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Let your imagination rethink your standard grocery store flower bouquets! Watch as I deconstruct and rearrange a few bouquets to make multiple arrangements for gifts and for my home – affordably!
My options for buying flowers in my town are pretty limited. I either have really high priced floral shops (with slim pickings) or standard grocery store floral departments.
So until I have my own cut flower garden with more blooms than I know what to do with (sigh), I just have to make do. Only in desperate times am I willing to pay floral shop prices, so I typically come home with a few grocery store bouquets when I need props or gifts.
While the grocery store florists do a great job, I never come home with an arrangement I love enough to just stick in a vase. Pulling them apart and bringing them back together is one of my FAVORITE past times! I probably missed my calling in life.
I’d like to share my process for rearranging grocery store flower bouquets – but first . . . a little story about how I almost didn’t share this post.
THE STORY OF ALMOST NOT SHARING THIS STORY
I had brought home a bundle of various discounted floral bouquets, to rearrange for some Valentines gifts for my mom and kids teachers. As I was playing with them, the thought came to just throw up my video camera and film my process to share with you!
It would be a quick turn around post, but I thought how fun it would be to share a post all about flowers on Valentines day. Flowers always lift my spirits, boost my creativity and inspire me to share.
So I threw up my tripod, attached the video camera, and pushed record. I was so excited to play with flowers, that was about as much thought as I put towards the video prep.
When I sat down to look over the footage, I was appalled.
Not only had I chosen the most unflattering cozy outfit (I didn’t plan on recording that day), but I managed to prop the video cam up at the most unflattering angle. To top it off, I had managed to perfectly capture all the dust on my clothes due to living in a construction zone.
Already depressed about gaining about 10-15 pounds during this really difficult year of a completely inconsistent lifestyle, my immediate thoughts were . . .
“No way. Not sharing this. Total waste of time. You look disgusting.”
With my head hung low, I moved to the next task in my planner.
After some time of trying to shrug off the discouragement, I heard a quiet prompting in my head . . .
“Are you really going to let him win?”
him?
The author of lies. The one who tells us we are not enough. The one who feeds us with discouragement, fear, and loves when we loose faith.
The one who wanted me to believe that my work only has value if I am skinny, perfect, and camera worthy like all those other lovely bloggers out there who seem to be perfect through my clouded eyes.
No. I would not let him win.
I wanted to share how I could take $30 of lovely florals from a grocery store and turn them into 4 loving, one-of-a-kind arrangements that lifted my spirits and brought me joy to gift.
I wanted to inspire and bring beauty into the world. That has always been my goal.
I was not going to let insecurity and him stop me.
And so, on this LOVE day (or whatever day you are reading this post) I come to you with dust on my clothes, a few extra pounds, and with love and acceptance of my entire self . . .
. . . to inspire you to love and accept your entire self.
Don’t let him win. Find out who you are through Gods eyes, and create, inspire, and lift others . . . in whatever shirt you are wearing.
I’ll have to admit, a year ago, he would have won. This video never would have seen the light of day.
A deep and lasting change happened in me this year, due in part to overcoming the challenges we’ve faced this year and recognizing how strong I am – with God’s help.
But also due to this 10 month mentoring program I took part in, with Brooke Snow as my mentor in her “Mastering the Art of Showing Up” program. I came to understand my true identity.
It completely changed how I view myself and how I look at progress and development. I realized the incredible change the moment I decided to share this video, in-spite of my hesitations.
I gain nothing by sharing this program with you, but just feel so grateful that I took the chance on it. The Brooke Snow Podcast is my favorite of all time, and you can listen to that for free to get an idea of what she shares with her self improvement lessons, centered on Christ. Brooke is one of the most insightful, inspiring women I have had the pleasure to know, and I just felt like sharing that with you. You can read more more about her program and check out more of mine and others thoughts on it here.
Whether or not you came to this post to watch me rearrange flowers, or to check out my dusty clothes – I hope you’ll leave giving yourself a little more grace and love today – which may mean you need a quick trip to the grocery store floral department (wink).
MY 5 BEST TIPS FOR REARRANGING GROCERY STORE FLOWERS
1 – Choose several bouquets with the color scheme you have in mind.
2 – Don’t feel bad about tossing the stems that don’t work with your vision.
3 – The more imperfect your arrangement, the more perfect it will be (perhaps that is why I don’t like the perfectly arranged grocery store bouquets!)
4 – Cut the stems in varying heights and layer throughout the arrangement. The droopier the better!
5 – Go with your gut and let go! There is really never any rhyme or reason to my arrangements. I just play and have fun!
I hope you enjoy this video as much as I enjoyed filming it for you!
VIDEO: REARRANGING GROCERY STORE FLOWER BOUQUETS
Happy Valentines Day!
This looks incredible, every picture of you is wonderful!
Oh Your flowers are wonderful! I especially love the white tulips and babies’ breath.
Just wanted to say your bouquets are beautiful, and so are you.
Cami, thank you for sharing. While I never would have noticed any of the critiques that you had for yourself, I think that is often the case. We are much more critical of ourselves than others are. I was so appreciative of the back story though, it was a great video inspiring me to go out of my comfort zone and try something new, but I loved reading your thoughts before. How many times do I choose not to do something because I feel vulnerable? I am feeling encouraged to be more brave, and thank you for bringing up the fact that too often it fits right in with “his” plans when we talk ourselves out of things. Beautiful flowers that matched the message!
I’m so glad you didn’t let the enemy win. Loved seeing the beautiful bouquets come together. I, too, have been on a journey of learning my value in God. How wonderful it is to find those mentoring programs that encourage us in heart-healing. Bless you for being vulnerable and sharing.
This was a timely message for me. Since we are completely remodeling our house without going into debt, we are 7 years in. It is an old farm house and we have been pulling down walls and insulating them, hanging new dry wall, new ceilings, new kitchen cabinets, the works. But 7 years of construction for a woman who loves everything to be neat and tidy can get a little trying. Then 2 years ago while my grandbaby was desperately ill in the hospital my beloved little schnauzer died suddenly. Since that time I have gained 20 pounds. This past summer we tore down half the attic ceiling and the living room ceiling, but Lowes ran out of what I wanted to replace the ceiling with. My home business has kept me to busy to get the insulation up, and I began noticing our electric bill skyrocketing. We use propane to heat with and normally the amount I just purchased in December would have seen through the end of March so imagine my surprise when my husband came in yesterday and said it was completely gone. Last night was the coldest night we’ve had this winter and we had to pull out every heater we own to heat the house. I was feeling like a failure and allowing the father of lies to fill me with self doubt. Thank you for reminding me that we dont need to listen to the lies. That there is beauty in imperfections, and God loves us exta pounds, dust and all!
Hey, who gets dressed up to arrange flowers? If you had not said anything, I wouldn’t have noticed. I was watching your hands the whole time. These were simply beautiful!!
And I was thinking you were dressed up because you had real pants on :). This was fantastic, beautiful and inspired. Nice work sis. I’m proud to call myself your sister.
Yay, Cami! Thanks for sharing this. Glad that you stood up for yourself. I love your ideas–that’s what matters!
Lovely Cami! You are beautiful and creative and talented and brave and amazing! I’m so proud of you still sharing your gifts and your ability to discern voices that come into your mind. So many people will learn greater discernment by you sharing your story! I love you so much!
Thanks for keeping it real and inspiring! You are awesome, and I love the arrangements!
Those flowers were beautiful and loved watching how you make your bouquets. The rest wasn’t important and didn’t really notice, just your wonderful creativity.
Love ya gal & Happy Love Day! Enjoy your blog so much. And the look you create. I too love the country bouquet look vs. formal florist. Great job on yours. Ruth
I loved this and the inspiration I got from it 💕 Thank you for just being you and for reminding me that the only voice I should be listening to is the voice of truth that comes from a lo ring Heavenly Father because too many times I let the voice of fear and discouragement win and after so many years I’m so very tired, and your post, as simple as it was, was powerful and I souring and I connected with those feelings and your choice to choose was so up lifting. Thank you 🙏🏻💕
Cami, thanks for sharing the whole story!! And so grateful you listen to our wise Heavenly Father when he asked if you were going to let him, the author of lies win!!!
I needed that lesson more than the flower lesson although I did enjoy it too. I am now bald from chemo, getting ready for the stem cell transplant and my usually thin self it bloated and kinda miserable. God bless you.
Thank you. The video on creating beautiful arrangements was wonderful but your words on creating a beautiful mindset were priceless. Thank you♥️
The flowers are beautiful and so are you. Thank you for not listening to the insidious whisperings of the evil one…he has no vote because he is a loser. Because I am so insecure and have been overweight my entire life, I have very few photos of me with my kids. I regret all of that now and despite still being overweight, I do allow photos of me with my grandkids. We really all need to keep it real and be authentic–thank you for being that way!
What a beautiful, insightful comment Karen! We sure love you!
Lovely arrangements! Each one is beautiful. And what you shared with us in your post is even more beautiful than the flowers.
Yay Cami! You won! You are beautiful inside and out. Thanks for inspiring us with your creative blogs.
I can only echo the comments of those above. I am so glad you listened to that ‘still, small voice within’ and shared your imperfect, perfect self today. I applaud your courage to be authentic and want you to know that, by your example, I’m stronger and more willing to accept my imperfections, too. I didn’t see any dust, nor did I notice any extra poundage. What I did notice was a graceful example of real beauty, in your arrangements, and in your willingness to share and shine. Thank you, Cami, for keeping it real.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
We are all so critical of ourselves and others. Thanks for reminding us that we are all beautiful and that beauty comes from the inside out.
I’m so glad you shared this!! I never paid attention to your choice of clothing, dusty or not and thought the angle was perfect for what you were doing. Sometimes I think you’re right! We let that father of lies creep in. Cami, you are beautiful and have wonderful ideas!! I’m so glad you shared you video and your thoughts behind it. I think sometimes we think that it is just ourselves that experience those feelings or that everyone is going to think like we do, like what you said about your clothing and angle. I love your cute shirt and never saw the dust and you’re beautiful no matter your weight! I appreciate the example of grace you have shown yourself and I think it’s something I will always remember. Great lesson!! And, (wink), I am going to run to the grocery store today and get some flowers. Thank you for the special. Valentine’s treat!! 💐
Absolutely lovely…
Great job…….
I love your honesty and transparency! Your arrangements are beautiful. I, too, love that white vase, but the clear ones (mason jars?) are great too because they allow visibility to the entire stems’ beauty! We all fight “him” everyday of our lives. I’m glad you didn’t let “him” win…that shows the strength in your faith. God is good, all the time…all the time, God is good! Thank you for sharing your life with us. I didn’t see any dust either : )
Thank you so much for the gift of your honesty and encouragement! We love you EXACTLY the way you are! Thank you for reminding us what really matters! And the flowers look amazing!
Thanks so much for sharing these gorgeous flowers & inspiring authenticity. I teach Floral Design & give you an A+! Also, love any & pics that include that sink & unique stone tap.
What lovely flower arrangements! You make it look so easy.
Thank you for sharing your faith with us too. I have admired your faith and strength this past year. It’s hard enough to just move from one house to another.(I know. My husband was transferred 15 times in his career.) God bless you and your husband for working so hard to make your dream come true.
I really enjoy reading your blog and seeing all of your DIY projects. I am very inspired by all your creativity in everything you do! Thank you for sharing your vulnerabilities – we all struggle with the same issues and not allowing “him” to win is something we constantly need to remember! God is good!! Your arrangements are gorgeous!
Thanks for keeping it real. I can’t relate to those artificial looking people on other blogs. So what if you’re dusty(which I didn’t see), what if you have gained weight(we ALL do). Life’s ups and downs happen and the important thing is not letting them take a hold of our spirit and destroy it. Keep your chin up, you look great. I love the beautiful arrangements and I just adore that white vase!. Thanks for the inspiration today and every day.
Thanks for letting real life shine through. Thanks for posting the good the bad and everything in between. I love these simple arrangements you put together. And I will be grabbing a few of my own to put together to share soon!