Tuesday, October 25, 2011

3 Custom Floral Arrangements

A florist in Colorado asked me a while back to make a stephanotis bouquet, she liked it so much she asked if I could make 3 centerpieces for her wedding reception. Although it was short notice on both orders, I was able to pull it off. She loved everything. I got an email earlier this month and she asked if I could created 3 custom arrangements with 3 different color schemes.
She wanted an all white and ivory bouquet of flowers with roses, anemones and hydrangea. I decided since she liked another arrangement I did to add gardenias and sweet peas. It's a clean yet striking arrangement with the black centers of the anemone flowers.The 2nd arrangement she wanted light and dark shades of pink with peonies, roses and ranunculus. This one I decided to put in the aqua blue ball jar.The last arrangement was all shades of purple. Again I decided to make the dark purple anemones, light purple hydrangeas, lilac English roses and a stalk of hyacinth.

I love how all three turned out. I've been busy working on flowers for a photo shoot for Thursday, I'm almost done with those flowers. I am very excited that I will actually be able to attend a portion of the photo shoot before having to get back to my next big order.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Recent Custom Orders and New Etsy Listings...

Trying to catch up once again on custom orders. There's a few more in the pipeline and then I hope to have some much needed down time to focus on my website. :)
One of my Etsy clients asked me if I could create a couple of matching pieces for her. She wanted a blush pink anemone ring pillow and a matching boutonniere. I decided to use ivory velvet vintage leaves to accent the boutonniere since she wanted ivory accents throughout.
The second Etsy client wanted a sample dahlia in a dusty rose color which faded out to creamy ivory on the outer petals with hints of deeper shades of dusty rose and hues of yellow.I also had time to post a couple more arrangements for sale on Etsy. I think both would be beautiful for fall, but any time of the year. The larger one is very bright and cheery since the vase is white and there are white and ivory accents. Poppies, ranunculus, peach hued plum blossoms, and lisianthus.Click on the image to go to the Etsy listing.
Click on the image to go to the Etsy listing.
My mini teapots are making a reappearance as well. They are very popular and it's such a cute and beautiful, petite gift.

More things on the way, but it might be a few more days before I post some new items!

Monday, October 17, 2011

Changing Directions Leads to A New Path...

As I have alluded to before, the last year has been quite challenging with juggling all my responsibilities as a mom, a wife, and an entrepreneur. I have had to make some difficult decisions regarding my future to find balance in my life. Sorry this is a long email with no pictures.

Effective in September, I gave notice to resign from the DECO Clay Craft Academy as an instructor. The main reason is just because I need to find balance. While I love teaching, it's not what I love to do the most. My biggest love other than my family is to just create flowers. I have accomplished a lot as a DECO Clay Craft Academy student and instructor, and I will forever be grateful to Kazuko and Yukiko Miyai for sharing this art with me and making me realize that I could make a career out of creating beautiful things. I have taught lots of wonderful people in the last 8 or so years and many of whom have become such wonderful friends over the years. I will miss teaching everyone, but I know the friendships will carry on moving forward because after all, we have one mutual love, the love of the art of DECO Clay!

For those of you who are interested in DECO Clay Craft Academy classes and becoming a member, you can go to their website and find instructors who are in your area. If you cannot find a DECO instructor in your area, please feel free to contact the Academy directly. The instructor base continues to grow worldwide so even if there isn't an instructor where you live, there might be one there soon! If you are determined like many of my international and US students, who want to become certified, seek out an instructor who is closest to your country or state and they just may be willing to offer you accelerated classes so you can complete the curriculums and certification process in a shorter time frame.

For my students who wish to continue training with the DECO Clay Craft Academy, definitely seek out one of the certified DECO instructors because there are some really amazing classes once you become a certified instructor to challenge and develop your skill and create some INCREDIBLE flowers and figurines developed by Kazuko and Yukiko.

I have learned a lot in the last 10 years and have had so many wonderful opportunities. I continue to be blessed with new and more challenging opportunities that help me continue to grow. I will still be making flowers and figurines out of DECO Clay as I feel it's one of the most superior air dry clays around. So many applications and the possibilities are endless... You are truly only limited by your imagination.

I am in the process of revamping my website but that will take some time as I'm transitioning to a completely different platform, so even though it still mentions the classes and certification, I am no longer teaching and have officially resigned my position as a DECO Clay Craft Academy instructor.

I wish the DECO Clay Craft Academy family all the best and thank Kazuko and Yukiko for 10 years of a great journey. You will always inspire me to put forth my best and not limit myself as to what I can do. In my mind, there is no end to the possibilities in my future and I'm eager to start creating amazing works of art from this day forward.

Please contact DECO Clay Craft Academy at www.decoclay.com.

Let the new chapter begin....

Fall inspired arrangement

This past year has been challenging to say the least juggling so many things. I haven't had much time to dedicate to my Etsy site, but I'm starting to get back on track with that. While I love doing wedding flowers, I also miss doing smaller vase arrangements for people to purchase for their home or as gifts for loved ones.With the fall season upon us and the turning of the leaves (although we are experiencing summer like weather still in California), I thought it would be nice to finally work on some arrangements that highlight those flowers that make you think of fall.
This piece is listed on my Etsy site for sale. I have a few more coming later this week. I fell in love wit this wood vase that I found with it's rustic and earthy elements. I paired it with orange and green gerbera daisies, orange and yellow ranunculus, peach garden roses with hues of yellow and dusty rose, red and green hipericum berries and rose leaves.

Friday, October 14, 2011

New Cake Flowers on Etsy - David Austin Inspired Roses!

I've been trying to find more time to create new pieces and build out my Etsy store with new and fresh items. It's slow going, but I try to go with the creative juices when they hit me. I love the complexity and beauty of David Austin style roses which are rich in petals and colors. I decided to experiment after that last custom cake flower order.

I once had to do Sahara yellow roses and they are so pretty, so I decided to do one in that color with hues of yellows, creams and peaches.
The other one is a light pink rose. So many shades of pink, yet subtle. All contrasted with the rich glossy rose leaves. These will definitely make stunning cake flowers all on their own. A single bloom can have quite a statement, especially when the flower is 5 inches in diameter and from leaf to leave measures 7 inches! Click on the images to go to the links on my Etsy site!

More Etsy listings to come in the next few weeks. Hopefully I can manage to create some fall inspired pieces for the holidays.

Vibrant, Tropical Destination Wedding Bouquet... Oranges, Yellows and Pinks

I have a client who is getting married in Jamaica who initially had a blue, turquoise and white color palette, but later changed her colors to pinks, yellows and oranges. We finally nailed down her flowers and this is how her bouquet and the groom's boutonniere turned out.The flowers in the order consisted of cymbidium orchids, callas, ranunculus, Asiatic lilies and roses.
Just so happens their wedding got pushed out a year so she may just order bridal party flowers to match along with centerpieces.Vibrant and definitely has a tropical feel!

Monday, October 10, 2011

Birthday = Taking a Day and Relaxing...

Everyone asked if I was doing something special for my birthday or going somewhere for dinner. Even my husband asked me several times what I would like to do or if there was a gift I wanted. Honestly, this birthday, I didn't want anything. I wanted a home-cooked meal - steak and veggies cooked by my husband. I wanted to try making my own cake. I have found baking as my therapy and relaxation from making flowers. Granted I bake mostly cookies and breads, but I wanted to try those colorful layered cakes with the banner signs. I have a ways to go, but it wasn't bad for my first attempt 6 layers of cake and I did everything from scratch.My kudos to pastry chefs and cake artisans because a lot of work goes into the whole process and I have a new found appreciation for what you do. I won't be quitting my day job of making clay flowers. I had a wonderful birthday not working on anything other than processing a couple of orders that need to ship tomorrow and spent time with my family.

Saturday, October 8, 2011

David Austin Inspired Rose - Cake Flowers

Another Etsy bride asked me if I could make a 4 inch peach rose for her wedding cake. I asked her if she could send me a photo of what she had envisioned. She sent me this beautiful image of one of the David Austin English roses.I've been wanting to work on my David Austin inspired roses more and I got the chance with this order. I still need to work on it, but I love how this turned out, especially with the leaves. The bride specifically asked for some greenery so I made some branches of leaves that are connected to the rose which I think add so much to the cake flower!This would make another great listing on Etsy as a made-to-order item and brides could choose whatever color they wish to match their wedding day colors or theme. The flower measured closer to 4.5 inches and the leaves extended out from there.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

New Listing on Etsy... Adjustable Petal Phaleanopsis Orchids!

I know it's been a LONG time coming since I posted anything new on my Etsy site. That's honestly how busy I have been. I just haven't had enough time to do anything above and beyond just relisting and doing made-to-order items. My hope is that in the coming weeks and months that I will be able to start creating new things to sell via my Etsy shop!
I have had the components made for a while, but just now have had the opportunity to put it together, paint and list. I love orchids and I have a new love for phaleanopsis orchids. I am not sure why I'm challenged by this one in particular, but I think I have finally figured it out! Phaleanopsis orchids are so flat and the configuration of them makes it hard in my mind to make them look good. I decided to think outside of what I know and thought about how sugar flower artists construct their flowers. So I decided to handwire each petal individually. This gives great flexibility and movement. I have many clients who ask me if the petals are adjustable. I'm happy to say at least for this flower that the petals are adjustable!I think two of these together would be beautiful in a bridal up-do or low-do. They'd be beautiful as cake flowers too! Click here to go to the listing if you're interested! If you want a specific color, please feel free to contact me. I hope to be adding additional flowers in the weeks and months to come. :)

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Yellows, Greens and Whites...

Rebecca isn't getting married until January, but she wanted her bouquet to be delivered early so that she could cross it off her list of things to do. Originally her request was pinks, greens, whites and yellows. Then about a month or two prior to my starting her order she asked if the pinks could be made to yellows.Rebecca's bouquet consists of gardenias, yellow English roses, yellow peonies, as well as green and white cymbidium orchids. I love the citrus colors of this bouquet. The contrasting pinks and kind of purplish magenta hues in the cymbidium orchid throats really look striking against the yellows and greens. Definitely brightened up my studio on a rainy and dreary kind of day.Best wishes to Rebecca on her wedding day even though it's a couple more months off. Off to work on another bouquet order of pinks, oranges and yellows for a destination wedding.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Images from a Recent Industry Event Hosted by The Card Lady, Milk Glass Vintage Rentals and Left Bank at Santana Row

I wanted to share some photos from a recent industry event that I had the pleasure to sponsor with some other very talented wedding/event professionals. Karla Randolph of The Card Lady contacted me to see if I would be interested in participating as a sponsor for an event she was hosting with Milk Glass Vintage Rentals and Left Bank at Santana Row.
Left Bank has this great circus/vintage feel with their bold red and blue striped curtains and French inspired murals. Karla decided to host this event to share some of her wonderful stationery designs that she created for weddings and special occasions. My favorite was one where she used burlap as the base of her invitations and had this beautiful silver, elegant starfish hanging from string at the top of the invite.
She envisioned my mini teapot designs, pinks and yellows to go in this vintage buffet hutch piece from Milk Glass Vintage Rentals, that had couture chocolates, build your own scent perfume bar and of course Karla's invitation designs. PJ from Milk Glass Vintage Rentals has some really awesome vintage pieces and you can rent them from her company instead of trying to search out and buy them yourself.Karla also had sweets of every kind from cupcakes to make your own s'mores! I only wish I could have stayed to enjoy the event, but I had plans that evening.
Best of all Chung Li photographed the entire event! Always love seeing Chung and his wonderful eye for details!

Monday, October 3, 2011

Featured on Style Me Pretty Destination Today!

I just got a lovely email from one of my Etsy brides who notified me that her wedding was featured today on Style Me Pretty Destination! Tami ordered one of my blush pink anemone cake flowers for her wedding cake.
Her photos are breathtaking and really capture the beauty of Lake Tahoe! I love her colors that she chose and her flowers were gorgeous.Definitely check out the full post and gallery of images. There's even a great video of their wedding day by Rose Street Studio. The images in this post are all courtesy of Aravaggio Photography.
Thank you to Tami and Myles for sharing your wedding day and for asking me to be a part of your wonderful day!