Weekend Project! How to Perfectly Arrange Flowers

Meet one of SELF's Editorial Assistants, Alyssa. When's she not scoping out the latest pop culture trends for our Entertainment department, Alyssa can usually be found DIYing. We tap into her craftiness to find out what she's whipping up every week.

We may have lost an hour this past week, but we gained spring. (Or at least, we almost have!) There's no better way to ring in the season than adding fresh flowers to your home or apartment. I'm pretty bloom-obsessed, so through the years (and a little trial and error involving dead, smelly flowers), I've picked up several tips and tricks that make pulling together a proper arrangement a cinch. Follow these, and you'll be a veritable flower child before you know it.

Trim It

Always trim a fresh end for stems once you bring them home from the flower shop. Cutting the stem at an angle allows for more water to be absorbed into the flower. To keep your flowers alive as long as possible, you can continue to cut the stems on an angle every four days (they'll get progressively shorter, so make sure you keep a bit of length initially).

Tape It

If you're looking for a simple way to give your arrangements a professional look, look no further than your junk drawer. Use tape (yes, really!) to create a grid formation on the mouth of your vase to keep flowers evenly spaced and in formation. If you want to get really fancy-pants, pick up some florist tape (but you totally don't need to).

Arrange It

There are several tricks to arranging a gasp-worthy bouquet. First, always remove any stray leaves from the stems-a good rule of thumb is anything below the waterline (aka where you're filling the water up to in the vase) goes. Then, decide what look you're aiming for.

One of my favorite bouquet styles is a lot of one flower (in one color family as well) arranged in a vase. Pick a big guy, like a hydrangea bloom and let it take center stage in a vase by itself. Hydrangeas are needy-replace their water every day!

Another fun twist is quirky vases. I was gifted this little fishy as a housewarming present-I happen to think it's totally awesome. I put a small bundle of flowers in it and tied with a burlap string-it looks a little shabby-chic, and I love that! Another option is turning a light bulb into a hanging vase-and you need are pliers, a little patience and burlap string-SO cute.

If you're looking for a long-lasting minimal look, try sprigs of dried lavender and grass in vases (mason jars or old bottles that have been spray painted work perfectly!). They look natural and stylish-and you don't have to worry about them dying!

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