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By Renzo Gonzalez

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A brief history of floral design

People have been using flowers in design since time immemorial; symbols of life, freshness and the season of spring, these colorful blossoms have been incorporated into arts and crafts for as long as people have created it.

The bright hues and varieties of flowers have always attracted humans. The ancient Egyptians arranged them in decorated golden pottery, Greeks garlanded them around the heads of the renowned and medieval Eurasians used stylized floral patterns in manuscripts and rugs. The floral movement peaked in France, and influences are seen everywhere: intricate gardens, graceful lines, pastel colors, and the famed fleur-de-lis. Even today, people can’t seem to escape flowers’ charms; from formal event décor to passing trends, natural blooms are still common sights in today’s modern world.

People’s attraction to flowers isn’t anything surprising. Vivid and numerous, many are drawn not just by their fragrant scent or pretty petals but by the symbolic connotations many are attached to. There is a flower for almost anything you can think of—roses for love, lilacs for innocence, birds of paradise for joy. You can even see them in any setting, from weddings to funerals to religious holidays.

With springtime at our doorstep, the season is perfectly floral, both in nature and in style, especially here in Hawaii where winters are only wetter summers. As such, we here at the Trojan Times have prepared some special craft ideas to add some extra spring to this season. Check out the links on the right for Editor-in-Chief Shan Yonamine’s flower projects. Design Editor Jessica Fontenot has also compiled a list of craft blogs if you want to see some more ideas:

Top 5 websites for DIY and floral crafts

• SheKnows
  This site is popular, and its DIY section is chalk-full of seasonal crafts. This is recommended because of the easy and clear step-by-step picture instructions for each craft.

• MakeandTakes
  This blog seems like it’s made for stay-at-home mothers, but some of their crafts for kids are pretty cute as well as useful. They also have different sections for unique food recipes and useful crafts for your home that are easy to follow.

• Today’s Creative Blog
  The Creative Blog not only has tons of season crafts in her tutorial section, but the administrator, Kim, also provides links full of other ideas and tips from other blogs.

• Creature Comforts
  This personal blog not only has a DIY section, but lists of crafts stores to visit and tons of inspiring craft ideas and projects as well as unique recipes. You can also look for certain posts based on color.

• Jewelry Making
  A collection of posts made by other bloggers, this blog archives many DIY crafts and seasonal ideas or projects. This blog, managed by Valerie Silverthorne, has categories of nearly any craft that can be made at home.

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What flower are you? Managing Editor Cyanne Ito’s made a cute little quiz based off the language 0f flowers that can tell you which blossom represents you the best.

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Smarts and Crafts

Check out Editor-in-Chief Shan Yonamine’s post on flower preservation methods, video on a DIY flower arrangement and other craft-related blog posts. [/box]

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Give your flowers a creative and modern twist with these DIY duct-tape creations by News Editor Kim Yamaguchi.

Sunflower

For the brown center see the instructions for the rose. The petals are much like the calla lily in that they also have a wire inside to keep their shape. Instead of cutting such a large petal, cut shorter thinner petals. Take the petals and tape them around the rose base.

Rose

Start with colored duct tape of your choice. Cut the tape into 2” by 2” pieces. With the square of tape, fold one corner over so that the corner you are folding has a border of half an inch on each side, leaving a small strip of sticky adhesive visible. Fold the sticky side over so that there is a triangle of folded tape just above the last visible side of adhesive. Simply wrap the triangle pieces around a straw until the rose is your desired size.

Calla Lily

Wrap a toothpick with yellow duct tape. Tape the end of the toothpick to a straw. Make a 4” by 6” sheet of white duct tape. Place a small wire between the two sheets. With the completed white piece, cut it into the shape of a petal. Wrap the petal around the point where the toothpick meets the straw and tape it in place with green tape. Wrap the remainder of the visible straw with green duct tape. [/box] [/twocol_one_last]