Artificial Decorative Flowers

Feathers

• Feather flowers make no attempt to look like the flowers in your garden. They form an interesting bouquet and wouldn't be out of place in modern decor. Feather flowers are made of duck, goose and ostrich feathers and may be dyed or left natural, and they're used for displays, as jewelry or to accessorize clothing.

Ribbon

• Ribbon roses are formed by folding over the ribbon and spiraling it into a rosebud shape. Narrow ribbon roses are used to decorate clothing, including baby clothes. Wide ribbon is formed into roses that are close to life size. The ends of the roses are tacked together with needle and thread so they don't come apart, and then they're covered with additional ribbon.

Glass Beads

• The art of beaded flowers may have originated in France as far back as the early 1500s, according to the Beaded Flower Website. These flowers resemble real flowers but are entirely made of beads, as if cut from a beaded cloth. Beaded flowers are formed by stringing the beads together on wire, then shaping them into flowers. Beaded flowers also make lovely jewelry and accessories.

Leather and Vinyl

• For unusual flowers, leather or vinyl is cut into petal shapes and then sewn together. However, arrangements of leather flowers for decorative displays on a table are not common. These types of flowers are used mostly for adorning clothing, accessories, handbags and shoes.

Faceted Crystal

• For faceted crystal flowers, the crystals are not strung together but rather assembled as the petals of the flowers, with each crystal serving as a petal. The bouquet is then formed by arranging the stems made of wire to form a star burst. These are fantasy flowers, not attempting to resemble the shapes of real flowers, and make unusual wedding bouquets.

Gemstones

• Gemstones might not be the first choice for decorative flower material, but gemstone flowers are breathtaking. Quartz, pearls and turquoise form the petals, while diamonds, rubies and sapphires are set in flower-shaped rings, bracelets and broaches, with emeralds forming the leaves. Carved slices of other gemstones such as amethyst and citrine are set as petals around a center of seed pearls.

Plastic

• If your home has a 1950s retro look, then plastic flowers will fit right in---just like plastic fruit was popular during that era. Vintage plastic flowers are available through antique shops, online auction sites and flea markets. Modern-day plastic flowers are used mostly for party decorations such as leis for a Hawaiian-themed luau.

Food

• Flowers made of spun sugar, chocolate and pulled sugar decorate cakes and cookies. Some sugar flowers look like blown glass flowers rather than a confection meant to eat. Fruits and vegetables are cut and carved to look like flowers and garnish dishes.