Video:Make Your Own Prom Corsage

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Transcript:Make Your Own Prom Corsage

Hey guys -- Jonathon Stewart here for About.com. Looking to save a little dough on florist charges for your wedding or formal event? Or just feeling fancy and want to wear some flowers around the house? Either way, take a look at these tips on making your own corsage at home, and you'll be the belle of the ball. Check it out.

Supplies Need to Make a Corsage

To get started, you'll need a few essentials:

• several feet of green floral tape
• some soft-gauge florists wire
• wire snips, scissors
• some fern greens or baby's breath
• and of course, flowers

Oddly enough, most places where you can get flowers - like a florist - don't or won't sell you things like floral tape and wire. Instead, head to your local arts and crafts store, and you'll be in business. Even if you're starting completely from scratch, this whole outfit should cost you less than ten bucks.

Prepare the Corsage Flowers

Start by prepping the flowers you want to include in your corsage. Most any variety will do nicely, although roses, carnations, and nowadays even orchids are popular choices. Trim your flowers so that just a couple inches of the stems remain, and strip away any thorns or leaves.

Design the Prom Corsage

There's no limit to how many flowers you use in your corsage, although if you get up in the double digits you might not be able to see around it. As a good rule of thumb, odd numbers tend to work best - three, five, seven - although there are no laws out there I'm aware of.

Make the Prom Corsage

Next, cut about eight inches of wire for each of your flowers and, starting with the first one, poke a hole with your wire just below the head of the flower and feed it through, equal to a little longer than the stem, being very careful not to damage it. Carefully fold the wire down on both sides of the stem, and trim the excess with your wire snips. Next, take a length of your floral tape and, starting at the top, wind the tape around the two pieces of wire and the stem - you may have to stretch the tape a little for it to be fully adhesive.

You can also try poking the wire through the head of the flower itself, although you run a pretty big risk of wrecking the whole operation. Especially if you're all thumbs like me. Not even green ones.

Repeat wiring and taping with your other flowers and greens, then arrange them to your liking. Finally, secure them all together with another length of tape. Be sure to cover your wire ends so they won't poke you later - you might also try twisting them into a decorative tail. Adding different types of flowers and greens can mix it up nicely, and ribbons or bits of raffia can be great accents. Don't be afraid to browse through magazines or websites to find ideas for your perfect corsage.

Keep the Corsage Fresh

Corsages should remain fresh and pretty in your fridge for a day or two, especially if you spritz them with a little water regularly. But be sure to keep your corsage away from any produce, which might give off an ethylene gas which can reduce the life span of your flowers. Finally, don't forget to get some pins to attach your corsage, and have a blast.

Thanks for watching! To learn more, visit us on the Web at About.com.