After completing my fall planter arrangement blog post, one of my followers commented and was curious about the pricing. I thought I would do a quick breakdown of the cost of my first arrangement and my plan going forwards. 

The key here- I am Ukrainian and if you know anything about these kinds of humans, you will know that means we are CHEAP. So, anything I do is often done during a sale or after I have extensively sniffed out a good bargain. Obviously, fresh flowers are my ultimate fave, but these come with a price tag, and I want to save this for a special occasion or when I am levelled up on my skills. 

Unfortunately, Moose Jaw does not have a Michael’s (although, I think the price tag would have likely been higher). Dollarama was selling various branches for $1-3 a piece. In my first post, I mentioned buying my materials from here. My bill came to $25 and I had a few pieces already from past decor (such as the scarecrow). It might seem like a lot, but the thing is, now that I know how it turned out, I can do it every year! I will save the pieces in a rubbermaid tote and bust it out again and again. In terms of longevity, if it survives the elements for even 2 seasons, it would be more cost effective than a real floral arrangement purchase, which would obviously last, maybe a month.

This pricing question prompted me to gather some general tips for floral arranging on a budget. I hopped onto Pinterest and found A TON of ideas. Here are some of the top budget friendly  tips

• Use greenery and fillers from your backyard such as leaves and tree branches and then choose one highlight flower.
• Mason jars make awesome vases
• Group similar flowers together to create clusters.
• Add faux or silk flowers
• Carnations and baby’s breath are the most cost effective flowers
• Cut stems at an angle so they last longer
• Any leaves that sit below the water line of the vase will rot and make your flowers go bad faster so trim the leaves off.
• Curved stems fill out your arrangement and give dimension so make sure to include some to get a fuller look, for half the amount of needed stems

These were some of the most helpful Pinterest sites and blogs.

Not necessarily budget related, but I picked up a cool tip from Hgtv.com :

“When arranging fresh stems in a large vase or bowl, you can make it easier with one florist’s trick of the trade. Take four plastic cups that are just about the height of the vase or bowl, and bandage them together with a rubber band or tape. Now instead of one big area to place stems, there are four individual cups to use for arranging flowers”

That is it for this week! I will tackle another arrangement next week. Stay tuned!