Step by Step How to make a Silk Arrangement for a Grave Stone
This is the one Im going to make here in its completion:

You can click the image to enlarge.
What you will need:
A Block of WET oasis Foam. (why wet will be explained)
A Black Oasis Tray for 1 block
Pot tape (anchor tape)
Silk foliage, Im using silk ficus and the rose leaves.
Scissors
Tape measure
Silk flowers Im using red open and red bud roses.
Method:
The reason Im using a block of WET oasis foam is that the dry foam usually used for silk flowers is very lightweight and to ensure some weight to the arrangement Im using wet foam, this is to be placed onto a marble grave stone hearth so will be outside and when using silks to be placed outside its essential to add some weight to the arrangement so it cant be blown over, the beauty of it is that when it rains the foam will replenish its water and add weight again. As wind and rain often accompany each other I find this a good arrangement.
So, first of all as always, champfer off the edges of the foam or bevel the edges is another way to put it, just a sharp knife will do, this helps give more surface area and avoids horrible sharp edges to the oasis which have to be hidden of course. Soak the oasis foam by letting it FLOAT in a bucket of water, never just hold under the tap it doesnt absorb all the way through if you do that, I know these stems dont need to drink but we want a heavy block so we want the water absorbed properly just as if we were using it for fresh flowers.

Make sure that when you use the 'pot tape' or 'anchor tape', you really let it dig into the oasis and pull it right round the back and over to the top again so it sticks to itself, dont just cut it off at the back, its wont be strong enough, this is going out in the elements remember.



Start by placing a long pointed spray of your silk foliage at the very back of the oasis, use your tape measure if you have to stick to a specific size, sometimes there are words coming quite low down on a grave stone so make sure you know what dimensions to make the arrangement, it is possible to make this in the 'L' Shape or Asymmetrical design if you want to avoid covering words in the middle of a stone marker. Anyway now you have the height, in a way the foliage acts like the skeleton or framework for the whole design so its always the first thing to do. Now place your side pieces of foliage, angle them down with the stem goin in an 'upward' action so that the tips of the foliage rest on the surface of your worktop, this will make sure that the finished design sits well on the stone. There is nothing worse than an arrangement which seems to hover and not really rest down on its surface so do take care with that. For the filling in of the rest of the foliage, you have the luxury of being able to bend the stems (see 3rd pic) unlike with fresh flowers, so you can angle your stems for the best oasis coverage. Never try to insert a stem with a leaf that goes into the oasis, this makes a very untidy hole which will be lose and the stem may fall out so take off any leaves near the stem you insert. Keep it tidy. Graduate the placements of the foliage cutting the lengths down for the design to keep compact in the desired shape, not straggly - keep looking at it from all angles and if you have a stem too long or short take out and trim it if too long or use in a central position for a bit of recession if too short.
The completed foliage should look something like this.
Dont worry about the back yet, we will do it last once we know if we need the clippings of foliage to fill any gaps once the roses are in place. If we do need to use them all then a bow can be placed at the back instead. So at this stage we keep otions open.
Now begin by placing an open rose in the focal position, normally near the centre and the lower third, this helps give the eye a focus on the design and the visual weight and balance will be achieved, Larger, more open or deepest coloured flowers are how to achieve a 'focal point' in any design. More buddy smaller delicate flowers are always used at the edges, if you wonder why, then one day, try it the other way round and see what it looks like. Dont take my word for it if you dont already know this. The 'visual balance' will not work.

Ive put a white board up behind the arragnement so I can see whats going on, its always a good idea to have a plain board behind your designs - sometimes if there are shelves, books or other parafernalia going on behind the item you are making it can be hard to get a good clear view. In the 1st pic ive begun to place the roses, buds to the outside, larger heads towards the middle areas, in the 2nd pic im showing that I hae placed a small piece of silk foliage between 2 rose heads as no rose heads should touch really, each flower should have its own space, so if 2 heads seem too close or tough, either cut one down or move it, or if you like the postition of them just add some foliage inbetween so they become visually separate. Makes a lot of difference actually.
Now that i know I have used all I need of the foliage, including the cut down stems of rose leaves of course, always make use of everything!! now I can look at the back. Start to fill in the visible oasis with the pieces of left over foliage, keep it short, its to go against a grave stone - this is one time when you really need to know where an item is being placed when your customer, or recipient gets it. Always ask where an item is going. In this case I know for a fact that the back isnt going to be on view so no items of interest need to go there. This may well be a totally different matter if it were to be going on a pedestal so always ask.
Check for gaps and complete the back.
Here is a side view of the finished arrangement. Not overcrowded but not skimpy, its always good to know when to stop. So many silk arragements end up crammed and unnatural, carefully placed items give a nicer result that just cramming them in, better for costing too of course.

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