Welcome to a new week everyone! How are you? I love summer because flowers are everywhere and super cheap to buy. I just picked up a bunch of Godetia from my favorite seller who has a weekly stand at the local farmers' market for only €5! You really can't go wrong with flowers that cheap. And godetia are nice because they last and as they expire, they open more and more and their paper-like beauty becomes even more spectacular. Mine still look gorgeous and it's been nearly a week, and I have them in the sunlight too (a mega no-no when decorating with flowers!). Would you like to see three ways to decorate easily with Godetia? Here is what I did with my bunch after plucking them from the market.

1. As a bunch. One easy way is to arrange them in your hand and remove some of the leaves on the lower portion of the stems that will be immersed in water. Tie the bundle with a pretty ribbon. In our book, Decorate With Flowers, we show another version of this on page 43 in the Pastels + Neons section - we simply have one ribbon tied around a single stem and placed into a vase. In the example here, I'm taking it a step further to show an entire bundle. This is such an easy-not-cheesy idea because it's obvious you put thought into it, choose the ribbon, propped them nicely on an angle in a vase (never upright!), so it looks casual and cool. It's like you are saying to the world that you're such a decorating diva, such a total bad ass, that you don't need to fuss with your flowers - you just tie 'em and plop 'em in a clear glass vase! Boho chic.

2. In small cups. I bought these Arne Jacobsen cups last May at Raumformplan when I was working with Leslie on our book. We use these same cups in our book in the Black + White section showing how to decorate for an anniversary party - you know, XOXO, kisses and hugs? Yeah, I'm clever like that. Anyway, I like how the godetias look in something modern and graphic, especially since they are so paper-like and romantic. I like the contrast of hard and soft, don't you? Against a gray table or on a dark bookcase - really nice.

BONUS TIP: If you don't have Arne Jacobsen cups, then just use white cups and grab some black (or any color) washi tape and make your own letters or designs on them.

3. Tape 'em to the window. And the third way is to use washi tape and tape these suckers to your window during a party. You can tape dozens and dozens and go crazy over-the-top borderline nutcase or be modest like me and tape 3, 5, 7, 9... Whatever makes you happiest.

BONUS TIP: They'll die faster without water (duh), so the best way is to tape them up right before the party starts and remove them at the end - they'll go about 8 hours before wilting. When you remove them, instantly clip the bottoms and place them in cold water with a little sugar in it to liven them up. A little sugary cold water is flower Viagra, y'all.

So yeah, those are some easy, budget-friendly and fun little ways to decorate with flowers... Nice, right? You don't need to drop wads of cash on flowers or style up something florist-worthy at home. The key is to get creative and do things that take only a few minutes yet add impact and style that gives  you a chance to get creative and use your hands. Once you start decorating with flowers in easy, creative ways you will never go back to the typical pre-made arrangement plopped into a vase. I swear! You'll really love getting creative with blooms if you give yourself the creative license to just GO FOR IT and not to fuss too much or try to be some flower guru with all the right decor ideas.

They key, like with anything intimidating or new, is to JUST GET STARTED and take the first step. So why not go buy some flowers this week and see what magic you can create? This isn't rocket science you guys, we're not putting people on Mars... This is simply exercising the creativity you were born with and having some fun without judgement or having to be perfect because how boring is perfect anyway? I'm so over it.

Do you like Godetia? Have you seen it in your local flower shop or farmers' market lately?

Love flowers? If you want to see how I Decorated With Delphiniums last week, then by all means, check out this post. I also showed a few weeks before how to Decorate with Roses that I found clipped ready to be discarded at a local garden and I also shared how to Decorate With Anemones last month in another post here.

(images: all by holly becker for decor8 except for image 6, shot by thorsten becker)