Faux Floral Arrangement

I love fresh flowers, but I do not love paying for them weekly, so I decided to make an arrangement that would last a little longer! With coupons and a little hunting around, I saved, and this will definitely be cheaper in the long run than if I had decided to get real flowers often.

I used:

- Three faux peonies from Jo Ann Fabrics, purchased with a coupon, cut down with pliers, 

- Small glass vase from Michaels because Joanns didn't have any close to the size I wanted. 

- Acrylic water kit, purchased on Amazon, but also sold at craft stores 

The kit comes with a tray to mix in, a Popsicle stick to mix with and two bottles of liquid: epoxy resin and acrylic water. 

I mixed the epoxy resin with the acrylic water for roughly two minutes, until the mixture was totally clear. Both liquids looked clear individually, but there was sort of a silky look when they were added together. I will also note here that I expected the mixture to have a strong smell, but it barely had a scent at all. 

Once mixed into the little tray, I poured the liquid into the vase and added my flowers. Tiny bubbles appeared and so I mixed with the Popsicle stick for a little bit. It seemed to help and the bubbles don't really bother me anyway. Water  bubbles sometimes, right? 

It said that it would take 24 hours to set, so in case the flowers shifted, I took precautions and put something on top to keep it in place and centered. 

I touched the outside of the glass at one point and it was super hot. I'm guessing some sort of reaction was happening. 

I think I would have left the stems just a little longer because with the one vase stacked on the other to make sure the stems were centered, it pushed the flowers down maybe a little further down than I would have liked. 

I am pleased with the end result. The light in the apartment is so bad, so I took this picture outside (duh) since I'd put everything else together at night. It wasn't a difficult thing to make, and any addition of flowers seems to freshen things up, so I'm glad I've added this to my living room!