how to

daffodil dimension
This showcase of permanent daffodils entices customers with its vibrant colors and promise of spring.

Watering cans, terra-cotta pots, and bulb flowers and plants all are symbols of spring. Alert your customers to the coming season with this lighthearted display featuring playful daffodils (Narcissi).

A single prominent daffodil, created from foam-centered board that is spray painted a vibrant yellow, “grows” among permanent versions of the bulb flowers and is anchored with corsage pins to a homemade display pedestal that also is created from foam-centered board. The flower’s “foliage,” which is sprayed with hunter-green paint, is attached separately, enhancing the multidimensional look.

Brightly hued tin watering cans, some sporting fun polka-dot patterns, are “planted” with daffodils and placed at all levels in the display and accented by a larger hot-pink metal tub that features bunches of the cheery yellow blossoms. A wooden crate, turned on its end, supports a pair of watering cans while the bottom of the crate acts as a fencelike background for a trio of potted daffodils.

Although permanent daffodils are used here for window display purposes, fresh flowers and plants or a mix of permanent and fresh would work as well, especially in in-store vignettes. This display concept also can be adapted using other seasonal flowers and containers.

For instructions on how to construct a daffodil from foam-centered board:

MATERIALS: Large Narcissus Bundles, Daffodil Stems, Narcissus in Pot and Potted Daffodils from Melrose International; watering cans and tub from Mains Importing; Yellow and Hunter Green Colortool® Sprays from Design Master Color Tool; foam-centered board from craft store.

Design by Gary Wells, AIFD
 
How to make the daffodil:
Using the diagrams in these files (jpg, eps, psd) as a guide, cut the base of the flower and its center trumpet from a piece of foam-centered board. Spray the pieces yellow, and allow them to dry. Score the trumpet at 1-inch intervals with a craft knife, then press the blunt end of an ink pen into the scored lines to create furrows, making the foam-centered board easier to fold. Along the wider edge, cut 1/2 inch into each furrow to create tabs. Bend the tabs in an alternating manner, inward and outward. Encircle the trumpet piece into shape, with the scored and furrowed side facing inward.

How to make the pedestal:
Score a large piece of foam-centered board vertically down the center. Cut out "windows" on the left and right sides, following the diagram. Silhouetted leaves will remain on the right side. Carefully spray the leaves hunter green, using masking tape as a guide to ensure that the window frame remains white. Allow the paint to dry. Cut a triangular piece of foam-centered board for the top of the pedestal. Bend the pedestal base to a 45-degree angle at the scored vertical line. to create a base for the pedestal top, hot-glue small rectangles of foam-centered board inside and flush with the top edge. Hot-glue the triangular piece atop the pedestal base.

How to secure the daffodil to the pedestal:
Cut a slit through the center support of the pedestal base, just above the top leaf outline. Wedge the base of the daffodil into the slit so it is centered there. Secure the trumpet end-to-end around the pedestal leg with corsage pins.
 

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