Monday, August 29, 2011

Another Special Project Bouquet...

The phaleanopsis orchid bouquet is for a special project as is this beautiful peony and rose bouquet. This was also inspired by a fresh flower bouquet, but with my own twist. I love the soft pinks and peaches with rhinestone button embellishments, vintage velvet leaves and ostrich feathers.Back to the studio to work on some small orders so I can make way for my next BIG wedding order...

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Sneak Peek at One Special Project

I've been busy of late not only working on orders, but special projects. While many of these special projects I don't get paid for, the exposure in various industries is what drives me to take the opportunity. I am always honored when people contact me to work on a project with them. I can't tell you what this bouquet is for just yet, but I wanted to share a few photos of how the bouquet turned out.My colleague sent me an image of what she envisioned and this is my version of what she sent me. I have not been happy with my phaleanopsis orchids and I decided to try another way of giving the flowers texture and more movement. I'm very happy with the way they turned out. I decided to add some vintage velvet leaves and feathers to accent the fullness of the bouquet. To finish it off, I used this large but gorgeous rhinestone buckle!

Something Blue Bouquet ... A Few Adjustments...

My client via Etsy asked if I could create a 10" bouquet for her wedding. She wanted whites and blues. Her flowers of choice were antique blue hydrangeas and white roses.
Initially when I worked on the bouquet, there were a lot of gaps between the flowers. So I filled in with some greenery and light blue fillers as well as plain stephanotis. The bride asked if we could make some changes. Of course, I want my client to be happy so we agreed to try some white rose buds, a little more hydrangea clusters, less greenery and no blue fillers.In the end the bride was happy and I'm glad we were able to achieve what she wanted.

Custom Floral Arrangements


Well, I'm a bit behind in blog posts as you can tell. It's been very hectic the last several weeks with orders, special projects and the first week of school for my son.

This first back blog post is about several custom floral arrangements that I worked on for a client overseas. I'm very excited about this business opportunity as my flowers would be marketed to customers in this fabulous country! I can't yet tell you where, but I'm very happy to see my business growing.
My client asked for 2 of each size arrangement as well as a sample bridal bouquet to show some potential customers at a big meeting later this week.

She searched my thousands of images that I have online and found several bouquets she really liked and asked if I could recreate them or something close to it. These are a sampling of what I sent out last week.
Hopefully in the not so distant future, lovely clay floral arrangements might be sitting in the homes of people in far off places!

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Cafe Au Lait Dahlia Cake Flowers

A client came to me by way of my Etsy shop asking if I could create different size dahlias for her wedding cake. She said her colors were creams and peaches and they are getting married in a cottage setting. She sent me pictures of cafe au lait dahlia flowers to see if I could do it.This is how they turned out. They are so dreamy! Soft peaches, creams and pinks. The bud gives a little bit of contrast with the green outer petals. I'm definitely enjoying playing with natural lighting in my studio window and taking advantage of the light that comes through for the majority of the day!

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Hibiscus cake flowers featured on Hostess with the Mostess Blog!

I had to keep another big project under wraps until it was launched, but today I got a great surprise on my Facebook wall! Hostess with the Mostess featured Anna and Blue Paperie's Aloha themed birthday party on their blog today!Stefanie of Anna and Blue Paperie had contacted me to see if I could make hibiscus flowers in yellow, orange and pink to match her two daughters' birthday party theme. Funny thing is that my flowers inspired her daughter's party. :) Stefanie creates super cute printables on Etsy. Of course, I agreed!
This party is TO DIE FOR! I wish I had a little girl so I could recreate something like this. SUPER CUTE. I LOVED the candy kabobs!Click here to read the full post. I'm so excited to be featured on HWTM and Amy Atlas within weeks of each other! SO AWESOME! Thank you HWTM and Stefanie of Anna and Blue Paperie! All photography courtesy of Stefanie of Anna and Blue Paperie.

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Corsages and Wedding Thank You Gifts

My client Nicole, wanted open pink peony wrist corsages for the moms and sisters of the bride and groom. Initially I had made them closed peonies, but she liked the look of the open peonies better so I had to remake the flowers.
The last set of photos are the thank you gifts Nicole intends to give to both sets of parents as a thank you and to honor them at the wedding. I think it's a beautiful sentiment and something they will always treasure. She liked the teapot design, so we did them in larger teapots.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Pink Peonies and Green Spider Mums...

I've been busy working on a large order for my client who is getting married in Canada in November. She wanted to get her flowers in plenty of time. It was a good thing she planned so far ahead because as the end of her order was approaching, she asked if she could add a couple of things.
Her order consisted of a bridal bouquet, 3 bridesmaids bouquets, 9 boutonnieres, 4 corsages and 2 custom arrangements which are thank you gifts to the parents of the bride and groom.
Nicole came to me by way of one of my previous Canadian brides. I always love referrals. It's the highest compliment when a bride refers her newly engaged friends to me. Nicole's colors are pink and green. She specifically wanted deep pink peonies, green spider mums, and stephanotis flowers with pearl centers for her bouquet with a matching boutonniere for her groom.
To contrast her bouquet with her bridal party, she requested the bridesmaids bouquets to be light pink peonies with green spider mums in silver plated tussie mussie holders. She plans to have someone handstamp each bridesmaid's initials on the keepsake charm that is attached to the tussie mussie. A very sweet gesture and personal touch.
The groomsmen have a green spider mum with a pink ribbon.The fathers and brothers of the bride and groom will be wearing a light pink peony bud with green filler. The little boys and ring bearers will be wearing a light pink ranunculus with stephanotis flower.
I will have more pictures later with the corsages and the custom teapot arrangements, but for now I wanted to share these photos with you.

There's a lot going on in the studio with multiple orders going on at the same time. Lots of exciting things for me on the horizon and I'm super excited at what the future holds for DK Designs!

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Featured today on Amy Atlas' Sweet Designs Blog!

I'm very excited to share a DIY tutorial feature today on Amy Atlas' Sweet Designs blog! Clay cherry blossoms can be used as table decor, favors and accenting your favorite desserts. Thank you to DECO Clay Craft Academy for allowing me to share this wonderful art form with dessert design blog readers!
Sorry this post is short, but please check out the wonderful tutorial and Amy Atlas' wonderful blog! I will share more about the photoshoot and the people who helped me soon. For now, I'm off to the beach to enjoy some quality time with my family and friends.

Monday, August 8, 2011

Handstamped Wooden Ice Cream Spoons!

Last weekend I helped my best friend with her daughter's 5th birthday party. It was a Bubble Guppies theme, swim party and ice cream bar rolled into one. My best friend is great in the kitchen but not so creative when it comes to the other stuff so she asked me if I could help. I thought it would be cute to do hand-stamped wooden ice cream spoons to go with the take-home strawberry sorbet cups.This is how they looked. Then it dawned on me that I could make these for people to use at their own party! I've got some other concepts in mind, but I decided to list these first.

Super cute whether you want "yum!" or "enjoy!" Depending on how they do, other words might become available in the near future. :)This is a little bit of a departure from always doing clay, but I love details and this kind of goes with my wedding details and printed line! Click here to visit my Etsy shop if you'd like to learn more and purchase a set!

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Pink and Green Bridal Bouquet and Boutonniere

I finally finished this stunning bridal bouquet and matching boutonniere. My client lives in Australia. She wanted a pink and green bouquet. Her bouquet is 14" in diameter and contains peonies, David Austin roses, calla lilies, hydrangea, viburnum, hyacinth, parrot tulips and ranunculus. Even though the bride wanted all pink and green, I thought the callas would be better in white with a green edge since the bouquet is predominantly shades of pink. I think it breaks it up a little and makes everything come together nicely. This order is traveling all the way to Australia!Lots of exciting stuff on the horizon, but I cannot share at the moment. Believe me, as soon as I can I will let you know! For now, I have to get back to my wedding orders.