Countdown to DK Designs on the Martha Stewart Show...

Well, I'm almost ready for the show. Got packed, got all the things I need for the show. I'm starting to get excited (honestly I've been too busy trying to prepare, take care of my orders and take care of Aidan who has been sick for over a week). It's hard to believe it's almost here. I'm really looking forward to the show and I plan to just ENJOY EVERY moment!

I didn't get a chance to make much as I've been busy trying to work on my swap outs, the final piece I'll be demonstrating and other odds and ends. This is the one piece that I was able to finish and hope to give to Martha Stewart as a gesture of appreciation for putting me on the show! This is one of my favorites which the original was more in a tall vase that I called "Tropical Punch". I just love the colors and the flowers. Peonies, cymbidiums, roses, dahlias, and tuberose buds in rich pinks, peaches, oranges, reds and greens. I also plan to give some of the pieces from the show to the producers who worked so closely with me to through the whole process. They are truly amazing!

I hope you watch the show and I hope I do well. Just have to remember to stay calm and imagine Martha is just a regular student of mine! Yeah, RIGHT! :)

REMEMBER, TUESDAY, 4/1! CHECK YOUR LOCAL LISTINGS, CABLE OR SATELLITE PROVIDER!!! The segment will be posted Wednesday night on her Craft section of her website if you can't tape or view it when it is on! Wish me luck! :)

See Martha Stewart Make Hydrangeas on Tuesday, April 1st!

I'm gearing up for the Martha Stewart Show! A lot of long hours, making samples, swap outs and creating the "how to" with the producers. I give the producers a LOT of credit! It's amazing how quickly they move and work with someone who is not TV savvy. Martha definitely has an awesome team!

So this is finally what we came up with for the show. Because they only had enough time to do 1 segment with the flowers, we've decided that hydrangeas in a little egg cup is the way to go. Plus, hydrangea flowers are very popular and what better way to show how clay flowers are a great alternative, especially when you like the really delicate flowers that wilt so quickly.

My son is already so sad that his Mommy is leaving him for a couple of days! He's never been without me for more than maybe 6-8 hours.

I hope you'll watch on Tuesday! I just hope I do a good job! What a chance of a lifetime and I'm so happy to be doing it and sharing this awesome craft/art with the crafters of America! If you can't view it when it's on in your area, you can tune into www.marthastewart.com and they will have it archived on their website!

DK Designs Selected to be on the Martha Stewart Show!!!

I got an amazing call on Tuesday! We were driving down to Disneyland and I got a call with a 917 area code. I didn't recognize it so I let it go to VM. It was a call I NEVER expected in a million years! It was the production assistant from the Martha Stewart Show! She said the producers saw my pieces that I was selling on etsy.com and they would like to see samples. I immediately called her back and we discussed what they wanted. Initially I was going to come back and make new things and send them, but she called me back on Thursday and said they needed the samples on their desk on Monday. She said they were considering it for a 4/1 show if they felt it was as good as what they saw on my etsy.com storefront!

Monday, I got the GREAT news! They met with Martha herself and they decided they want me on the show to teach Martha how to make the flowers! So I'm travelling to NYC to be on her show. The show I believe is supposed to air live on 4/1, so check your local listings! I'm a bit nervous, but I just need to focus on what we're doing and do my best!

This is the HIGHEST compliment to me, to be selected by Martha Stewart and her show producers. Who would have ever thought they peruse the etsy.com site, granted it makes a lot of sense! So you crafters out there, never know who's looking at your stuff!

This will also not to mention be huge for the Deco Clay Craft Academy - more students and interest in the CLAYCRAFT by DECO soft clay and the Clay for All Seasons Book. Besides, if I wasn't given the opportunity to learn this AWESOME craft/art from the Academy, I would have never come across an opportunity like this!

Sorry I haven't been blogging much, but I'm actually teaching a student from Indiana an accelerated Deco Clay Craft Academy curriculum course. It's amazing how far people will come to take the Academy courses, but then again, I did it! This is truly an amazing craft and I enjoy teaching others and expanding the craft on behalf of the Deco Clay Craft Academy!

Thank you Martha Stewart and the Martha Stewart Show producers for giving me the opportuntity to share this with your audience and for finding me in the millions and millions of amazing crafters out there!

New Pictures - Noelani's Program Fan and a Gardenia Flower Centerpiece

Not much to post today in terms of commentary. I took some additional pictures of Noelani's program fan and made a gardenia arrangement for a family friend. The next week or so, I'll be busy teaching classes and working on orders so my new posts will probably be delayed for a couple of weeks while I take care of my wedding clients. It is officially wedding season!

I don't remember being so CRAZY busy this time last year, but it's definitely been hectic since... hmm... last year! Anyway, I'm hoping in between the crazy wedding season I'll have more time to add additional vase arrangements to post on my website to sell as well as on my etsy site. Those who know me, know that I'm just as crazy when it comes to doing more than what seems possible.

I'm really looking forward to seeing all the pictures that come back from all the weddings I'm working on as I know it will be nothing less than spectacular!

The other good piece of promising news I received is the potential corporate client pitched the items I sent to them to propose to their end client and they LOVED my creations and there is a good possibility they will order my items for their venue! SWEET!!! I'm excited about the possibility of this client and partnership! :)

Creating Custom Designs With Special Meaning

From time to time, clients ask me if I'm able to create something custom, meaning a sketch or illustration of where they are getting married. For these types of clients I enlist the help of my brother, who is the true artist in the family. This illustration is of Hale Kai Estate, where I also believe King Kamehameha used to stay there and the image is of the canoe landing off the water and near the main house! With the help of my brother, who did the drawing, I was able to do Noelani and Albert's wedding invitations and they asked me to do their program fans and hair flowers for the bridal party. Noelani is an up and coming pastry chef at Cake Rack of Kona. You definitely should check out their little pastry shop as they make tasty pastries, cupcakes and wedding cakes!

You can pretty much bet that no one else will have the same invitation as her's. I also did in the past (again with the help of my brother who did the artwork) the invitations, programs and guest book for another client who got married at the historic Mokuaikaua Church and her reception was outside of Hulihe'e Palace. Talk about another great historical landmark to tie the knot! Both of these clients were referrals from the awesome Wedding Planner Extraordinare, Cheryl Shoemaker of Orchid Isle Weddings and Events! She's a wonderful, proactive and really pays attention to the details to help create a beautiful wedding day for her clients. There's not a lot of Big Island based wedding planners so if you're looking for good ones, check out Orchid Isle Weddings & Events at http://www.orchidisleweddings.com/.

Etsy Wedding Blog Talks about DK Designs Creations!

So I've been getting a bunch of emails and leads through my www.dkdesignshawaii.etsy.com store which is awesome. Today I got a direct email from a potential client and I asked her how she found out about me. She told me she saw my etsy store front, but found out about it through the http://etsyweddings.blogspot.com blog! I didn't know one existed but I decided to search for it and I got front and center coverage on this blog on Sunday! How cool is that! Whoever created this blog did so as she was helping her sister plan her wedding and was looking for unique and different but cool things for weddings. I guess she searches through the Etsy.com weddings section for all the things she finds are unique and different that brides should seriously check out! Thanks Etsy Weddings! :)

It's always nice to hear what others think of my stuff and so far all of it has been positive! I really appreciate all the nice things people have to say! It just reinforces in my mind that I am doing what I love and keep doing what I'm doing! It's so cool to see another blog site talking about my stuff! This year keeps getting better and better!

Magnolia or Gardenia Favors?

Remember my magnolia bride? Well, we're in the process of working on her favors. My immediate first thought was, definitely go with gardenias (they're easier for me to make), as they kind of make me think of Hawaii more, but also I was not sure how my magnolia flowers would turn out. Kristy is having a gardenia in her hair as well as for her bridesmaids and flower girl, so the coordinator and I were thinking tie the gardenia back in to match the hair flowers in the bridal party. Now after making the favors and seeing the way they came out, it's a TOUGH call!

I definitely like BOTH of them a lot! Plus the whole premise of Kristy using the magnolia flower was because of what it meant and how the history and meaning of the magnolia flower embodies who she is and who they are as a couple. We are also using the favor tag as the place card for the families/couples/friends so it's more personalized.

We are going to do magnolia flowers for her cake which I think will look STUNNING! She has a square 3 tier cake in chocolate frosting from Cake Rack of Kona which I think the magnolia flowers will really look awesome!

The Personal Side of DK Designs

I hesitated to post any personal stuff in my life, but this is why I do what I do.. Well, I do it because I love what I do, but also so I can stay home and raise our son! These pictures were just too good to pass up not sharing.

In between my busy schedule of pumping out orders, my husband told me I needed to spend a little quality time with our son, so we decided to go outside and play some ball. Aidan had a blast and we all had a good time outside and he was happy that Mommy finally had time to stop doing email and work to spend time with him!

These are some great expressions and moments, that we will always cherish. I'm sure Aidan is wishing that we could do this every day and Mommy wouldn't have to ever do email or work again!

New Floral Arrangements for Sale
So, I had some down time yesterday and decided it would be a good chance to make some more flowers and create some newer arrangements to sell that were a little less pricey. There are few less flowers in the new arrangements, but they are equally as beautiful. As they say, big things come in little packages.

I love the vases that I found at Anthropologie. Actually they aren't vases, but latte cups and things a normal person would look at and say, that'd be cute as a drinking cup... I on the other hand, look at it and say, "that would be a great little vase for an arrangement!"

These would make great Easter presents for your loved ones who want flowers, but these will last! :) These arrangements contain gerbera daisies, roses, orchids, pikake flowers, pakalana and more!