In direct contrast to last week’s post about big dreams and world-class gardens, this post features a very simple idea―floral cones.
Tucking a bunch of flowers into a paper cone isn’t news ―in fact, it isn’t even all that interesting! But taking a super simple, ordinary, everyday idea and finding ways to switch it up into something fresh, innovative and special is an entertaining challenge.
The resulting deluxe floral cones may be just the thing for your spring time flower bouquets―whether it’s dressing up your Easter decorations, creating a May Day door bouquet, or presenting Mother’s Day flowers with flair.
It’s common practice in the floral industry to wrap fresh cut flowers in cone-shaped sleeves―usually made of cellophane or paper―to hold the flowers erect and show off the blooms while simultaneously keeping the stems in water. Flower sleeves are visible in this display at the Amsterdam flower market.
Shown below, fresh cut flowers at the Atlanta State Farmer’s Market are wrapped and displayed in cone-shaped, clear cellophane flower sleeves also referred to as “flower bouquet bags”.
Cut flowers in European open-air markets, like this one in Munich Germany, are wrapped in a similar fashion although usually in paper rather than cellophane.
Sometimes, as I saw in this flower market in Ghent Belgium, flower sleeves are color-coordinated to accent the floral arrangement.
Some flower bouquets are so nice they even look good wearing a paper bag! Actually, these flowers from a local Georgia grower, were artfully displayed in a basic, brown paper, flower sleeve.
The ubiquitous flower sleeve was the jumping-off point for this week’s Deluxe Floral Cones. I started by considering how they could be used to display individual flower blooms or mini-bouquets. Small floral water tubes could be hidden inside to provide water. The cones could be hung vertically, laid horizontally or propped up for a vertical display. The cones could provide support to the blooms making them particularly useful for flowers which have fragile stems like these violets…
… or drooping blooms like these wisteria racemes…
… or short stems with delicate blooms like these Lady Banks roses.
The next consideration was size and shape. A typical flower sleeve is about 22” high x 14” wide at the top and 5” at the bottom―it’s a truncated cone meaning the tip of the cone is removed. The deluxe floral cones, on the other hand, are smaller with the cone tip intact. This image shows the shape of a typical flower sleeve (reduced by 50%) beside a 4.5” square floral cone. The revised size and shape are well suited to its intended use.
A quick online search revealed a number of variations on this design. Here are a few examples.
After some trial and error, I discovered selecting the right material for the cone is a bit of a Goldilocks situation―it must be light enough to roll (or fold) into the desired shape but heavy enough to hold its shape. Regular printer paper, polyester crafting felt and cotton fabric are too limp. Cardstock, felted wool, handmade paper, cotton fabric (reinforced with fusible interfacing) and natural cork fabric are ideal. Most cardboard and box board is too heavy.
Predictably, the final step was the most fun―zhuzhing up the new design. There are many options for adding interest to a deluxe floral cone. Simply switching up the cardstock―from plain brown to patterned pink, as illustrated below―makes a big difference. 
Using ribbon, as a loop for hanging the cone and/or as decorative trim, adds interest, depth and texture. For instance, I used handmade paper to make this cone, deliberately leaving the natural rough edges of the paper visible. Then I threaded narrow, purple, satin ribbon around the belly and tied a small, simple bow. This deluxe floral cone was the perfect way to display a delicate posey of sweet violets.
Another option is to make the cone from something unexpected such as natural cork (which can be purchased by the yard through fabric stores). The texture and depth of the resulting deluxe floral cone contrasts nicely with the smoothness of the pretty white ribbon. I filled the cone with gorgeous wisteria racemes. 
Popping the cone into a champagne flute makes a real statement. 
I’d like to wrap up with my most elaborate version. This deluxe floral cone is made from felted wool which I embroidered and decorated with ribbon. It looks great filled with yellow Lady Banks roses.
I started with a 4 ½” square of felted wool (please note this is “felted wool”―not “wool felt”). Then I copied a pretty spiral design onto tissue paper. I clipped the tissue paper design to the felted wool and embroidered it with a simple running stitch in teal-colored embroidery floss. It was easy to tear away the tissue paper after the stitching was complete.
Next, I trimmed the top edges into a simple, scalloped design and finished the two bottom edges with a blanket stitch. Then I brought the blanket-stitched edges together, rolling the felted wool square into a cone, and used a whip stitch to attach the edges. By cutting a few small holes in the felted wool, I was able to insert some colorful, teal-colored ribbon for a hanger and decorative bow.
Each of the cones I made is a little different―here’s a closer look.
I hung a set of deluxe floral cones from a bare branch to showcase this series of mini-bouquets.
More Info
Previous blog posts mentioned in this blog post include:
. Jim Gibbs Dreams Big.
The following books and articles were consulted in the writing of this blog post:
. Favors with Flair book by Mary Lynn Maloney which is available here on Internet Archives
. Roses for the Scented Room book by Barbara Milo Ohrbach which is available here on Internet Archives
. Modern Paper Crafts book by Margaret Van Sicklen which is available here on Internet Archives
. Various listings on Etsy.
Today’s Takeaways
1. Taking a super simple, ordinary, everyday idea and finding ways to switch it up into something fresh, innovative and special is an entertaining challenge.
2. It’s common practice in the floral industry to wrap fresh cut flowers in cone-shaped sleeves.
3. Floral cones can be used to display individual blooms or small bouquets of flowers.
