Master the Art of Holiday Embellishments: A Floral Designer’s Guide
Holiday floral designs are all about the little details that make a big impact. Embellishments can take a creation from simple to spectacular, adding character, charm, and a festive touch. But there’s a fine line between just enough and too much. When overdone, even the most beautiful arrangement can feel cluttered and out of balance. This short course offers a refresher on popular embellishments and best practices to elevate your holiday designs.
Finding Balance
Christmas and Valentine’s Day bring a feast of embellishment options, from shiny ribbons to aromatic cinnamon sticks and frosted pine cones. While tempting to use them all, restraint is key. The flowers should always be the star of the arrangement. Think of embellishments as supporting characters—they’re there to enhance, not steal the show. By practicing balance and intentionality, your designs can feel festive without becoming overwhelming.
Planning Embellishments
The secret to stunning arrangements lies in thoughtful planning. Before you begin adding anything non-floral to a design, consider the theme, the shape, and what you want customers to feel when they look at the finished product. Ideally, you should plan embellishments before you begin instead of as an afterthought to add some spark to a design or make a design reflect the holiday.
The problem with adding embellishments after the design is nearly finished is that it’s easy to add too much or muddle the original look. Sometimes, when you feel that more embellishment is needed, it’s because your placement is off or you’ve selected the wrong embellishments to use. When this happens, step back and recall what you wanted the design to look like. You should be able to see what you need and where to place it to match the image.
Popular Embellishments and Best Practices
Certain embellishments continue to be winners for most florists and with most customers. Here are a few of the most popular ones, along with tips to use them effectively:
Pine Cones
Store pine cones in a cool, dry area to prevent mold, and save time by using pre-wired or pick-attached options. For an elegant twist, spray-paint them in gold, silver, or white, or add glitter for a festive touch.
Cinnamon Sticks
Aside from the heavenly aroma, these are versatile performers. Coupled with pine cones, ornaments, or candles, they add the look and scent of Christmas. Fill baskets with seasonal greens, bright ribbon tucks, and cinnamon stick bundles. Wrap the bundles with ribbon and beaded aluminum wire. Use wire or picks to place the bundles within the design.
Candles
You can’t go wrong with candles any time, especially during the holidays. Whether you choose long tapers, short pillars, or beeswax candles in hurricane lamps, your customers will respond to designs that incorporate candlelight. The main thing to remember when using candles is to be sure they are secured and the weight is properly balanced. You don’t want your design to tip over and cause wax spillage, or even worse, catch something on fire.
Ornaments
Nothing says Christmas as clearly and brightly as ornaments. You can use quite a few smaller clusters to create dramatic effect in a standard flower arrangement. Use hand-painted Christmas tree ornaments in designs to appeal to customers who want to have a keepsake once the flowers and foliage are gone. Give customers more choice by creating a design with an empty focal spot. Provide a selection of three to five ornaments that can be added to complete the design, leaving the choice of ornament to the customer.
Birds
Realistic bird figures are appealing all year and especially at Christmas. It’s hard to resist a glittering white design with a cardinal perched strategically within it. Create a few designs with bird themes. Embellish further with dried, natural materials such as cattails and nests.
Ribbon
Ribbon is a powerful design element that can elevate even the simplest holiday arrangement. Upgrade your selections with options like flocked, velvet, white on white, plaid, and any others that will kick the design up a notch. Don’t shy away from curly ribbon, trailing ribbon, multiple tucks, or even beaded or bejeweled ribbon. Adorn wreaths with large, showy bows with trailing ends. Wrap wreaths with several different types of ribbon that are married by a color family or print.
Final Thoughts on Embellishments
Embellishments infuse floral designs with character, themes, and originality. While you can do too much, you also don’t want to diminish the visual appeal of a design – especially a holiday one. Customers expect more sparkle, more glow, and more bedazzle this time of year and it’s up to you to deliver.
The holiday season is your chance to showcase creativity and deliver designs that feel festive and memorable. With thoughtful planning and a balanced approach, your embellishments can transform floral arrangements into show-stopping pieces that customers will cherish.
.svg)
