How To Make A Flower Dog Arrangement

Carolyn J. Braden • 3 Minute Read 

How To Make A Flower Dog Arrangement

Years ago, I saw a cute white puppy dog flower arrangement on the 1-800-Flowers website. It’s called a-DOG-able in a Basket, and it is SUPER CUTE. Between that and my own cute fluffy white dogs, I knew I had to try to create my own version. It’d be cute for Valentine’s Day, a wedding centerpiece, or just because. Read on to learn how to make a flower dog arrangement.

My dogs, Johnny Cash and Minnie Pearl, inspire many of my creations

Some Flower Buying Tips For You and Special Events:

If you can’t make your own dog flower arrangement or just don’t have time, you can easily order one. The price of ordering flowers though usually deters me from doing it though. I know the flower arrangement prices are often fair (you have to pay the florist for their time and supplies) but the delivery fee is always what prevents me from sending them. And, sometimes the pre-made flower arrangements are just too much for my budget.

I love how my dog flower centerpiece turned out!

I often pick up flowers from local grocery stores, Sam’s Club or Costco because they are well priced and actually really great flowers! When I made wedding cakes, I would often supply my own flowers and put in orders for them with local florists or grocery stores. Whole Foods once helped me order tons of sunflowers and baby’s breath for a country themed wedding I did. See that wedding by clicking here.

Flowers make great gift ideas, but so do mini cupcakes! See our cute YouTube short video below or via my channel @carolynjbraden:

Even for my own wedding, my husband, family and myself potted flowers and herbs in terra cotta pots for our reception tables using things we got at Home Depot. Then, we had the guests take them home as a gift. We only ordered bouquets for my wedding party and boutonnieres. It definitely saved us money and actually looked gorgeous. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to have fabulous flowers! According to Better Homes and Gardens, you can try growing your own wedding flowers too to save money!

My version of a puppy flower bouquet

For my dog flower arrangement, I had to go to several grocery stores and florists to get exactly what I needed. I can usually always find white carnations at Whole Foods, but since I created this project the week prior to Valentine’s Day, everything was selling out fast. I ended up finding white carnations at a local florist and the pink and blush carnations at Sprout’s Market. Calling around first did help me locate the white carnations so I didn’t have to drive all over town. You could alternatively use artificial carnations too, which would make it last forever! If you do this, you do not need to soak the floral foam block in water.

See this project come to life via a one minute video below or via my YouTube channel @carolynjbraden:

Full Project Supply List For My Exact Dog Flower Arrangement:

  • 5.75” inch galvanized metal pail (I got mine at Walmart and it was about 8 inches wide and has a handle, but you could use a small basket too)

  • Block of floral foam (I used Oasis Forage Floral Foam from Amazon because it biodegrades in less than a year, making it a better choice for the environment)

  • Gallon size freezer bags

  • 4 white carnations

  • 1-2 dozen other color carnations (how many you need will depend on the size of the flower and the size of the container you used)

  • Black safety eyes and noses (I got a kit on Amazon but you could alternatively use pom poms or buttons)

  • 1-2 inch small bow (or you could just tie your own out of ribbon)

  • Knife for trimming the floral foam

  • Scissors or knife for trimming the flowers

  • Dual temp hot glue gun and glue (other glue types will work, but hot glue cures very fast)

  • Large bowl of water for soaking the floral foam

  • Optional: Fine mist water bottle

  • Note: You could alternatively use artificial carnations too, which would make it last forever! If you do this, you do not need to soak the floral foam block in water.

Time: This only took me about 20 minutes to put together

Directions:

1—Heat your glue gun to a low temperature and set aside.

How I measured my floral foam block

2—Trim your floral foam with a knife to fit in your bucket. I placed mine inside and made a mark on the block to cut it to fit. I had mine stand up inside the bucket, sticking over the top of the bucket about an inch or so. Mine cut easily with a kitchen knife.

I soaked my floral foam in water for about 8 minutes

3—Then place your trimmed floral foam into a large bowl of water. Allow it to soak and absorb enough water until it no longer floats.

The wet floral foam in the pail and freezer bag

4—Place the gallon sized freezer bag into the pail and place the wet floral foam into the bag. This will keep the water from leaking out of the pail.

The start of the dog flower arrangement

5—Select your first white carnation and trim its stem to about 4 inches. Careful place the stem into the floral foam until it is almost all the way in. This will be the head.

6—Trim three more white carnations to the same stem length. Place one into the foam under the “head” to form a “snout”, then place two more above the “head” to form the ears.

7—Place some hot glue onto two safety eyes and place on the “head”.

8—Place some hot glue onto a safety nose and place on the “snout”.

9—Place some hot glue on the bow and place between an “ear” and the “head”.

The puppy made out of carnations

10—Now start filling in the rest of the floral foam with the other colored carnations. I had mini carnations and regular sized ones and just started trimming their stems (all about the same length) and placing them where I felt they were needed.

Adding the blush and pink carnations

11- Fill in all the floral foam with carnations, front and back. I tucked the bag inside the bucket and placed flowers all the way to the edge of the bucket to hide it.

Add in as many flowers as you can to fill the area around the dog

To water: The foam will stay wet for days. If you want to water it after a few days, just carefully pour a bit of water onto the block in between the flowers. You can also mist the flowers lightly with a water bottle to keep them fresh.

The completed dog flower arrangement

I kept mine very simple, but you can add legs to your dog and give it a full body.

The back of the dog flower arrangement

You can use other types of flowers too. I loved how mine turned out and it matched my beachy-boho home décor perfectly too! If you created this project or something similar, let me know in the comments below!

My DIY dog flower arrangement

If you loved this article, we know you’ll love this one too: How To Make a No Sew Dog Tug Toy

 Carolyn J. (C.J.) Braden is a regular contributor and editor for Carolyn’s Blooming Creations. She has been featured in numerous media publications such as InStyle Magazine, on HGTV, on Bustle.com, and more. She is the author of the books Georgia McMasters in Amethyst Lake Cemetery, How To Be Yourself: 3 Ways To Help You Being You, and the illustrator for the children’s book Bridging Connections. She is a former classroom teacher that now dedicates her life to educating others on how to live their most healthy, creative and happy life. Learn more about her visiting our About Us page.