Floral Workshop with The Flower Press

On Saturday, Natalie, Amanda (AJ's sister), and I headed to Carlisle, PA to attend a floral arranging workshop at Harmony Society (if you're ever in Carlisle, be sure to stop in and see Amber!  They've got lots of fun clothing, yarn, and gifts, and the building is just cool!).  

The class was taught by some of our dear friends and the ladies behind The Flower Press, a small business that specializes in florals and paper goods.  Courtney, Britney, and their mom, Sherry are all creative and beautiful women of God who I've had the pleasure of getting to know over the past couple of years through our connection at church (though it really does feel like I've known them for forever!).  They also are good friends of AJ's family, so I'm excited to know that our relationship will always remain close with that connection!  

When I say that these three are creative, it's kind of an understatement.  They're also the hosts of the annual Christmas gift-wrapping party and lend their creative touch to things at church around holidays.  Britney's hand-made wedding was one of the most gorgeous I've ever been to, and I love visiting their homes to see all of the pretty decor that they have!  Besides just being creative, they're such good friends, so when we heard that they were teaching this workshop, it was an easy decision to attend!  

Court, Brit, & Sherry instructed about a dozen of us on the elements of a good floral arrangement, and then set us free to create our own.  After a few busy weeks at work, a morning spent creating and enjoying the company of friends was just what my heart needed.  I loved learning more about florals and even better, having a pretty arrangement to enjoy on my desk at home for a while!

Court, Sherry, & Brit had so many beautiful florals to choose from!  Amongst my favorite flowers are Peonies, and they totally stole the show...but I loved the selection of foliage and fill flowers that they had for us to incorporate.  From soft textural elements like Lamb's Ear to the wispiness of Smokebush, it was great getting to play with so many diverse elements!

Courtney is such a great teacher...she and Sherry and Britney team taught the workshop, and Court demonstrated constructing an arrangement for us.  Britney and Sherry helped me put my wedding bouquet together a few weeks ago, so I've been learning lots about florals from these ladies lately!  I've also been super inspired to incorporate more florals into my own living space.    

Above is the beginnings of my arrangement and below is the same view of the finished product...it was fun to add and rearrange as it took shape!  We're doing silk florals for the bouquets and boutonnieres for our wedding, so working with fresh florals was a new ballgame for me.  I have gotten used to being able to bend and move and place silk stems and have them stay where I put them, which is obviously not the case with fresh greenery, so it was a little bit of a challenge to adjust to, but really fun nonetheless!

I am so proud of my final arrangement!  It's the perfect accent to my room for summer and I love the cement pot that I got to bring home with me to house it in.  All of the larger elements like the Peonies and Carnations (who knew I could actually like carnations?!) paired with the twiggy foliage and softer elements like the Lamb's Ear and Amaranthus, and the berries made for a perfect floral arrangement and accent to my workspace!  I'd say it was a pretty good first attempt at fresh florals!

I learned so much about working with fresh florals at The Flower Press's workshop!  I'm so inspired to continue utilizing florals in my home and to even rearrange and repurpose elements in any bouquet that I pick up or receive.  I love that wild, organic elements are on trend right now...it's such a pretty look and I love that the imperfections are celebrated...it makes arranging much easier!

DO YOU HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH FLORALS?  WOULD YOU TRY A FLORAL WORKSHOP LIKE THIS?  

Be sure to check out The Flower Press on Facebook!  Courtney is available for events and weddings!