Sunday, August 30, 2009

Cherry Blossoms Deconstructed

My client Sarah asked me to create her bouquets, corsages, boutonnieres and hair flowers for her wedding. Here colors are pink, brown and silver. Her flowers are cherry blossoms. Initially she had wanted centerpieces, but the budget didn't allow for it so she decided she would do those herself. She requested a "deconstructed" look to her bouquet of ivory stephanotis flowers with rhinestone centers and coming out of the bouquet was white cherry blossoms with tiny rhinestones on natural brown branches. Because she didn't want any green fillers, she asked if I could change out the fillers I initially put in the bouquet and instead use silver or brown fillers. Since I didn't have any silver or brown fillers I opted for rhinestone sprays which actually added to the dimension of the branches. Her stems were wrapped with a mauvish pink ribbon and contrasted with a silver ribbon. Her groom's boutonniere to match.
She wanted pink cherry blossoms with no rhinestones for her maid of honor. Instead of crystals I used little greenish yellow stamens which add some great dimension as well. Again a more natural, deconstructed look with no fillers. The stems are wrapped with the reverse ribbon treatment.The last picture is the corsages for the mother of the bride and her 3 bridesmaids. Still working on the other boutonnieres and corsages which will be pinned. It's hard to believe that tomorrow I will be done with all my orders and can start doing laundry and packing for our trip. Lots to do... Like laundry, swim lessons, open house at pre-school, packing, etc! Never a dull moment. Believe me, I'm so looking forward to 10 days off, but excited as well because I'm looking at changing things up a bit and hope to work on my new look while I'm away. Hopefully it gets done and I'll have a brand new site to share with you! Congratulations to Sarah and her fiance on their wedding day!

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Colorful Bridal Bouquet is a Nice Contrast to All White Bridesmaid Bouquets

Jeanny specifically requested that her bouquet be full of color. Her colors were lots of vibrant purples and blues. I had hoped to try and experiment with new flowers, but because of my limited time frame and the departure, I decided to go with light periwinkle blue hydrangeas, deep purple anemones, purple tulips and light purple roses. I think this bouquet is ABSOLUTELY STUNNING. I love the shades of purple and the lightness of the blue hydrangeas makes everything else pop!
I love too how the bridesmaids bouquet are so strikingly different against Jeanny's bouquet! Just lovely. I have 2 more orders to complete and my accelerated clay classes are going well for my students. Lots of talent. I'm happy to say one of the students going through the program is my aunt and she is showing signs of clay flower talent so once she gets certified, I'm putting her to work! :)
Best wishes to Jeanny and her fiance. She's coming over on Saturday to pick up her bouquets. I can't wait to see the expression on her face when she sees them in person for the first time. Something I don't often get to see with all my out of state and out of country brides!


Monday, August 24, 2009

All White Bouquets for Bridesmaids

My client Jeanny asked me to create her bridal bouquet and her bridesmaid bouquets. Traditionally the bride wants more white, but Jeanny requested that her bridesmaid bouquets be all one flower type per bouquet. So for one she decided on all white peonies and the other white anemone flowers with the black centers. I love these photos. I'm currently working on Jeanny's bouquet which will be vibrant purples and blues! It's going to be stunning. Hopefully you'll get to see it tomorrow if I manage to finish all the flowers tonight.
It's been a very hectic week and it's only Monday. I started teaching 2 students the accelerated classes so my days are full and then it's full steam ahead on finishing the bouquets and printed orders that must get completed before we leave on vacation. Let me tell you, I've never been so happy to go on vacation! It's been a long year, but a very good one, lots of clay flower orders and I'm so happy to have seen my business grow the way it has. I can only hope that 2010 brings more of the same. :)

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Elisa Inspired Bouquet - with a few modifications...

My client J.C. is local to the Bay Area, but she's having a destination Hawaii wedding and loved the Elisa bouquet I made. If you recall, Elisa had a destination Jamaica wedding. However, J.C., asked if she could make a few modifications. Instead of the orange cymbidium orchids, she requested mango callas and instead of pink hydrangeas, she requested white ones. This is how the bouquet turned out.
It's beautiful and it's not the same as the other bouquet. That's what I like about these bouquets, they are never the same and I try not to make them the same because every bride deserves a custom and unique bouquet that no one else will have. :)

I had to complete J.C.'s bouquet before I go out of town since she departs soon after our return so I wanted to make sure she had it in plenty of time. Best wishes J.C. to you and your fiance.

Chocolate Cosmos, Ivory Prince Hellebores, Gardenias and Tuberose

My bride, Kristen contacted me to see if I could create her wedding bouquet. She lives in Canada, but was very excited that I would be able to create her bouquet out of clay. Initially she had a ton of flowers she liked, but we narrowed it down to 4 flowers - chocolate cosmos, Ivory Prince hellebores, gardenias and tuberose. It's very striking. When I think of chocolate cosmos I think of brown, but in actuality they are more of a purplish burgundy color with hits of orange on the fringe.
Kristen is supposed to send me the green ribbon she would like to be on the stems, but I wanted to send her photos of the completed bouquet today so I could move forward with the rest of my orders. The next sets of bouquets will be exciting to share so I better get back to it. 3 more bouquet orders to finish as well as another wedding day details order. A full week of teaching a student from out-of-state to do as well this week.
Congratulations Kristen and best wishes to you and your fiance!

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Becky & Isaac - Real Wedding Photos

I've been busy getting orders out the door and teaching classes before we head out on vacation a week from Monday. I did get a delightful email from one of my clients, Becky. Her professional photos were on her photographer's blog and she shared them with me. Becky bought a gardenia hair flower but it was a little too small and she wanted something more substantial and she asked for some leaves as well so this is how it turned out. I can't be certain, but I think she used the original flower she bought and had it converted into a boutonniere for Isaac (again, not for certain).
All the images are courtesy of Christine Farah Photography. You have to go to her blog because the photos are SO, SO, SO FABULOUS!Thank you Becky and Isaac for sharing the photos with me and my blog readers. :) As a side note, sorry about putting the copyright information of the photographer through some of the images but I've had two instances in the last month of people taking images that belong to me or the photographers who shared them with me to be able to use on my website/blog and have claimed the flowers to be their own. NOT COOL! So from now on, I've been forced to embed the copyright in the photos.

Thank you Becky and Christine for letting me share these images. Definitely check out Christine's blog! Amazing stuff and a TON more photos of Becky and Isaac's wedding and it's sure to please. Lots of great eye candy! :)

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Victorian Elegance Bouquet - Cream and Ivory with Gold and Brown Accents

I am super busy trying to finish up 6 orders before we head back East. Sorry for my lag again in blog posts, but between trying to finish orders, teaching and taking my son to his swim classes, not much free time.
I have been very fortunate to get several international orders this year. The last bride was from Australia and this bride is from Ireland. My husband is half Irish ethnicity wise so I don't know why but this bouquet meant something to me. Maybe because I know that those who are Irish are PROUD to be Irish. :) One day we will visit.
Anyway, Jenny contacted me after she saw my Victorian Elegance bouquet on Etsy. She asked if I could do that for her wedding with some minor changes. She wanted the bouquet flowers to be in shades of ivory and cream. Because she and her maid of honor are not wearing traditional wedding gown and MOH dresses, she wanted the bouquets to have hints of gold and mocha. So I agreed to put mocha brown crystals in the center of the stephanotis instead of pearls or rhinestones. I also found this fabulous crystal spray that was like a goldish hue which worked out perfectly. I'm waiting to hear back from the bride as to what color overlay she wants for the stems. I love the colors. I think the monkey tail ferns, crystals and green accents really break up the ivory and cream hues.

Another simply stunning set of bouquets. They're off to Ireland on Monday! Wish I could fit in the box. LOL. :)

Monday, August 17, 2009

Classic White Stephanotis Bouquet

Sorry for my lag in blog posts again. It's been a tough few days and today has been even tougher, but I was able to finish a bridal bouquet for a bride, Nerissa in Australia this morning. She is getting married on October 3rd, but I had to get it done before we fly out to see my husband's family especially with the international customs lead time on top of transit time.
She loved my "Maggie" bouquet except she wanted more whitish pearls since she has white pearl beading on her dress. This is how it turned out. Congratulations to Nerissa and her fiance!
I'll be getting my focus in check tomorrow so I can focus on 2 other international bridal orders one for Canada and one for Ireland! Lots to get done this week as there's not much time before we leave to the East Coast and spend some very important time with Mom. :)

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Adding Spirit Jump Inspirational Note Card Line to Etsy

My sister-in-law and I keep in touch via Facebook chat and I was telling her about my Spirit Jump Blossoms and she was telling me how great of an idea it was. She then gave me the idea to do note cards with these fantastic pewter charms I found that have the words, "hope" and "faith" embossed in them. So, since I needed to send out some Spirit Jumps I decided to try it out. This is what has blossomed from her idea!
She told me next I need to come out with a jewelry line. LOL. Like I have time??? I told her, the recipient can choose to make the charm into a pendant for a necklace or bracelet or key chain to remind them when they're having a bad day to have "hope" or "faith".
The note card sets will come in a set of 8 and half will be more masculine and the other half more feminine. I am even including the postage stamp so that those buying the cards don't have to worry about buying a stamp to mail a spirit jump! They come in a eco-friendly muslin bag as well. $26.00 plus $5.00 shipping and $5.00 of every sale of the note cards goes to Spirit Jump.
Visit my Etsy site for details. If you'd like to learn more about Spirit Jump, visit them at www.spiritjump.org! I really do feel VERY passionately about Spirit Jump and what it does for cancer patients and I'm so happy that I can do something to help others afflicted with cancer. Thank you to Meaghan and her team for allowing me to share my talents and help those in need at the same time!

Friday, August 14, 2009

Orange Cymbidium Orchid Favors

Here's another September wedding order I'm working on today and hope to ship tomorrow. This one is for a bride getting married at the Kahala Resort and Hotel! I love this venue. It's one of my favorites on Oahu. So quaint and majestic. It holds a special place for me because it's where I splurged for my husband's 40th birthday surprise before we were married. We had an ocean view room overlooking the dolphin lagoon and the ocean.
At any rate, Amanda and Jimmy are getting married there next month and she asked me to make her favors for their big day. She said her colors were cymbidium orchid green and tangerine orange. She wanted the orange cymbidium orchid flower and colors to match with a pineapple themed tag. So this is the final piece I'm waiting on for her approval. The contents are the pineapple shortbread cookies from Honolulu Cookie Company. They are SO tasty. Note of caution - if your wedding is in summer months, it's a good idea NOT to buy the chocolate covered variety because they will melt. Hence, the issue with my client Randi's favors. If you do buy anything with chocolate, make sure your vendor provides ice packs to keep them from melting.

Back to painting my flowers. :)

Plumeria Cake Topper and Favors

My client Randi had asked me to create some invitations and wedding announcements for her upcoming September wedding. Her wedding day is fast approaching and I just finished her favors, hair flower and cake topper. Randi wanted these delicious dark chocolate covered lilikoi shortbread cookies. Unfortunately the vendor doesn't ship with ice packs so when they arrived they were melted. :( Good thing that I had ordered a ton of cookies for another order and to give as gifts when we go back East to visit family. So, I told her that I would substitute with the other non-chocolate covered ones which worked out fine.
Randi asked last minute if I could do cake flowers. I suggested to her that maybe it's just better to do a vase arrangement that she could have as a keepsake afterwards since she is just having a round 9" cake. She agreed and so these are the pictures of her cake topper and favor!

Best wishes to Randi and Kirt on their wedding day even though it's over a month away. With me going out of town to visit family, I'm having to pull all my orders in from now until the 3rd week of September. It's going to be crazy....

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Now Available ... SPIRIT JUMP BLOSSOMS!

This morning I woke up with the goal in mind to get the Spirit Jump Blossoms up on Etsy today. Meaghan and Spirit Jump asked me to send her a write up and she is planning to talk about it on her podcast tonight. She's very excited about this new product designed for jumpees! So I went back into my studio to finish putting together the flowers in the vases.
I think they are super cute and they make me smile so I know whoever receives one of these little gems will love them too. What's not to like, they are beautiful, vibrant and carry a wonderful inspirational message in each one.
So visit www.dkdesignshawaii.etsy.com. Whether you're buying it for a jumpee or just as a gift for someone you care about, $5.00 of every sale of a Spirit Jump Blossom arrangement will be donated to Spirit Jump! For more information about Spirit Jump, visit www.spiritjump.org! As I get through my wedding orders, I will work towards getting more varieties of flowers and inspirational messages up on my Etsy site, but I wanted to launch this wonderful program today because so many people need our love and to know that we care about them when they are going through a difficult time battling cancer...


Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Coming Soon .... Clay Flower Gifts for Jumpees

I will have more on this post tomorrow as well as items in my Etsy shop, but I wanted to share what I've been working on today. As you know, I've become involved in a wonderful organization which helps cancer patients one card or gift at a time. Lifting their spirits and bringing them some happiness and joy while they are dealing with cancer. Many of these people are literally fighting for their lives. This organization has touched me in so many ways and I had decided to make something specific to sell as a gift for Jumpers to give to Jumpees. The even better part of it is.... I'm donating $5.00 of every sale of these small jumpee gifts back to Spirit Jump! Granted these gifts aren't just for jumpees, they are for anyone who needs a little cheering up.
I tried to think of something that would be appropriate and cheer them up. My mother-in-law too is fighting for her life battling bladder cancer. She's actually in the hospital as I write this and I'm very worried about her. Part of what I am doing is in honor of her strength, love and her always wanting to help others in need! She also told me that while she was in the hospital, she could not have fresh flowers so the clay flowers were a welcome site around the hospital and the entire staff raved about how real they looked and couldn't believe they were out of clay. My mother in law I think enjoyed telling them about me and how I was on the Martha Stewart Show! :)

So all this got me thinking, why not create a relatively inexpensive vase arrangement that people could buy and give to their loved ones who are battling cancer and other illnesses that they could cherish always. I found these cute little pewter charms as well with inspirational messages which I think are very powerful words and they symbolize a lot to those who need a lift it spirits!
This one is actually going to my mother-in-law tomorrow because pink roses are her favorite and she most definitely needs a Spirit Jump (even though she is not an official jumpee). She needs "hope" (I also added the charm "faith" as well). Hopefully this little gift of beauty and hope will raise her spirits and give her the energy she needs to fight. We are less than 3 weeks away from visiting her.

At any rate, I will have a few of these for sale with different flowers and different inspirational messages to sell on my Etsy site, so stay tuned for my next blog post. Again, $5.00 of every one of these sold will go to Spirit Jump to help them to continue to lift the spirits of cancer patients. :)

Custom Order for a Client in France

I recently was contacted by a delightful woman in France who admired my clay flowers and asked if I could create some custom pieces. At first I thought she wanted them for her wedding, but she actually wanted to have some pieces for her outdoor garden dinner parties and get togethers. She asked for gerbera daisies for the place settings and favor boxes as well for a family celebration of which consisted of 3 gardenias and 3 magnolia flowers.
I'm always amazed that clients from far away as France, Australia and Ireland find me and ask me to create custom items for them. I'm so appreciative of international clients. It speaks volumes to me! This weekend I have to start and complete 3 more international orders for Canada, Ireland and Australia! So much to do so I better get back to it. :)

Magnolia Hair Flowers on Etsy

Here's a new hair flower that I just posted on my Etsy site! There are 2 for sale! I decided to make a couple extra from one of my orders where the client asked for them.
I love the look of magnolia flowers and they always remind me of the south. We do get one variety of them here in California and I always love looking at them when they are in bloom. :) Visit www.dkdesignshawaii.etsy.com if you'd like to purchase one!

Bouquet Replica

Sorry for the lag in the blog posts this week. I've been a little busy with orders this week, taking my son to swim classes and worrying about my mother-in-law's health. I wanted however to share with you some of the projects I've been working on. I have one exciting one I hope to share more about tomorrow. Until then, here is the replica bouquet my client, Kreslyn asked me to recreate for her. She was so bummed that her bridal bouquet is all dried up and looking rather brown. So she contacted me and asked if I could recreate it for her. The pictures she gave me were not the best because her professional photos were destroyed, but we were able to piece together what was in it with the help of her florist, the photos from family and friends, etc.
Kreslyn's bouquet had mini callas, Vendela cream roses, white freesia and white dendrobium orchids. I'm actually quite pleased with the bouquet and it looks pretty close to the photos she sent me (at least I think so). :)

Clay flowers are a great way to have your bridal bouquet replicated if you choose fresh flowers or weren't able to have them preserved.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Buy a Gardenia Hair Flower and $5.00 Will go to Spirit Jump

I'm taking it a step further with helping out this fabulous organization called Spirit Jump. From 8/10/09 through 10/31/09, I will be donating $5.00 from every sale of my gardenia hair flower (which is by far my most popular item on my Etsy shop) to www.spiritjump.org!For more information about Spirit Jump, visit http://www.spiritjump.org.
Tell brides, your friends or anyone you know to buy a gardenia hair flower and their purchase will help support an amazing organization aimed at helping cancer patients one gift at a time!

Lifting Spirits One Person at a Time...SPIRIT JUMP!

This post is something that has become near and dear to my heart. My dear friend Debbie Friedrich told me about an organization I should follow on Twitter called "Spirit Jump" about 2 women who started an organization to help cancer patients who need a spirit lift. I finally took the time to read into their organization, why it was formed, and was so moved by what these two women (both afflicted with different forms of cancer) and their team of volunteers do each and every day.

Visit www.spiritjump.org to learn more about this amazing organization and see how you too can help lift the spirits of those afflicted with cancer.

The mission of Spirit Jump is to provide hope and comfort to the many men, women and children battling cancer, one gift at a time. Spirit Jump strives to let each and every cancer fighter know that they are not alone in their battle and that there are people behind them as they fight. Spirit Jump's goal is to help cancer fighters fight strong by providing uplifting cards and inspirational gifts from our "Jumpers" to help fighters maintain the strength they need every day as they battle this terrible disease.

The Amazing Part:. The amazing thing about Spirit Jump is that both the person giving a gift (Jumper) often has their spirit lifted just as much as the person receiving the gift (Jumpee).

It's simple and every one of us can do it. When you become a member of Spirit Jump, they send you weekly updates of a jumpee in need of a "jump", so if you their stories move you, you can email them back and let them know you want to send them a card or a small gift to cheer them up. You're not obligated to do this every time, only what you feel comfortable in doing. Just a simple card with a short message that you're wishing them well and hope this helps to lift their spirits is all you have to do.

I sent Meaghan an arrangement that never sold on my Etsy site and told her she can use it either as a giveaway item to raise money for their organization or to give it to a jumpee. She gave it to Pamela who is battling cancer and she said it lifted her spirits and she was starting to feel better! It truly was the best feeling ever. I've since sent 3 jumps to other cancer patients, one of which I sent an arrangement to. I also received notice of two more women who I decided also to make arrangements for.Cancer has affected me personally through the death of my mother who had a long battle with breast cancer that took her life 22 years ago. My husband's mother is a colon cancer survivor but now is battling bladder cancer. So doing what I can to try and help complete strangers whether it's a handmade card with photos of my clay floral art or an actual arrangement, really means a lot. I really hope to continue to lift spirits on a weekly basis. While I may not be able to give them all a flower arrangement I know that even a card to let them know someone cares about how they are doing is enough!

Please help by becoming a Spirit Jumper! It's simple. Visit http://www.spiritjump.org!