"On Sale" is a Must
Floral Arrangements
I have always said that I have “million-dollar taste” on a “hundred-dollar budget.” Due to this, finding things on sale “is a must!” Not only can I not afford to pay full price for many of the beautiful things I see, but I also derive a tremendous amount of gratification from being able to make them myself while saving a great deal of money! I am always on the “lookout” for new ideas, and I often find them when I least expect to. Every now and then, something just jumps off the page of a magazine, or I see something in a little shop that catches my attention…and then the process begins. (See my “copy cat” techniques in “Tricks of the Trade.”)
I have made floral arrangements all my life, and when I have made them, there were usually specific reasons, such as having an “empty spot” on the center of my dining room table, needing a centerpiece for a holiday dinner or a special event, or helping out a friend who also had million-dollar taste on a hundred-dollar budget. Regardless of the reason or circumstance, I have always enjoyed making floral arrangements. So, for me, saving money has always been not only a necessity, but also a challenge and a “rush.” I love to create beautiful things, or re-create a beautiful thing that is the result of someone else’s innovative talents. Re-creating the item is the challenge, and saving money is the rush.
Many years ago, I acquired a Retail Merchant’s License, because for a short time, I was making arrangements, wreaths, and other items that I sold. By having exposure to wholesale prices, I learned that a good retail sale can often match, or even beat, the prices I paid with my license. When buying wholesale, you usually have to buy in rather large quantities, and when doing occasional, personal projects, wholesale just doesn’t pay off. (An exception to this was when I did the flowers for my son’s wedding, and when I did that, wholesale was the way to go due to the large quantities of flowers and supplies that I needed.)
Since my Retail License-days, my rule of thumb has been that I will buy no floral stems unless they are at least 30% off, and I only buy them at this discount if I am facing a time restraint on when the arrangement must be finished; in other words, I can't wait for the sales. If there is no time restraint, however, 40% off is the minimum discount I must find in order to make my purchases. If it is more than 40%, all the better; and that is when I stock up on what I call my “staples” (fills, mosses, and neutral stems that I can use in a variety of future projects.) I also take advantage of sales when I purchase such supplies as glue sticks, wire, floral tape, containers, base materials (Styrofoam, Sahara, and Oasis), etc. Even at sale prices, these items add up quickly, and comprise hidden costs in the arrangements I make.
It always amazes me that florists and shops can get by with charging such exorbitant prices for some things when I know they bought all the materials at wholesale prices, and they were usually created in a very short time by an employee who was being paid a minimal amount of money per hour. I am a big proponent of “business for profit,” and I do not begrudge someone for making a “buck,” but the bottom line is that in order to have top-quality, high-end arrangements in my home, I just plain can’t afford to pay for their services: Therefore, I make them myself….and sometimes I even like mine better!
An example of high-profit items that stand out in my mind are wedding-pew bows. Remember, the florists are buying the ribbon for pennies on the dollar, and they (or their employees) can make those bows in a matter of a few minutes. You can do it, too, (see How to Make a Bow) and by doing it yourself, you can be assured that the bows are “just the way you want them,” and you are not paying a fortune for some else to make them when you can make them yourself.
I have found that I can sometimes save money through Internet shopping. I am a bit insecure in buying some items, such as floral stems, over the Internet because I want to see them in person, not just in a picture, but I have found a way to solve that problem. If time allows, I often shop the stores to find items I like, then I jot down the item information and head home to my computer. By entering the item information into a Google Search, I sometimes find the same item at a cheaper price. (If you do this, be sure to check on shipping charges before determining whether the Internet purchase is worth it.) Also, if you find a good deal on the Internet, try this for another potential savings: Before you finalize your purchase, open another browser, and enter something like, “name of store promotional codes coupons” into a Google Search. You might get lucky and find a code to enter that will get you an additional discount, or at least free shipping. (I do this for all Internet purchases, and sometimes it pays off.)
Another true money-saving practice is to buy your items out of season. The sales that occur in stores and on the Internet after the holidays or at the end of a season can be phenomenal, then you can buy for mere pennies on the dollar. Let’s see…discounted materials, free labor…what more can you ask for?
In addition to store and Internet sales, coupons are blessing when making arrangements on a budget. I sign up for coupon mailing lists, snip coupons from the newspaper, and elicit coupons from my friends when I am planning to make purchases for a project. I also make sure that my close friends and family members, who are not even interested in craft projects (like my husband), are signed up for coupon mailings, then I reap the benefits! I don’t call it being “cheap,” I call it being “thrifty.”
As a final example of doing projects on a budget, the materials alone for the 36” red wreath I made after Christmas this year (click here to see it) would have retailed for over $150, and that does not include labor. I paid about $40 for these materials at after-Christmas sales and I got high-quality items for which I could never justify paying full price. By shopping for bargains, I never compromise quality, and I can afford to make projects that I truly enjoy.
- Arranging Roses
- DIY Flower Designs\
- Hot Glue & Other StickyStuff
- On Sale is aMust
- The Foundation of the Thing
- Tricks of the Trade
- Quality vs. Quantity
- Say No to Plastic:
- Silk, Dried, or Preserved?
- What Supplies Do INeed?
