We love seeing your custom creations. We see lots of commissions for 2D and 3D shapes and they can certainly present a challenge when it comes to carving custom shapes! But what if there was an easier way to create 3D shapes, using a more 2D format?
When we first started seeing photos from The Bloom Room in Cumbria, we were blown away by the unique 3D-effect Nicola was creating with her super-detailed custom shapes using flat OASIS® FOAM FRAMES® Ideal Floral Foam Designer Sheets. We just had to learn more about Nicola’s special technique, and she was kind enough to let us come to her shop in Millom to see step-by-step how she creates her incredible designs.
The amazing piece she made for us was a colossal 122cm x 184cm crown to commemorate the coronation.
1. Create the template
Draw your desired design out on some kraft paper to use as a template. Pin to the OASIS® FOAM FRAMES® Designer Sheet using OASIS® Mossing Pins. This design was so large we used two 61 x 92cm sheets and created the piece in two halves!
2. Score the outline
Trace the outside of the template and all of the lines, pressing down through the paper to score marks into the foam. Top Tip: Nicola used an old ballpoint pen that had run out of ink.
3. Cut out the background and remove
Use an OASIS® Floral Knife to cut around any areas that will be background in your design. Scrape out the floral foam from the background areas, exposing the hard backing board; we used a combination of a knife and a teaspoon!
4. Colour the background
Spray the recess areas to colour the background - we used OASIS® Easy Colour Metallic Gold inside the crown. For outside the shape, Nicola used a combination of different purples in OASIS® Spray Colour to give depth and shading to the background. Top Tip: it’s a good idea to cover surfaces with some scrap packaging when spraying large areas to prevent colouring your workspace.
5. Soak
Soak the OASIS® Floral Foam – although we’d recommend float soaking, this is not possible for really large shapes, so you can soak by gently and continuously pouring water - the foam will be a very dark green once completely saturated. We used the hose in The Bloom Room back yard!
6. Flower
Now you can start adding flowers and foliage! The outline of our crown was made with Cocculus leaves pinned in place. For the thistle we used purple Liatris and Grevillea leaves. The blue in the Union Flag was based in Hydrangeas, with red Roses for the red stripes. To create custom shapes, you can use white Chrysanths and then colour using OASIS® Spray Colour. Nicola uses a two-tone shading technique to create depth. For the daffodil she used yellow and orange, and for the shamrock she used two different shades of green.
7. Add details
Nicola uses pipe cleaners to add outlines and details that bring shapes to life.
Big thank you to Nicola for sharing her skills with us!
Since we revolutionised the world of floral design back in 1954 with the invention of our amazing water-absorbing floral foam, we've never stopped innovating, problem solving and trend hunting in order to provide exceptional products and outstanding service to professionals of the floral industry.
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