IT'S BY U is a DIY flower arranging kit subscription service. They send the vase style of your choice along with flower arranging tools in your first shipment followed by new flowers and custom instructions weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly.
My Subscription Addiction paid for this box. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
This review is of the French Country style subscription starter kit and monthly subscription.
About IT'S BY U
The Subscription Box: IT'S BY U
The Cost: $59.00 a month (or $49.00 per week for weekly shipments, $55.00 every other week for bi-monthly shipments)
The Products: A one-time starter kit shipment with vase and flower arranging tools and fresh-cut flowers with arranging instructions delivered on the schedule of your choice.
Ships to: Continental U.S.
IT'S BY U Starter Kit and Flowers May 2018 Review
My first shipment from IT'S BY U came in two deliveries. The first box was delivered by USPS and included a ceramic vase, flower cutting scissors, and a wooden expandable ruler. The shipment also included an enthusiastic info booklet that let me know more about my starter kit and that my flower shipment would arrive soon. The starter kit has a listed value of $50.00.
When you sign up for IT'S BY U, you start by selecting what style of vase and flowers you'd like to receive. I selected the French Country style.
French Country Ceramic Vase
My starter kit included the same glazed ceramic vase pictured in the French Country example. It has a raised column in the middle with shorter tubes around it.
Here's an overhead view of the vase. The vase is divided into tubes to help add structure to arrangements and lets you put flowers exactly where you want without worrying about them shifting too much in the vase.
The glazed finish on this vase is so pretty! It looks like a vintage or handmade piece and works so well with the other ceramics in my home.
Oasis Floral Scissors - Retail Value $6.60
The starter kit also included a pair of Oasis brand floral scissors for trimming flower stems. It's important to have sharp scissors when cutting stems so you don't crush the cut ends.
The blades are serrated to get through steams easier. They did a great job on softer stems but I needed extra strength to cut through branches.
36" Expandable Wooden Ruler
The kit also included a wooden ruler for measuring stems so you can cut them to a specific length.
The ruler expands to measure up to 36". It has also been branded with IT'S BY U's website along with the message "Make stuff. Save Money. Be epic." All good things!
Later in the day after my starter kit had arrived, my fresh flowers arrived via FedEx.
The positive and cheerful messaging on the box reflects my exact thoughts on receiving my first bunch of flowers!
The stems arrived wrapped in paper and secured to the box with a zip tie.
Bouquet of Seeded Eucalyptus, Cremona Mums, Waxflower, PomPom Mums, and Larkspur
The stems were neatly bound together with the delicate Cremona mum buds wrapped in protective netting.
IT'S BY U sent May's arrangement instructions by email along with a link to a video. It includes care instructions for the flowers along with the names of each flower in the shipment and 3 different arrangement options with optional variations: "Spring Garden," "Pretty & Compact," and "Field Bouquet". These instructions were so helpful and something I've always thought was missing from other flower delivery services. I also really liked being able to choose from a list of options rather than feeling like I could only make one thing. Because of these options, I received way more flowers than I actually need to fill the small vase from my starter kit. Having extra flowers meant that I could make additional arrangements in other vases I own and/or give them away to friends! I love eucalyptus and more casual, flowy flower arrangments so I chose to make the "Field Bouquet" design.
The flowers arrive in a dormant state so IT'S BY U recommends trimming the ends getting them in water immediately to rest for about an hour before starting to build the arrangement.
Here are the Cremona mums with the protective netting removed and allowed to rest with the stems in water for an hour. It's important to remove excess greenery from stems before arranging flowers as leaves decay quickly in water and will make your vase water unpleasant (for you and your flowers!) very quickly. The booklet provided the tip of running a towel along the stems to remove the leaves quickly and it worked really well.
After removing excess leaves, the instructions for the stated to start by trimming 8 of the mums to 6" and 2 mums to 7.5-8". The longer mums are for the middle spot and the shorter mums will go around the outside.
I placed a single mum in each of the outside tubes and started with just one in the center tube to see how it would look.
Here are all the mums in place with a second tall mum added in the center tube. I then cut the waxflower in shorter lengths to be added to the vase.
The instructions recommended adding waxflowers under and over the mums in every other tube around the outside.
Next, I cut and added some green pompom mums.
Then came my favorite part, adding the eucalyptus! The instructions say to add eucalyptus sparingly, only placing one or two small branches at the edge of the arrangement. An alternative use is to remove the leaves and just add the seeds, sprinkled in among the flowers.
Here is my finished arrangement!
The arrangement looks different from all sides but is overall pretty balanced. I like the simple color palette of white and green with a few pops of magenta from the waxflowers.
And here are all the extra stems! I could easily make a few more simple arrangements from this wealth of flowers and pass them around the office. I ended up giving the extra flowers to Marne for her to enjoy at home.
Verdict: I was so impressed by my first shipment from IT'S BY U. I loved being able to pick a style that suited me and was impressed by the starter kit that arrived before my first bouquet of flowers. Arranging your own flowers can be daunting, and it's so hard to figure out what to do with cut flowers all on their own. This service gives you a one-time starter kit shipment with a reusable vase, flower arranging tools flowers followed by a shipment of flowers and instructions tailored to the specific style you have chosen and the exact flowers you'll receive. For $59.00 I received way more flowers than I have with other bouquet services plus detailed instructions and choices on what to do with them. I'm looking forward to what flowers I'll get next month!
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? You can sign up today and get the same French Country starter kit but will receive different flowers depending on the month.
Check out more DIY and decor subscription boxes for your home!
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What do you think of my first IT'S BY U shipment and arrangement?
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