looks pretty too. Just looking for an easy way on these designs.Second thought... I have placed order for fresh flowers to complete these designs for tables and food area.
Dang... looks like I'll be cutting them for the tables.... any advice in keeping them pretty looking till this weekend or am I fine?

 

[RWK]

If you can still find them at your local craft stores Ellen........If I have to hollow out a pumpkin for a design..........I use the FAUX carvable pumpkin.

If I MUST do a real one.......then I only carve enough to make a opening for the liner.......spray the surface liberally with a sealer like Dresden Clear Glaze.

 

[elmo]

Thanks Ricky, but they for real the real deal for this bride.
By the way.... give Connie a call if you have time, her baby's wedding is this weekend... are you working? Just give this MOB a call, she is down a designer for this.

 

[Connie]

Glue an igloo to the top and go from there, Ellen.

 

[veronika]

Every thanksgiving we get the smaller sugar pumpkins. We get them the week before and my husband hollows them all out on monday. I put a liner and foam in them that day and place them in the back cooler. Then wednesday or thursday I start adding the greens and flowers and people love them and tell me that the flowers usually outlasts the pumpkin and have had no complaints about the arrangement not lasting as long as they thought it should. We started with about 10 and are at this point selling 40. Every year I add a few more, but that being said I kept the numbers the same as last year because of the recession. We sold all but one.

 

[kynda]

fresh

I've made a few of the fresh pumpkin types too. I dried the cavity as well as I could with paper towels, then sprayed a little bit of 10% bleach solution into the cavity. Don't know if it made any difference, but they did last well. Maybe that's an experiment to try.

kynda

 

[coppercountryflowers]

Hey Veronika ~ Do you recommend they put a plate or something under so that they don't stick to the table/tablecloth as the pumpkin softens and starts to mold?