This week we’re all about enlightening you on ways to celebrate Shavuot straight from your home. One may remember Shavuot as a commemoration of when the Jewish people received the Torah at Mt. Sinai, becoming a single entity, the Jewish nation.
Aside from learning and studying Torah and remembering this milestone, there are many mitzvoth that go along with the holiday centered around family life and one’s household.
We shared with you the custom of eating dairy and ideas on how to make that a fun activity. Today, we bring to you yet another custom that can turn into an entertaining afternoon plan, that is decorating your home with flowers for Shavuot.
This tradition arises from the flowers and greenery that bloomed on the grounds of Mt. Sinai when G-d blessed the Jewish people with the Torah. The land became fertile and blossomed with colors. In remembrance of this, every Shavuot we should try to recreate that botanical beauty within our homes.
To provide our readers with the best tips on florals straight from the expert herself, we partnered with floral artist, Leslie Attias. Leslie is the founder and creator of @Petaliabyleslie, a Miami-based floral arrangement and design company.
Leslie hand designs arrangements tailored to the requests and tastes of her clients, and today she gives us a quick tutorial on how to brighten up our spaces with a sophisticated floral arrangement. She also taught viewers how to put together a beautiful floral centerpiece using a Menorah by Apeloig Collection.
Just like Judaica, accessorizing your home with flowers is a timeless tradition, but both Leslie and Apeloig Collection can agree on the fact that traditions are not to be kept in the past, but rather can be modernized through design.
We invite you to read along for some advice Leslie shared with us during her tutorial on how to prepare a contemporary arrangement from the comfort of your home.
- Analyze the space where you will position your floral arrangement and select your flower colors based on what colors you want to complement that space.
- Choose a focal flower (e.g. Protea Pincushion)
- Choose a strong support flower (e.g. Garden Roses) and greenery as a base
- Choose a few pieces with character to toss around as floater pieces (e.g. Ranunculus)
- Properly condition flowers with water and flower food as soon as you get home. Cut the stems when you arrive and immediately before putting them in vase.
- Select a vessel that accentuates the flowers you’ve chosen (e.g. a compote)
- Use floral foam to support your arrangement. Cut the oasis to fit your vase, soak it in water, and leave it in water until it’s soaked.
- Your tallest branch should be 1.5x the height of your base.
- Position your branch or foliage in the form of an inverted triangle to give horizontal and vertical presence.
- Add these branches first and then position the focal flowers. Before cutting the stem of the focal flower determine the length you want the blooms to sit. Don’t forget to remove the lower leaves, especially if not to be featured in your set up.
Floral arrangement using a Menorah as a vase
Once Leslie finished her arrangement in the compote, she put together a second floral design in an Apeloig Collection Menorah. You know how much and how often we love using our Menorah for this purpose, and we’re proud to see that Leslie the pro enjoys this multifunctional piece as a vase as well!
We take pride in how easily and quickly you can put together a floral centerpiece using one of our Judaica products. You don’t need to be an expert to set this up, here’s how:
- Put water in each candle holder
- Place your preferred flowers and/or branches with their stems in each hole.
Talk about multifuncion!
We’d love to see the designs you come up with and how your creativity flourishes this Shavuot! Follow @petaliabyleslie for more inspiration.
