There are many symbols of Christmas, each with its own story. One of the most beautiful, however, is Christmas. Also called Poinsettia , this flower manages to provide a splash of color in the winter landscape and is the subject of many myths and legends.

It is said that when you want to offer a flower it is good to focus on a natural flower. Natural flowers have the advantage of a pleasant scent and have a very pleasant appearance. Unfortunately, natural flowers wither and quickly turn into a simple memory.

If you want to give a lasting gift, artificial flowers can be a great alternative. It is true that a lot of counter-arguments have emerged around them, such as the smell of plastic, the rough putting in the work or the lack of smell. However, before you say no, it's a good idea to look at modern artificial flowers.

Modern artificial flowers, faithful children of natural flowers

The artificial flowers created in recent years perfectly mimic natural flowers. Often, even a person familiar with the floral field finds it difficult to differentiate an artificial flower from a natural one.

They are made of materials that perfectly mimic the natural structure of flowers and faithfully copy every detail. In addition, they have a lot of advantages:

• They have an attractive price. Most often, artificial flowers are cheaper than natural ones;
• They are much more resistant over time. A bridal bouquet of artificial flowers can be kept forever, without the risk of withering or breaking;
• They do not depend on climatic conditions;
• They can be easily transported in absolutely any conditions;
• They don't need attention. If you have an artificial flower in the house, you can go on holiday without any problems, without risking it withering.

Artificial flowers can therefore be the perfect gift and can be the ideal accessory for arranging rooms at home. If you are a person who does not want additional responsibilities, you can take them into account.

The only unpleasant part of a bouquet of natural flowers is the fact that at some point, they become just a colorful part of the memories. No matter how beautiful, colorful, fragrant and imposing they are, the flowers wither and most often end up in the trash.

If you want to give flowers, but at the same time you want your gift to stay forever alive, one of the best options is Lagurus.

Lagurus is a flower that also bears the name of "rabbit's tail", which is imposed by its unique appearance. With a fluffy spike, similar to a rabbit's tail, it can enrich any bouquet, giving it a unique look.

The really attractive part of this flower is, in fact, that after it dries it remains just as attractive. For this reason, specialists in floral arrangements have started to use it more and more in bouquets and to turn it into a real element of attraction.

After it is dry, the Lagurus flower can be painted and is suitable for any type of bouquet, whether it is a wedding bouquet, a birthday bouquet or simply a bouquet offered to the person you are in love with.

Lagurus flowers can have any shade (they can be red, green, orange, purple) and are ideal in a combination with natural and fresh flowers, because after the latter wither, Lagurus keeps the freshness of the bouquet and can be kept indefinitely in a vase.

Have you ever wondered why gift baskets have become so popular among gift exchanges? You certainly think that the idea of a gift basket is a modern solution, coming to the aid of individuals to whom society does not leave enough time to do everything they want.

Although gift baskets are dressed in a modern image, they have a rich history, involving gods, offerings, love stories and wars.

The basket has sacred connotations, being the one in which Moses was found by the daughter of the Egyptian royal family, has charitable connotations, being the one in which the French nobles offered food to the poorest people and has sentimental connotations, being the container in which the sweets were often wrapped. loved in the Victorian era.

Today, the gift basket is often found in companies, being offered for Easter, Christmas or other festive occasions.

Today's gift basket is the representative of a concept in which billions of euros are invested. It is the materialization of the perfect gift, offered without spending a lot of money and time. The gift basket can be found ready packaged and can contain absolutely anything, from flowers to fine drinks, chocolate and various accessories.

However, it still offers the freedom of personalization and allows you to unleash your imagination and build a gift that will represent you and the connection you have with the person you are offering it to.

Everything has to start with a basket, so we help you get started and offer you dozens of models of baskets in which you can put anything (you can find them here )

Don't know what to put in the gift basket? You can try to color them with fragrant flowers, to taste them with sweets and delicious drinks or to anchor them in memories with accessories that connect you to the person to whom you give the gift. The options are limitless.

I'm Raluca Dumitran

I am an artisan artist ... I love flowers madly but above all I love to create… and I have been creating good crepe paper flowers for several years that steal the smiles of those who receive them as gifts

“Professional dreamer” as my husband calls me, I turned my passion into a full-time job and today I am financially independent, doing only what I like. I create with great passion personalized decorations for various events and I am very happy and fulfilled because through my work and with the help of paper flowers I am with dozens of brides, on the happiest day of their lives.

But it took some time for the first rose to really bloom in my workshop ...

I wasted nights, consumed a lot of material and watched hundreds of videos looking for something to help me evolve faster. I followed dozens of tutorials at night, and then in the morning I put into practice what I found out. But the information I found on the internet, which excited me in the first phase, turned out to be incomplete and did not clarify all the question marks I had:

• how to make the flower look as natural as possible?
• what paper should I work with?
• where do I buy the necessary materials?
• how to get a natural color for my flowers?
• how do i make my templates
• how do I actually start building the flower to look real?

The questions that tormented me for months would be answered in my own study.

I armed myself with patience and calm and I started to “open” the rose with my mind's eye, and then to do the same with other flowers ...

… "Ok I see how it is built" ...

Eam I was thinking, what about the paper? What should I make them look like a natural petal?

How many roses ended up in the trash…?

Many… roses that seemed perfect to my loved ones, but I had worked with natural flowers and knew them well and knew what my rose should look like.

During all this time I was trying my best to make a flower, made of crepe paper, as realistic as possible, my husband didn't really understand me and he didn't agree with my decision to quit his job. I would have preferred to be employed and have a secure and steady income. She was afraid I would be stuck in the house.

But I did not want to give up my dream. I was very close to achieving the much desired flower and I continued to study until, one day, I succeeded. That's when I actually realized what the secret is… you have to be patient and persevere.

The day came when the first roses that fully satisfied me bloomed in my workshop. I posed for them from all possible angles, I admired them for a long time ... I was very happy. My dream was beginning to take shape.

Now I had to repeat the process until I had enough flowers to create my first bridal bouquet. This happened more than 5 years ago.

Today, when I write these lines for you, I am professionally fulfilled. I have collaborated with dozens of brides who have happily turned to my services, delighted with the idea that they can keep their bridal bouquet for life. Some of them were so pleasantly surprised by the art of paper flowers that they also wanted to learn how to create these wonderful eternal flowers.

... I understood that the mind needs peace and the heart needs joy

It's been years since I created paper flowers. These opened new horizons for me, helped me to overcome myself and become a better person.

My study and work were recognized by other dreamers who wanted to learn to make flowers through my technique.

That's how I started the first physical course in Romania and I became a mentor to over a hundred beauty lovers who learned to make realistic paper flowers. With the flowers worked in class, under my guidance, they built wonderful bridal bouquets.

Many of them are thinking of retraining professionally, some have already organized the first events of their recent career.

I have to be honest with you and I want you to know from the beginning that the speed with which some of the aspirants in this field managed to materialize the proposed projects depended on several aspects:

• your own skill - If you've never workedwith your hands it is normal to put more effort into the learning process

• perseverance - I advise you to work daily and be self-critical to evolve. You need to set goals and not get lost in the details or get distracted. Make a work schedule and follow it as if you were at work.

• availability - If you have a service it will be harder for you to mobilize and finish the projects started, but it is not impossible. There are many girls who practice this job on weekends and cope successfully.

• will - Set a goal and start acting to accomplish it. If you can't mobilize, write on paper everything you have to do and start checking the tasks one by one.

• and the most important aspect in my opinion is MOTIVATION

The art of paper flowers was the most beautiful thing I have ever discovered. I rediscovered myself and at the same time I managed to overcome myself emotionally and socially.

If you are motivated enough to follow this path, you will surely achieve what you set out to do. All you have to do is look inside yourself for something that motivates you enough.

Lately I get more and more questions about how I make paper flowers, what materials do I use? Where do I buy everything I need to make paper flowers? What paper dyeing techniques do I use? but the most common question is how do I shape the paper to give my flowers a natural look.

Because I can't reach all the cities of the country to take physical courses, I created the Paper Flowers Academy https://ralucadumitran.ro/ , a complex guide to help you make realistic paper flowers.

In the next period I will create more materials to answer your questions, and for that I need your help. Can you write me what are your curiosities about creating paper flowers and what new flowers would you like to learn?

Either we will see each other at physical classes in the country or you will follow me online, I wish you sunny days, full of inspiration and good luck.

With great pleasure Raluca Dumitran

Some clients have asked us for help with these arrangements, so:

For the less experienced and due to the new trend for soap floral arrangements that are available to anyone

It is very difficult for us to create packages that compose their necessary products due to the very large variations of colors and sizes.

We list some necessary for these:

- Boxes - click here

- Sizal - click here

- soap roses - click here

- dry sponge (or extruded polystyrene is still used) - click here

- wire - click here

- pearl needles - click here

- satin rollers for the bow

Apart from boxes and roses, the rest of the components are optional. It all depends on how complex you want the final product to be

Other accessories: Ladybugs or others here or butterflies here

Again, it is difficult to predict the need for roses. It depends on how often the roses are planted

For example, for this set of 3 boxes you need a box plus half of the soap roses

Below we have three clips of different complexities received from our clients at "Packaging Promotion" in the fall of 2019

About cryogenic or stabilized roses

Preserving a rose or another flower can be done through various industrial techniques or even "home made" procedures, meaning you can do this at home.

The quality of the process, respectively the lifetime after the process depends on the technique used initially

First of all, the term cryogenate is technically wrong. The correct variant of expression is "stabilized", but this is how the novel is used. For him, everything that appears for the first time again uses the respective name (diapers are diapers with us, plasterboard is plasterboard, photocopy is photocopy, etc.). We, like others, use the term cryogenic because of this, because that's what customers are looking for. Cryogenesis is done on newer people, but that's another story.

The practically stabilized rose is 50% natural. The first step in the process of preserving the rose is to dehydrate it in a special alcohol (solvent, ethanol, etc.). After this process, the rose becomes white, approximately colorless, practically like a white vellum leaf.

In the second step of preservation with glycerin or glycol with high hydrophilic properties, the rose is "painted" again in the desired color. So naturally only its shape and texture remain.

The stem is preserved separately from the simple fact because it has a different color and / or requires other hydration and preservation solutions than the flower. For example, if you see a stabilized rose as in the image below, it was definitely a home made technique.

Because he has to look like this:

Newer are also producers who try to make it more identical, practically only preserve the petals and rebuild the rose back petal by petal using silicone adhesive, but definitely lose its original beauty

The technological producer of the preserved rose usually transmits that the product lasts three years. The technique being relatively new, since 2015, we do not yet have a firm confirmation of the final customer. We all say it lasts 25 years or a lifetime ... that's still to be seen. There is still documentation on the internet about cryogenizing the rose by freezing at -55 degrees. They are just fairy tales, or people who speak ignorantly

One of the rudimentary (home made) options that anyone can do at home is to wrap the flower in silica gel for more than 2 weeks.

At AmbalajeFloriOnline you can find stabilized roses of the best quality presented as being cryogenic as we explained above.

Creative and business ideas

When the flowers come from the wholesaler or from the flower bag it is important that they are hydrated and nourished immediately. Also, flowers that are transported without water should be immediately placed in water enriched with flower food after treatment with Floralife® Quick Dip. For this we will use Floralife® ULTRA 200 Clear . This concentrated formula provides all the needs of flowers in vases but also for arrangements with the OASIS® sponge .

and protect any arrangement before going out the door of a florist.

This maximizes the natural freshness of fresh flower bouquets

cut, floral arrangements. A simple spray is all it takes

made to increase customer satisfaction and extend satisfaction to

first flowers.

• Provides vital ingredients to keep flowers fresh and the vibrant color of petals and leaves
• Prevents premature fall of petals and fungi, dehydration, wilting and browning.
• Ideal for use on arrangements with fresh flowers and decorations for weddings, concords, leaves and potted plants.
• It is safe to use on any type of flower.
• Depending on the variety, a simple spray prolongs the life of the flowers from 1 to 5 days.

1. Do not dilute the finished product.
2. Shake the bottle well before and during use
3. Spray a thin layer like a mist on freshly cut flowers, leaves or pots of plants.
4. Allow the product to dry before delivering it to customers.

If you have not decided what to do to surprise your customers on Valentine's Day, I will give you an idea to create an original and romantic gift - HEART OF ROSE AND STRAWBERRIES (you can use roses in its entirety).

To create this fascinating idea for February 14, we need:

- floral sponge

- big strawberries

- roses

- rose leaves

- decorative needles

- red rabant (or raffia )

- sarma gerbera

- toothpicks

- flower scissors

Immerse the piece of sponge in water, it will help keep the roses for up to 7 days. Cut the flowers, but leave the stem about 3 cm.

Insert the flowers into the heart-shaped sponge, side by side.

Separate the leaves from the stem.

Cover the sides of the sponge using the leaves. Place the leaves on top of each other and attach them with decorative needles.

The next step is to prepare the second half of the sponge for fixing the strawberries. To do this, catch the rest of the leaves in the same way with decorative needles.

Place the strawberries on the other half of the sponge, fixing them with a broomas in the image below.

We will add some nice details to the arrangement. We cut the stem into 3-4 cm pieces.

We take three pieces of the stem and tie them together with the help of the gerbera wire.

Tie, making a bow with a ribbon, adding color.

Then attach the arrangement to the edges of the sponge.

Our original Valentine's Day arrangement is ready. Now you can enjoy your customers with this special arrangement. I wish you all happiness, love and endless inspiration!