Flower Arrangements

I love having fresh flowers in my house.  It always brightens my day when I see those lovely blossoms and the fresh scent wafts its way through my apartment.  Unfortunately, I am not skilled at all when it comes to flower arrangements, and I end up tossing the poor plants into a vase and calling it a day. 

I love the pave-style flower arrangements similar to the photo above.  Perfect for small spaces, these arangements are unassuming, but look professionally done.

I came across these lovely tips on Design*Sponge and thought they were so easy, surely I could even create a lovely arrangement.
-Try using one type of flower in varying shades.
-Carefully clean stems so they are free of greens and foliage, leaving only the blossoms and stems.
-Flowers should be cut so that the blooms fall just above the neck of the vase.
-Work from the outside in — start by setting flowers in a ring around the edge of the vase and work row-by-row toward the middle. You will be begin to create concentric circles and the stems will form a “grid” in the vase.
-With each successive layer of flowers, you will have more structure with the stems and you can use this structure to support the next layer.
-Keep a “dome shape” in your mind’s eye and work to make the inner layers of flowers stand slightly taller than the outer layers.
-Don’t be afraid of the flowers jutting out at an angle; with each new layer, they will stand a bit straighter and taller.
-By the time you reach the middle, you should have a firm network of stems to support the taller flowers and they will stand straight up!

Read more at Design*Sponge http://www.designspongeonline.com/2010/09/fall-florals-pave-style-flower-arrangements.html#ixzz10w4qnMDf