With beautiful stems of funnel-shaped flowers and delicate buds, freesia are a favorite for wedding flowers and bouquets. They range in color from white and yellow to pink, reds and purples, and when taped together with their buds, add great texture and visual interest to an arrangement. I love freesia buds peeking out between other flowers. Freesia can be used as a complete stem as shown, or you can use the flowers on their own as pretty fillers.
1. Roll a 1⁄4in (5mm) ball of green paste until smooth, then roll the bottom half of it into a tapered narrow cone, leaving a bulbous tip. Make the bud 1⁄2in (1cm) to 3⁄4in (2cm) in length.
2. Insert a hooked 28g wire into the base of the bud (see Getting Started) until the hook is in the middle of the widest part. Smooth the tapered end with your fingers to attach it cleanly to the wire. Let it dry. Make three green buds per freesia stem.
3. Roll a 3⁄8in (8mm) ball of white paste and roll the bottom half into a narrow cone with a bulbous tip, as before. Make the bud 3⁄4in (2cm) in length. Gently roll the top of the bud to taper it slightly.
4. Insert a hooked 28g wire to the base of the bud so that the hook is in the middle of the widest part. Attach it cleanly to the wire, as before.
5. Use a knife tool to make three indentations evenly spaced around the top of the bud. Let it dry completely.
6. Make the buds in graduated sizes ranging from 3⁄4in (2cm) up to 11⁄4in (3.2cm), so the stem will look like it has buds that are increasing in size before blooming into flowers. Make five white buds per freesia stem.
7. Cut the tips off six small white round stamens. Attach half-width white floral tape to the top end of a 26g white wire, wrapping tightly round three times (see Getting Started). Attach the six stamens to the wire by taping over the bottom 1⁄2in (1cm) of the stamens tightly, and using as little tape as possible to avoid bulkiness.
8. Using a small paintbrush, dab yellow gel color on the tips of the stamens. Let them dry before using.
9. Roll a 5⁄8in (1.5cm) ball of white paste.
10. Roll with your finger on one half of the ball to begin creating a cone shape, and press the bulbous end into your palm to begin a witch's hat.
11. Thin the paste that is the “brim” of the hat shape between your fingers to about 1⁄8in (3mm) leaving a 3⁄4in (2cm) wide neck.
12. Using a mini rolling pin, roll the brim of the hat to 1⁄16in (2mm) keeping the thickness even from the neck out to the edge.
13. Center the cutter over the neck and cut the flower shape.
14. Use scissors to make a small cut to the base of the neck between each of the petals to separate them.
15. On a foam pad, working on the inside of the petals, use a ball tool to gently lengthen the petals with about three strokes, making them about one third longer. Do not overstretch the petals or they will not hold their shape in the final flower.
16. Press into the center of the flower with a star tool, creating a 1⁄4in (5mm) opening.
17. Apply a small amount of glue to the taped center. Slide the wire down through the center of the flower until the tape is no longer visible.
18. Using your fingers, smooth the underside of the flower, maintaining a nice tapered shape, and securing it to the wire. Pinch off any excess paste and make sure to keep the bottom tip of the flower neat and clean. The final length of the neck should be between 1in (2.5cm) and 11⁄4in (3.2cm). Continue to step 19.
19. Hold the flower upside down and manipulate the petals with your fingers, shaping three of them so they are more closed around the stamens, and leaving the remaining three petals more open.
20. Hang the flower and let it dry completely. Make five flowers per freesia stem.
21. Dust kiwi green starting at the base of the flower going up about three quarters of the neck. Dust daffodil yellow over the top edge of the green dust and up underneath the flower petals.
22. Dust daffodil yellow in the flower center around the base of the stamens, and then cosmos pink on the top and bottom edges of the petals.
23. Dust the green buds all over with a mix of kiwi and moss green.
24. Dust the white buds in the same way as the flowers. Begin with kiwi green starting at the base of the buds going up about three quarters of the neck. Dust daffodil yellow over the top edge of the green dust and up underneath the widest part of the bud. Dust cosmos pink on the tips of the buds, leaving some white paste showing. Steam all of the flowers and buds for a few seconds (see Getting Started), and let them dry before using.
25. Lay out three green buds, five white buds and five flowers from the smallest to the largest size.
26. Using half-width green floral tape, attach the smallest green bud to the end of a 26g green wire, cut to 7in (18cm) length (see Getting Started).
27. Tape tightly down the wire to allow 1⁄4in (5mm) of space before adding the larger size green bud. Tape neatly at the base of the bud, covering the wire.
28. Continue adding all of the green buds and white buds in the same way, making sure the spacing between them is even and consistent. They should all be lined up on the same side like “birds on a wire”.
29. Attach the first flower slightly left of center, and the second flower slight right of center. This will allow the spacing at the base of the flowers to be consistent with the buds, allowing room for the open petals at the top of the flowers.
30. Tape the remaining three flowers by attaching the third flower in the center, the fourth flower slightly left again, and the final flower slightly right again. Tape all the way down the wires to create a single neat stem. Gently bend and shape the stem as desired.
