DK Designs Clay Flower Bouquet & Boutonninere Featured in Brides of Northern California

Around November/December, I got an email from Lauren Matthews at Brides of Northern California. She asked if I could send her my favorite bouquet and boutonniere pairing and that she had been a fan of my work. I was truly in awe that she was a fan of my work and that they wanted to feature me in the Spring/Summer 2010 issue. The fact that there are SO MANY uber talented florist out there, for her to ask me really meant a lot!

I had to think about which ones were my favorite, but it kind of boiled down to which photos I had professional photographs from. Shailer and Vikas' wedding bouquet and boutonniere were one of my top favorites from 2009. The spring colors and it included all of my favorite flowers. They had a beautiful, rustic barn style wedding in New York. Their photographer was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING.... Tammy Swales! She's got such an eye and the images she captures are so beautiful yet different! I've been so honored to have been featured in so many magazines in the last 4 months. I think the best thing of all is that it brings to light that there are alternatives to fresh flower bouquets that are equally as beautiful and everlasting! Thank you to the team at Brides of Northern California for asking me to be part of this issue!

New Bouquet - Rustic yet elegant

I have a client who is renewing her vows next month and she asked me to replicate her bridal bouquet. Granted, there are many things I still cannot replicate in clay, but I'm always eager to try. I was able this time to do the hipericum berries, monkey tail ferns and my latest endeavor was dried lotus pods and of course succulent rosettes.
At any rate, this particular client didn't like certain things in her original bouquet so she asked if we could substitute. So instead of the cymbidium orchids she had, she requested ivory anemones with brown centers since her colors were white, ivory, blue and brown with muted greens. I think it looks gorgeous. A big departure from what I'm used to.
I'm always hesitant about doing bouquet replicas because I'm not sure if the clients expect them to be 100% replica of their original. I think most clients are happy that they have a bouquet that's not going to die on them and that it has the flowers that were in their bouquet on their wedding day that they will now be able to treasure for many years to come.

I know it's been a while since I've posted about bouquets. More to come in the coming weeks. A new wedding order of bold reds, oranges and purples which I'm excited about and then a bouquet replica for another client. Things are getting very busy again. Definitely looking forward to an amazing 2010 wedding season!

Clay Flower Workshop Classes March 2nd and 9th

I'm pleased to announce that we'll be offering a series of clay flower workshop classes for interested crafters who want to try their hand at CLAYCRAFT by DECO art, but who may not necessarily want to sign up for the membership classes. These are great discovery classes and will be held at the DK Designs studio in San Jose.

My students, who are now instructors, Candy and Judeanna were interested in trying to grow the awareness of the art of CLAYCRAFT by DECO and want to help teach. So we have been working on some fun workshop classes to give beginners a chance to experiment with this wonderful clay medium.

The first class is will be held on Tuesday, March 2, 2010 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. We will be creating gardenias and hydrangeas and decorating a simple favor box with the flowers and ribbon. The fee for the class and materials is $48 plus tax. Class size is limited to 15 students so please contact me for details if you' d like to sign up.

The second clay will be held on Tuesday, March 9, 2010 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. It will focus on making a small vase arrangement with roses and pansies. You'll learn how to make the flowers, painting techniques and how to arrange the flowers in a small vase. The fee is also $48 plus tax and class size is limited to 15 students.

Please contact dk@dkdesignshawaii.com if you wish to sign up and participate. We will be adding more classes each month and will have some new and different projects each class!

Little projects

I've been busy working on little projects for clients here and there the last few days and wanted to share some of what I have been working on before I start diving into my bouquet and invitation orders.

This first piece was for a client who wanted to give his wife a gift of plumerias. They love all things Hawaii, especially plumerias. Not sure how he found me, but he asked for a dozen plumerias that he wanted to stick in a vase for their room. I initially had planned to just give him single stems of plumerias with some greenery, but the more I thought about it and what he was striving for was the clusters of plumerias. So I did 2 sets of clusters so they almost look like they were pulled fresh off a plumeria tree, complete with fragrance!
The 2nd shot is of a vanda orchid I've been playing around with and trying new techniques to get it to look realistic. It's getting closer.... This would make a beautiful hair flower or boutonniere.

The 3rd set of pics is for an Etsy client of mine who has an inspiration photo of a couture hair piece with a birdcage veil. She asked if I could recreate it in clay. She has a specific hibiscus sketch she used in her wedding invitations that she wanted to carry through so this hair piece was something that fit perfectly with her theme. Still waiting for the bride to approve. The flowers are 4 inches and 5.5 inches. They are really big, but I'm sure they will look stunning.

Etsy Wedding Team Pulls Together to Help the People of Haiti

The Etsy Wedding Team has really grown over the last year and with new core committee members and dedicated team members, it's definitely made some really great strides. We've offered several giveaways since September. One great idea our team leader has was for team members to donate items to sell on a team site where all proceeds from the sales will be donated to the American Red Cross for the Haiti Earthquake Relief efforts.

So please show your support of the Etsy Wedding Team and all things handmade and every penny (after transaction and PayPal fees are assessed) will be donated to the ARC Haiti fund from now through February 12, 2010! You'll find a variety of wonderful items wedding and non-wedding related. So buy handmade and in turn it goes to some very special people who really need our help! These are the two items I donated on behalf of DK Designs and gofigurette!
Visit www.etsywedteam.etsy.com

Courtney & Todd - Real Wedding and Trash the Dress Photos

It's hard to believe 4 months have passed since Courtney and Todd got married on the beautiful island of Mau'i. They are a local couple (to the Bay Area that is) who fell in love with Mau'i. It's where Todd proposed and where they tied the knot. Courtney asked me to create her save the dates, wedding invitations, favors, place cards, OOT tags, menus and cake flowers. Such a wonderful couple and so easy to work with. I think they were pretty easy to please and it made my job that much easier.

The photos are amazing. I've never worked with Gordon Nash but it's easy to see why Courtney and Todd like his work. You couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day! WOW! That's why all who go to the islands fall in love and a piece of our hearts is always left behind. I still feel that way and we've been away for over 2 years now.
Their beautiful florals were done by Della Peacock of Dellables! I know Della comes highly recommended on the island of Maui.
I won't go into too much detail about the photos and let them just speak for themselves. The last 2 photos are some shots from Courtney and Todd's trash the dress session with my dear friend and photographer, Debbie Friedrich. They hired her after seeing our family photos and headshots done and Debbie just so happened to be going out that way for some other work so it worked out perfectly. Two great photographers and tons of wonderful photos!

Estilo Weddings Announces Partnership with DK Designs

Are you ready for some amazing wedding products that give you a unique and stylish look to your wedding? Well, without further ado, Estilo Weddings announced today their official reopening of their online store! This is what I have been working on for the last couple of months. Maria Ryan is an amazing woman, entrepreneur and now working mother. She took a break last year to make time for the arrival of her son. I have to imagine it must have been one of the hardest decisions to make, but I think overall, a good one. Now she's back and Estilo Weddings is better than ever!
Maria contacted me in October and gave me a LONG laundry list of what she had envisioned for the new line - ring pillows, favors, hair flowers, single flower bouquets, boutonnieres, cake flowers and more. While we have launched about 85% of the product line, there will be more to come in the coming weeks and months. As some of you know, Estilo Weddings didn't make public who's clay flowers they were selling, but those of you who know me know that it was my work. This year because the line is SO extensive and crosses so many categories, Maria thought it would be the perfect time to announce the partnership since many of the designs are exclusive to Estilo Weddings. Meaning if you're looking for many of these items on my Etsy shop will not find them. You will only be able to purchase many of these items through Estilo Weddings! Below is just one of the beautiful clay flower products you'll find in her online store - single flower bouquets!
2010 is proving to be a great year and although it got off to a slow start, I suspect that it's going to be crazier than ever and I'm looking forward to what lies ahead. I'm very thankful for Maria believing in me and my products and seeing that clay flowers are a great eco-friendly alternative to fresh There are some amazing products so don't wait, go check out here site!

Definitely bookmark these pages and share with all the brides you know out there! Maria also has a great blog that keeps up with the latest trends and all things that inspire her that are stylish and unique!

Estilo Weddings website - www.estiloweddings.com
Estilo Weddings Blog - www.estiloweddings.com/blog