danielle torres - Prop Styling / Christmas

Dried Floral Christmas Tree

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I must have flowers always and always

- Claude Monet

There is a quiet beauty in the turning of flowers. Once vibrant and bold, when dried, flowers transcend into a muted understated palette. They produce a new breath of life, a renewed lasting presence. I've come to adore this metamorphosis. Each flower that enters my home is hung in admiration (often overtaking my kitchen) and either gathered and stored or placed throughout.

Last Christmas, after a last minute decision to buy a miniature tree on a weekend trip to Whole Foods, I was in search of what to decorate my tree with as I hadn't collected many ornaments over the years. It was then that I created my first floral tree out of one set of unused dried flowers I found on sale the previous year. For my 2nd annual floral tree, I created a proper plan. The weekend after Thanksgiving a friend and I road-tripped 30 mins out of Tampa to Dade City/San Antontio, FL to Lazy Lay Acres Christmas Tree Farm, and I cut my own tree(ee!). The following weekend I collected my flowers from the year and carefully filled my newly chopped tree amongst a string of copper LED lights. Simple, delicate, and understated.

Included flowers:

Lavender, eucalyptus, roses, peonies, wild flowers, and misc. bunches from Trader Joe's.

A practice drawing from a figure drawing class.

╱ All photos are my own.