Make basic (and cheap) supermarket flowers look like a million bucks. I use this flower trick all the time and it works wonders!
I’ve never been one to shy away from a home floral project. And over the years, I’ve posted plenty. From tutorials for small floral arrangements and a color-blocked bouquet to my go-to list for beautiful floral arrangements every time. It’s amazing how bright a room can become with a bouquet or two.
But flowers can also be expensive, so I wanted to show you how to take two of the most basic flowers, found in almost any grocery store, and turn them into something that looks like it came straight from a flower shop.
How to Make Cheap Roses Look Like Beautiful Garden Roses
I’m not really a rose girl, BUT with this flower hack to make regular grocery store roses look more like garden roses (which I like), I’m a fan!
Cost of flowers
Roses at Trader Joes range from $7 (spray roses) to $10 or $15 for full-size roses.
How to do it
1. Wash your hands and dry them thoroughly. This will reduce the amount of oil from your hands that can be transferred to the flower petals, which can cause them to wilt and bruise faster.
2. Once you have washed your hands, remove any discolored or bruised petals. These are usually only found around the outermost petals.
Petal tip: Save the petals you have removed. You can dry them and use them in different body scrubs, bath salts, soaps, etc. Check out my tutorial on how to dry rose petals and make your own floral bath salts at the same time.
3. Start pushing the petals back, one by one. I also have a video showing this process that you might find helpful. It’s in my Instagram highlight section and it’s called Flower Hacks.
You can do this on every petal or just a few outer layers for a different look.
*Note: Some rose petals don’t stay all the way back. If that’s the case, pull each petal back as far as you can (carefully) and continue the process all the way to the end. Some roses may end up looking more like the yellow “after” above, which also has the look of a garden rose. Unlike the light roses in the stylized photos.
How to make carnations look prettier
Cost of the flower: A bouquet of carnations from Trader Joes costs $5.
1. Turn the carnation over so that the flower is facing the ground and the stem is facing up in the air.
2. Do you see the notches at the base of the carnation?
Take a pair of scissors or pruning shears and cut longer slits into the notches all the way around (or every single one if you don’t want them so full and fluffy).
3. Turn the carnation over and fluff the petals a little with clean hands.
If it doesn’t give you the volume you want, you can turn it over and cut the notches a little more. But be careful. If the notches are too big, the whole flower could fall apart. So just make a small cut every now and then.
And that’s it! This trick also makes the carnations look much bigger, which is a very nice bonus.
Tips for easy flower arrangements
If you need help arranging the flowers once they are all done, don’t forget to check out my post on how to make a floral centerpiece without a flower frog. It’s easy!
And how to make a floral arrangement with 7 simple floral tricks. Number 7 on the list is a great way to display small flowers that have lost their stem.
Cute vases for under $40
And since this is a budget-friendly flower post, let’s also find some cute and affordable vases. Here are a handful of cute vases, all under $40!
- Minimalist Scandinavian Vase from Etsy $22
- Anthropologie Quartet Orb Glass Vase $16
- Small Ceramic Vase from Public Goods $7.95
- Half Slot Vase from Etsy $14
- Vase with bright rosebuds by Leif $22
- Anthropologie Modernist Vases $14
How to Improve Grocery Store Flowers Instantly
I’ve never been one to shy away from a DIY floral project. And over the years, I’ve posted plenty of them. From tutorials for small floral arrangements and a color-blocked bouquet to my go-to list for beautiful floral arrangements every time. It’s amazing how bright a room can become with a bouquet or two. But flowers can also be expensive, so I wanted to show you how to take two of the most basic flowers, found at almost any grocery store, and turn them into something that looks like it came straight from a flower shop.
- grocery store roses
- carnations from the grocery store
Roses
-
Wash your hands and dry them thoroughly. This will reduce the amount of oil from your hands that can transfer to the flower petals, which can cause them to wilt and bruise faster. Once you’ve washed your hands, remove any discolored or bruised petals. These will usually only be around the outermost petals.
-
Petal Tip: Save the petals you’ve removed. You can dry them and use them in a variety of body scrubs, bath salts, soaps, etc. Check out my tutorial on how to dry rose petals and make your own floral bath salts at the same time.
-
Start pushing the petals back, one by one. I have a video showing this process too, which you might find helpful to watch. It’s on my Instagram highlight called Flower Hacks. You can do this with every petal or just a few outer layers, to achieve a different look.
-
*Note: Some rose petals don’t stay all the way back. If that’s the case, pull each petal back as far as you can (carefully) and continue the process all the way to the end. Some roses may end up looking more like the yellow “after” above, which also has the look of a garden rose. Unlike the light roses in the stylized photos.
Carnations
-
Turn the carnation over so that the flower is facing the ground and the stem is facing up in the air.
-
See the notches at the base of the carnation? Take a pair of scissors or pruning shears and cut longer slits into the notches along the entire perimeter (or every single one if you don’t want them so full and fluffy).
-
Turn the carnation over and fluff the petals a bit with clean hands. If it’s not as full as you want, you can turn it over and cut the notches a bit more. Be careful though. If the notches are too big, the whole flower could fall apart. So make a small cut at a time.
If you need help arranging the flowers once they are all done, don’t forget to check out my post on how to make a floral centerpiece without a flower frog. It’s easy!
And how to make a flower arrangement with 7 simple floral tricks. Number 7 on the list is a great way to display small flowers that have lost their stems.
