Types of faux floral products, from left to right: stem, spray, and bush.
Although modern faux flowers are still sometimes referred to as “silk,” they’re mostly made from plastic and polyester.
“Quality is important. You should choose high- quality materials, from the flowers to the foam to the cutting tools. Cutting corners typically leads to frustration and will take the enjoyment out of it for you!”
—Stephanie Kirby of The Blue Daisy Floral Designs, Pittsburgh, PA
How to Choose Flowers
With all the options available, it can be hard to find a place to start when shopping for faux flowers and greenery. Here are a few methods I use that I hope will be helpful in planning your next faux floral craft project.
Quality/Realism
Faux florals and greenery come in a wide variety of types and quality levels. My advice is to choose the best-quality flowers you can afford. If you invest in better-made florals and supplies, not only will your finished project look more realistic, but it will also last longer. Although there is a plethora of artificial flowers out there in every color you can imagine, I recommend sticking to options that mimic nature as much as possible. You can find a bush of cobalt blue daisies at the craft store, but maybe go for the simple white and yellow option instead.
Craft stores will often have several styles and colorways of the same flower type available. Even slight differences can make a flower look truer to life. For example, in the spring tabletop arrangement (see here), I chose cream tulips instead of white because the cream had more dimension and color variation. That made them look more like a real tulip to me, whereas the stark white felt a little more faux.
Season
Choose flowers that are in bloom in the same season for a great way to keep your faux arrangement feeling natural and cohesive. In spring, you could make an arrangement of tulips, daffodils, and dogwood branches. In summer, you could use poppies, cosmos, and daisies. In fall, think about goldenrod, chrysanthemum, and rust-colored leaves. Finally, in winter, mixing evergreen branches and berries into your arrangement gives a seasonal feel. That said, the benefit to faux is that you can bend the rules a bit! Peonies generally bloom in the late spring, but who’s to say you can’t feature a beautiful burgundy peony in a fall arrangement? Use this method as a means of inspiration, but don’t limit yourself.
Color
Having a color scheme in mind is a great way to shop for faux flowers. Are you looking for a minimal, monochromatic color palette for your arrangement? Maybe you want something bold and high contrast with purples and yellows? Many craft stores arrange their floral department by color, which makes it easy to build your arrangement as you shop. See here for more on choosing a color scheme for your arrangement, along with some example color schemes that I love.
Choosing faux flowers that match the real flowers that are currently blooming will ensure that your décor keeps up with the seasons.
Buying faux florals will be easier if you have a color scheme in mind before shopping.
TIP
Pare down the color scheme if you want a wide variety of flowers. If you want a lot of color, keep it simple with just a few kinds of blooms.
Focal Flower First
If you’re having trouble deciding where to begin, start by selecting your statement flower and go from there. This might be your favorite flower or just something that jumped out at you while you were perusing the aisles. Choosing one larger bloom first and then building the rest of your arrangement around it is a great way to shop for faux florals. Go for a variety of textures, bloom shapes/sizes, and colors to complement your main flower choice. This is often the way I shop for my arrangements!
Before you can start crafting with faux florals, there are some essential tools you’ll need. You can make a simple arrangement using just a pair of wire cutters and a vase, but there are a variety of tools, materials, and supplies that are helpful in making beautiful, long-lasting floral arrangements and projects.
Basic Tools
Wire Cutters
You can find wire cutters made especially for working with faux florals at any craft store, but I use a heavy-duty pair of diagonal wire snips I got from a local hardware store. They are a bit more ergonomic and have more cutting power when working with thick wire and stems.
Dry Floral Foam
There are two types of floral foam: wet foam, which is used with fresh flowers, and dry foam, which is made for working with faux and dried florals. Floral foam can be cut and shaped to fit any vessel. You can use this foam as a foundation to push your stems into when creating floral arrangements.
Floral Foam Tools
Floral foam can be cut with any serrated knife you might find in your kitchen, but I found this plastic knife worked especially well. It comes in a pack with a shaping tool, which essentially acts like sandpaper to smooth and shape your foam, and a scribe tool, which is helpful for marking foam and tucking.
A heavy-duty pair