Texas Christmas Past

I found a couple of photos from two years ago when we last spent Christmas in Texas. Here is a pair of bouquets I did for the dining room mantel, and another tall arrangement I did for the living room. Both have white lilies, two types of red carnations, and from my husband's family ranch in the hill country- Texas cedar branches. Over the mantel is a plein air painting of a classic Texan landscape of rolling hills, prickly pears and oak trees.

To heighten the living room arrangement, I used floral wire to attach a few long stems to the upper parts of the branches. For vase arrangements, I use a grid of floral tape across the top of the vase to act as a "frog." I put the branches and greenery in first, and finally the flowers. Unfortunately, when I took the photos, I used the flash and an unsteady hand.