ABOUT OUR FLOWERS
Grace & Eden florals are made to the highest standard using the finest materials. All flower heads and leaves are handmade with hand painted fabric that varies across our collection. Our roses for instance are made from a synthetic material such as polyester, some of our peonies have a latex outer coating to ensure they look and feel as realistic as possible. In other cases, silks are used however we are limiting the use of silk material as the edges can be prone to fraying and therefore not as authentic looking.
All of our flowers have malleable wire stems running down the centre and then a plastic outer coating. The internal wire fitting is to enable flowers to be bent and molded into the perfect arrangement position, something we encourage our customers to do if they feel confident to play with their arrangements.
MAINTENANCE
Overall, little maintenance is required but to ensure the faux flowers remain fabulously fresh we have a few tips for you. A cool blast of air (cold and slow setting on your hairdryer) will blow any settled dust away or alternatively a wipe down with a clean damp cloth or baby wipe will do the trick. It is worth knowing that white petals show up dust more so than other darker coloured flowers.
The ‘real touch’ petals require a little more attention especially for the lighter colored petals where dust can be more visible. We recommend gently fanning with a cold hairdryer rather than using a wet cloth for these materials.
To keep your flowers looking gorgeous, we recommend avoiding prolonged exposure to direct sunlight or moisture as this can cause the colour to fade. Also, avoid positioning your flowers directly above a hot radiator or heat source as this could affect the integrity of the material.
PLACING FLOWERS & FOLIAGE IN WATER
Placing your stems in water is a great way of making your display look as realistic as possible. Also, for mixing in with other fresh flowers or foliage. We would however only recommend doing this for short periods of time (a couple of days) and then fully drying out after each time they are placed in the water. This is to avoid discolouration of the stem.
For some of the stems, we pre-cut them for delivery purposes as stems can be unnecessarily long. In this case, ends can be re-sealed using clear PVA glue or even clear nail varnish. This can protect the ends especially if you are planning to display them in water.
DISPLAYING YOUR ARRANGEMENTS AND STEMS OUTSIDE
The durability of each flower and foliage varies across our collection. While not designed to specifically tolerate all weather conditions (long exposure to extreme sunlight or rain). We recommend for specific outdoor use, to contact us at info@graceandeden.co.uk before ordering so we can assist you in selecting the correct flowers for this.
CUTTING THE STEMS
Some stems are easier than others to trim. In all cases, we recommend using wire cutters however if you do not have any, strong garden scissors may suffice. For the thicker stems, we recommend making a cut with a wire cutter and manipulating and moving the stem back and forth to help break the wire.
FLOWER PACKAGING
Arrangements
Your arrangement will arrive carefully packaged within a double walled cardboard bouquet box, designed specifically to support your flowers in delivery. The stems will be securely tied with ribbon and wrapped in luxury wrapping.
Bunches and single stems
Bunches or single stem orders will arrive in a double walled cardboard box, designed especially for longer length stems. Faux stems are wrapped in our luxury tissue paper and supported with ribbon. Stems may be bent to fit inside the box securely and can be easily straightened or trimmed as you wish.
Please note – the bunches do not come handtied or arranged.
Our finest quality stems are lovingly arranged and handtied. The stems will be trimmed to a consistent length to fit a vase of between 24-26cm in height. This will enable them to be ready for displaying or to be trimmed accordingly to fit your desired vase. Once they have found a home in a vase, we recommend cutting the ribbon to let the stems fall naturally. Last minute tweaks of stems maybe required to ensure the perfect finish for your needs.
DISPLAYING YOUR STEMS
Some arrangements are designed to be front facing (180 degrees) with focal flowers positioned accordingly. This information is stated on the product page. 360 degree arrangements are designed for exposure all around such as displays positioned on a kitchen island.
The typical lifespan of artificial flowers is 5-10 years depending on their surroundings and care.
We recommend vases with a narrow neck to be the most well suited for artificial stems. Smaller neck sizes not only support the stems more securely but means you do not need a large number of stems to fill the vase. With our realistic looking stems, glass or transparent vases can be used and water added if you wish, otherwise opaque vases are ideal for hiding leaves or bent stems. The material of your chosen vase is a personal preference.
TOP STYLING TIPS
With stems designed to bend, you may wish to display the flowers in an opaque vase so that they can be straightened out and used again in taller vases in the future. Bending the stems gives you the flexibility of using the stems again and again.
The stem just below the flower heads can also be bent into position or angled. This is particularly useful with larger heads such as Hydrangeas, Peonies and Dahlias.
For permanent arrangements, we recommend removing the lower leaves of the stems like you would when arranging fresh flowers.
When trying to find the vase of the perfect height it is important to consider proportion. Common floristry wisdom varies here, some prefer flowers to stand 1.5 times the height of the vase, whilst others will say 2.5 times. This depends on the overall size/shape of the vase (taller thinner vases vs smaller rounded vases) and also on the flowers themselves. As a good rule of thumb, we recommend the flowers should stand 1.5 times the height of the vase.
BENEFITS OF FAUX FLOWERS
Faux florals come with many benefits including;
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