I don’t know about you, but as happy as I am to feel a tinge of coolness in the air, I’m also missing my summer BBQ’s something fierce! Who doesn’t love an outdoor gathering centered around good food and good company? We had our fair share of BBQ’s around the Handmade Charlotte studios this summer, leaving us with some heartwarming photos, lots of shared recipes and a good deal of leftover charcoal. Since we won’t be firing up the grill as much in the coming months, what to do with all that leftover charcoal? The answer is pretty obvious: we keep the party going the best way we know how!

Bet you didn’t know that charcoal serves a multitude of other purposes besides being a cornerstone of the quintessential summer BBQ! In fact, throwing a few lumps of charcoal in your fridge or freezer prevents foul odors from occurring. Breaking up a lump of charcoal and adding it to potting soil cultivates the perfect alkaline levels to keep your tropical orchid happy. And throwing in a few lumps of charcoal to the bottom of a vase will keep your indoor floral arrangement fresher, longer!

To test this theory, we decided to throw an intimate floral arrangement gathering for some of our closest friends and make the most of that bag of leftover charcoal.

• Several bundles of your favorite flowers
• Parchment paper
• Kitchen shears
• A vase proportional to your blooms
• Kingsford Charcoal

Step 1
Select your favorite blooms. We chose several bundles of flowers in the traditional fall color palette. Make sure you have a combination of floral blooms (your “face” flowers and “accent” flowers) and hearty greens (your “fillers”) to balance out your arrangement. Lay out a piece of parchment paper to use for staging.

Step 2
In a large bowl, or in your kitchen sink, place the ends of the stems you wish to arrange with. With the end submerged, clip to desired length using kitchen shears. Tip: clipping the ends at an angle underwater ensures that air isn’t the first thing the stem absorbs, and will allow for greater water intake into the stem!

Step 3
Before placing your stems in the vase, take an opportunity to clean off any foliage below the rim of the vase. Tip: cleaning off the foliage below the water line prevents extra bacteria from forming in the water, keeping your water cleaner for a longer period of time!

Step 4
Prepare your vase by filling it 1/2 way with water. Drop in a few lumps of charcoal. Tip: charcoal is porous and, therefore, absorbs the gasses of stems that may be decaying!

Step 5
One stem at a time, begin arranging your flowers in the vase, spinning as you go (to keep the arrangement from feeling one-sided). Display your bouquet somewhere focal in your home and enjoy your beautiful handiwork!

Take any leftover sprigs of greenery and add them to smaller vases to decorate around the house with. We loved these vintage pill bottles as tiny vessels!

For even more excuses to get together, check out Gather Now and get inspired for your next gathering!

 

This post is sponsored by Gather.