It wasn't long after Fitzgerald discovered she had a talent for pairing silk flowers and wood that she began making these unique flower creations on a regular basis. Only a few months after she started, her living room and dining room are flooded with flower arrangements.

"My friends and neighbors started noticing that I was making these arrangements and they thought perhaps I should make them for all occasions, and not just little things for Christmas like I had been doing," she said.

Fitzgerald now has a variety of arrangements from Christmas and bridal pieces, to pieces for home decor.

"I love doing it, it's like therapy," she said.

After selling items at yard sales, Fitzgerald contacted local craft fairs in an attempt to get her work into the public.

"I talked to the lady at the mall about doing craft shows there, and I sent pictures to Mossy Creek but I was too late. I was also too late for the fair in Perry," said Fitzgerald. "But I did get in touch with QVC and they sent me an application and told me they hoped they'd see me on television one day."

Fitzgerald, employed in janitorial work since 1981, said she finally decided to make her hobby into a business after prayer.

"I talked to the Lord about needing a second income, and then I had a dream about making flower arrangements. The next day in the woods I found a piece of wood. I think the Lord gave me something earthly, something from nature, that he wanted me to work with. He's letting me do something different," she said.

Fitzgerald said now that she's decided to sell her flower arrangements, she has definite goals for the future.

"My son bought me a saw, and I have a drill. What I do is not hard, but I need a workshop, so that I don't get sawdust in my house... my long term goal it to get a warehouse full of flowers. I'll have cutters and painters and arrangers. I'll make a big factory," she said. "This time next year I hope to be very busy."

Operating under the name Lillie's Variety, Fitzgerald sells her wood and flower arrangements from $20-$70, depending on the size of the piece. Ranging in size from 12 inches to 5 feet tall, the pieces can be custom made in only a few days.

To reach Lillie's Variety, call 953-7854.

Using natural materials for flower arrangements

BY JUDY HALL, The Byron Gazette
Lillie Fitzgerald enjoys making flower arrangements. As a small child she began to make things from whatever was available... a piece of wood, an old sign or anything else no one else seemed to have a use for.

Now, as an adult working at an everyday job, she still enjoys doing arrangements from whatever is available. The difference is now she makes her flower arrangements for sale to other people. For the past year she has been making arrangements for weddings, baby showers, sweetheart gifts, birthdays, Christmas and Easter as well as seasonal decorations. Custom bridal table decorations and funeral pieces are other specialties of hers.

Some of her pieces sit on tables, but some hang on doors and walls. She particularly like to use candles and tiny strings of lights. What Lillie would like to do is be able to leave her regular job and just arrange flowers everyday. With her four children, three sons and one daughter, grown and gone, she has lots more time to devote to her passion for flowers.

One thing she particularly enjoys is making something for a special occasion that will be one-of-a-kind. If Lillie sounds like the kind of person you need to meet, give her a call at 953-7854.