Do It Yourself Puppy Bouquet for Valentine's or Any Time!

I wanted to get my husband one of those adorable fresh flower bouquets that are made to look like puppies or dogs. I think either the Japanese or South Korean florists invented these a few years ago. Ever since, I've wanted one.

I called the places advertising them online - and always the same response - "No florists in your area make those," or "Those are not available."

Wah!

I also wanted to make a bouquet for our veterinary hospital. They are the best vets I have ever encountered, and I have lived all over and dealt with literally dozens of veterinarians over the decades. These guys are the best, combining kindness with 100 percent accuracy in diagnoses and excellence in surgery - all at low prices. 

What to do? I just HAD TO HAVE those puppy bouquets to give out!

I decided to make my own.

1-2 bouquets, with at least 12 blooms of the same size, color, and type
Bowl or short vase
Florists' "Wet Foam" brick or block
Animal Eyes, such as Bear Eyes from craft store like Hobby Lobby
Animal Nose, or black pompom or black Sharpie if using a daisy
Optional: Dog Bow for ear
Optional: Spanish Moss or Sheet Moss to help cover the foam


I tried to find a Youtube video, but there was not much there in terms of Do It Yourself. But there was enough to get the general idea. So here are some instructions on how to make a puppy bouquet:

I got out a small bowl and a block of "wet" florists' foam (from Walmart). I soaked the foam in water, cut it bigger than the bowl,  and pushed it into the bowl. It's the kind of foam that comes dried, but absorbs lots of water and yet is soft enough to stick stems into, cut with a butter knife, and hold blooms at any angle desired.

Then I bought a bouquet featuring white daisies, mainly, and some other blooms as well. I really needed carnations or white pompom mums, but I was working against the clock (having gotten the idea late). I knew I needed at least 12 blooms of the same color and type and approximate size.

Dang! Daisies grow in bunches on long stems, with many of the blooms on SHORT stems. Yikes! I didn't realize that. I thought they were all on individual stems. So it was a bit hard to make the puppy using so many short stems.

If you try this, too, get a bunch of flowers that have greenery in them, or just get an extra bouquet of greenery such as ferns or salal leaves.

I stuck the daisies in to form the head (using a clump of them all growing from a single stem), then stuck in some more (growing on longer stems) at the sides of the "head" for the "ears." Then I stuck the "paws" in to make it look like the puppy's front legs were kind of overhanging the bowl.

I put in a very small, unopened red daisy to be a "tongue" at the side of the mouth.

THE PUPPY IS REALLY JUST A HEAD-EARS-FRONT LEGS design.

I placed some green Spanish Moss in the chest area, to cover up the foam block. That's where some greenery would really have come in handy, to put green fronds all around, as if the puppy was coming out of a bed of ferns or salal leaves.

I put longer stems of other flowers and of colored daisies in the back. Ideally, KEEP THE PUPPY using all one color (such as white or pink), and then DON'T USE THAT COLOR anywhere else. My puppy blended into the light-colored "filler" daisies a bit too much.

I couldn't get my hands on something called "Floral Glue." It's what the professional florists use to glue on the fake eyes and nose. So, I used my good old "Fast Grab" Aleene's glue and glued some bear eyes (sorry, teddy bear, for stealing your eyes) onto the centers of daisies where the dog's eyes should go. Then, lacking a nose (OMG, no nose!), I colored in the center of a daisy with a black Sharpie. A black pompom would have been good, but I couldn't find one.

I finished the dog bouquet off with a little pink bow put over one "ear." My dog is happy to see a bow leave the house - she is not one for bows, but I love her to wear them!

I think it came out okay for an amateur attempt, lacking some vital parts!