DIY floating camellia bowls: A tribute to my great-grandmother

In my childhood home, we had a few camellia bushes along the pathway to our front door. I have vivid memories of taking my first-day of school photo right in-front of the bushes, watching the pretty petals fall to the ground, and smelling them in full bloom around my birthday every late January.

But what I remember most about camellias, is the way my great-grandmother Olive used to arrange them. We called her “grandma O,” but my mom grew up calling her “skinny grandma.” I know…all of my cousins, siblings and I, STILL don’t understand how all of that came to fruition. Especially since their other grandma was named “fat grandma”…it had nothing to do with their size…my mom said they loved it! Haha! It’s weird but I guess kids say the darnedest things!

Back on track now…

My grandma O used to take her camellias and arrange them in bowls. I recently talked to my mom about this vivid memory and she said she has the same one. When my grandma O (or to her, skinny grandma) lived on Oxford Way she had an entire row of camellias growing down the side of her house. She did the same thing when she was a little girl. I love that this simple DIY continued into the next generation. I then grew up with floating camellia bowls around our home. And I loved it.

When Aaron and I bought our home (almost two years ago, WOW) I was sold when I saw the backyard filled with camellia bushes. It immediately felt like home.

As a tribute to my late grandma O, I wanted to share with you all this pretty little DIY…

The Essentials

bowls

water

camellias

I picked a couple different styles, colors and textures and even layered a few bowls in one. I then poured some water into the bowls and started placing the camellias where I felt they should go. I just love how incredibly simple, yet beautiful these are…