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There’s a few of you who have been waiting for the DIY artificial orchid arrangement tutorial, and I apologize for the delay in getting it published. I’ll explain the issue in a moment.

Chinoiserie Orchid Arrangements

My chinoiserie loving heart really loves the blue and white potted artificial orchid arrangements sold online, but oh my word they can be hundreds and hundreds of dollars. Monica doesn’t want it that much. 

Then one day I popped over to HomeGoods and saw a gorgeous blue and white planter for only $25. I know you may be saying, “Only?” but trust me, that is affordable for those things given the size and popularity of chinoiserie at the moment.

I instantly knew this was my chance to make a DIY artificial orchid arrangement that was beefy, beautiful and did not cost hundreds of dollars. 

Thrift and antique stores are good starting points for finding your own blue and white planter, or you can just use any other type of vessel like a serving bowl. Get creative!

I won’t say it was the cheapest DIY– I splurged on the good orchids and leaves ($18) which brings my total to at least $45ish plus some miscellaneous dollar store supplies. But overall, I am super pleased with how it looks and it all came together in an under hour… sort of.

Initially I didn’t get the dowels to support the orchids, so that explains the delay in getting this tutorial published. The dowels to support the orchids really do help complete the look so it’s more authentic, and the dowels also literally support the orchids so they’re not drooping around.

As always, I’m going to walk you step-by-step through the process of making a DIY artificial orchid arrangement. 

DIY Artificial Orchid Arrangement

Yield: 1 Floral Arrangement

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Active Time: 30 minutes

Additional Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Making a DIY artificial orchid arrangement is easy and super affordable with the right supplies. The bulk of the supplies can easily be found in the craft section of your local dollar store and the planter can be found at HomeGoods or even a thrift store.

Print

Materials

Floral Supplies

• Blue & White Chinoiserie Planter or Foot Bath
• Two Faux Orchids
• Big Green Faux Leaves
• Faux Green Moss
• Dry Floral Foam Blocks
• Black River Rocks
• Two, 3/16 Dowels
• Black or Burnt Umber Craft Paint
• Hot Glue Gun & Glue Sticks
• Craft Knife
• Foam Paint Brush
• Raffia

Instructions

Before we begin, I'll admit that I used wet floral foam (but did not wet it) because I wanted to get the project done and didn't want to go out and buy dry floral foam.

1. Using your craft paint, paint your dowels using a foam brush. I used burnt umber and did a semi-opaque coat on the dowels for a more natural finish.
2. Using a craft knife, cut your floral foam blocks to fill up the entire planter. It doesn't have to be perfect, but you want it to be pretty covered/full.
3. Place your orchids and leaf stem into the floral foam. (Remember I screwed up and didn't add the dowels til after I was 95% done!)
4. Gently mold your orchids to the shape you want. I did one fairly straight and had the other droop to the side. Mark how tall each dowel needs to be to support each stem and snap to break the dowel (no saw needed). Make sure to insert the snapped end into the foam.
5. Secure in a few places with some raffia.
6. At this point, our orchids are standing up with the grace of the floral foam and dowels, so adding some river rocks will help weigh down the artificial orchid arrangement so it's not so top heavy. I hot glued the rocks to ensure they wouldn't move around.
7. I did one layer of black river rocks and then used some of the smaller rocks to fill in the gaps.
8. Once you're happy with the coverage, pull off any hot glue strings before moving on.
9. Loosely place some green moss around the center area where the leaves are. Place as much as you'd like- you want it to look lush
10. Fluff the leaves into place. I used my fingers to curl a few of the leaf edges for more natural look. At this point if you've forgotten the dowels like I initially did, head to step 3 to wrap this project up.

Faux Orchid Arrangement Decor

I love this artificial orchid arrangement so much that I honestly couldn’t decide where to put it! I love how it looks on my DIY white and gold campaign chest.

It even had a brief stint ON my desk, but it was kind of distracting, to be honest.

And now it’s found a more long-term home in the console table in my foyer. 

I love, love, love how it looks next to the bright green pagoda, chinoiserie foo dog and that big, gold ornate mirror. I think tall orchid florals always elevate any space because they’re so statuesque and beefy.

My foyer is very tall, grand and has massive/empty white walls, so this little chinoiserie decor vignette is a welcome sight every time I walk in the front door.

I’m now on the prowl for a tobacco leaf (learn more about this highly collectible pattern) patterned planter, fish bowl or foot bath to make a hot pink version of this for my nightstand in our soon to be made over master bedroom. 

Tobacco leaf is so collectible, which makes it hard to find AND expensive when you do find it. I just know that my persistence will pay off, and I’ll be able to snag a tobacco leaf planter someday.

I have one more post slated for this week, and it involves my new coffee table AND a giveaway for a gorgeous, lucite end table for one of you lucky readers. Come back Thursday for more details!

Related Posts:

DIY Faux Floral Arrangements

DIY Chinoiserie Wallpaper Panels

DIY Blue and White Chinoiserie Ornaments