Spot the Imposter | DIY TIPS for Creating Bouquets with Dollar Store Flowers

I gave you a few tips for Spot the Imposter arrangements a week or so ago.

Today, we are going to go into a little more detail.  Ready to dive in?  Let's go!

Remember my orange Spot the Imposter arrangement?  Remember that I told you there WAS one little orange rose that was real.  Can you see her now?  Actually, there are two real roses, one open and one closed in the photo above.  The reason I choose the fake flowers with orange and yellow shading was to highlight these pretty orange roses from the garden.  I only got two off of a new rosebush I am growing, so fake flowers were the best way to stretch my blooms into a full bouquet.  Make sure you put the real flowers front and center in your bouquet to get the most bang for your buck!

How to Pick Dollar Store Flowers

Here is a closeup of those fake flowers.  Notice the shading from orange to yellow.  Sometimes shading can read really fake if the colors are off, but if you can find shaded petals that match a real flower in your garden, it will be hard to tell which is which.  Plain colored fake flowers are a little easier to spot than the well-shaded varieties.

You also want to pay close attention to the foliage when purchasing fake flowers.

Sometimes the softer fabric leaves can look real...

The plastic leaves NEVER do.  Cut those puppies OFF!

It is better to use less and less of a fake flower (cutting off leaves, stamens, other plastic parts) than to use too much.  You want the fakes to blend in so much that you cannot tell that they are fake.  Plasticy green is a dead giveaway.  Chop chop chop.

How to Integrate the REAL Plants

USE GREEN.  Notice how the real green foliage makes a break between the real and fake flowers?  It helps fool the eye into wavering between real and fake when there is a little distance between the two.  When they are placed directly side by side, it is easier to tell one is fake.

USE GREY.  I love using grey in arrangements because it "calms down" overly bright colors.  Fake flowers are often VERY loud and unnatural looking and a little grey goes a long way towards remedying that.  The plant seen here is a lovely, soft feathered lambsear.  These plants are very cheap, easy to grow and easy to propagate (double).  Some even call them weeds.  I love them.

Arranging the Bouquets

When arranging your flowers, start with the biggest "problem".  In this case, it is the fake flowers.  We are trying to disguise them.  Seperate them into two bunches, even though they come on one stem.  The more we can seperate them out, the less fake they will loook.

Add in a second attention grabbing plant like the smokebush seen here to mimic the angles of the fake flower groupings.  When you are making the same "movement" with a real AND a fake plant, attention is focused on them as a whole, not singly on the fake plant.  Add in your greens and greys to separate and tone down the loud oranges and add your showcase orange roses front and center.  

Mission. accomplished.