Books for Prep: Splendid Flowers for Every Day

Cindy Smith designs for the best of the best—including such top names as Bruce Springsteen, Nicole Kidman, and Oprah. But fortunately for those of us who don’t have their astronomical budgets, she also knows how to create out-of-this-world arrangements that real people can afford. With tasteful and stunningly photographed projects, Smith reveals how you can attain that elegant “star look,” too. The containers she uses are common ones—ceramic pots, glass vases, baskets, bowls, tea cups—and Smith teaches all the necessary tricks of the trade, including hot-gluing flowers to surfaces, using floral foam in containers, stringing flowers, and floating flowers. From amazing centerpieces to a floral birthday cake stand, from hanging votives with colored water to a tangerine topiary tree, each one is magnificent. Plus: Smith gives us an inside peek at luxurious celebrity events, with photographs.