Custom Cake Topper for a Baby Shower

One of my cake artist clients contacted me again and asked if I could create a keepsake cake topper for some special clients of hers. Her clients are baseball enthusiasts and they are expecting a baby boy. So their baby shower theme is baseball. She sent over a photo of a sleeping baby in a baseball mitt. 

While figurines are not my strong suit, I agreed to do this for my international client. It was quite challenging, but I hope that she and her expectant clients will enjoy the cake topper that they will be able to keep after the baby shower!

Potted Azalea Plant

 My friend, who I worked with back in my high-tech marketing days asked me if I could make a flower arrangement for her mom. I asked what she wanted and her mom loves fuchsia pink and red azaleas. I decided to create the arrangement as though the flowers were potted in a planter. 

I think it turned out really cute! She didn't want anything too big. I hope she will enjoy it.

4 New Teapots on Etsy... Take Advantage of the Holiday Sale!

This weekend I had a chance to work on more mini teapot designs. There are 4 new ones listed here. My favorite is the white and green combination of succulents, ranunculus, hipericum berries, winter white berries with a hint of blush pink and whitish green hydrangeas. Simple yet beautiful. 

Don't forget 10 days left to take advantage of my Holiday Sale on Etsy. Be sure to enter coupon code: HOLIDAY10 during check out. Don't have a Paypal account? No worries, we now accept all major credit cards. :) Happy Shopping!

Heirloom Rose Hair Flowers in 6 colors!

I have been working on creating new pieces for my Etsy shop the last couple of days. Today, I listed 6 beauties. They are all heirloom roses in 6 different colors (red, fuchsia pink, whitish ivory, creamy yellow, peach-pink, and coral peach). They range in size between 3.5-3.75 inches in diameter. So gorgeous! Perfect hair accessories for the bride, bridesmaids and just to wear for a special occasion!

Don't forget now until December 20th, 2012, receive 10% off your order when you enter code: HOLIDAY10 during check out. We now accept all major credit cards and Paypal transactions.

HOLIDAY SALE - now until 12/20/12!

I finally decided to update my Etsy shop. I've been hemming and hawing about whether to use Etsy's merchant service, but now that I think they've worked out the kinks, it's time to dive in! So, you can now pay via all major credit cards and Paypal! I also offer Gift Cards via Etsy if you don't know what your loved one would like in the way of flowers, and you'd like to give them the opportunity to pick!

In honor of all these updates to my shop, I'm offering a HOLIDAY SALE! I think it's my first ever! From now until 12/20/12, I am offering a 10% discount on all new purchases of ready-to-ship and made-to-order items. Please note that made-to-order item lead times still apply.

ENTER COUPON CODE: HOLIDAY10 at check out.

Thank you for all your support over the years and I hope you'll take advantage of the 10% off sale! 

Visit us at www.dkdesignshawaii.etsy.com!

New Listings on Etsy...

 I have been working on getting up some new items in my Etsy store now that things have slowed down a bit with weddings. This first piece is all gardenias in a lovely teal mercury style glass vase with greenery. 

(Please feel free to click on the pictures, as they will take you to the actual listing in my Etsy store.)

 This piece is one of my favorites. I had a couple of these mini teacups and saucers in a heart shape motif. I decided to make my popular heirloom roses in mini sizes. Love the English garden feel to this sweet little floral arrangement.

 I love the look of single blooms in a glass vase. This one is a peachy pink heirloom rose with lush green leaves in a petite glass vase with faux water!

 Vibrant pink anemones are sure to brighten your day nestled in a vase titled, "LOVE".

I'm getting back into making some new cake flower designs. Succulents seem to be very popular these days and I finally had a chance to make one!

More flower designs coming soon. Great for holiday gift giving or special occasions!

Winter inspired bouquet

A few months ago, a client asked me if I could create a bouquet of silver brunia, silver succulents, ivory ranunculus and Dusty Miller leaves. I was really excited about how this petite bridal bouquet turned out. It's the first time I'd made a bouquet with silver brunia!  I love the winter like feeling this bouquet exudes with all the silver and light green accents contrasted against the creamy ivory.

The bride loved the bouquet so much she asked me to create a matching succulent hair flower!

Vintage inspired bouquet

A bride contacted me last week to see if I could create her wedding bouquet. Her wedding date is this month. She has been a fan of my work for a while and she asked if it wouldn't be too late for her to order a custom bouquet. She sent me several images but not one that she particularly fell in love with. She also gave me several flowers that she loves. So I took all her images, flowers and comments and tried to create something she'd love. She wanted muted pastels and also wanted a rainbow of colors with ivory accents since her dress is ivory.

I think I pulled the bouquet apart a couple of times until I finally got it to look the way I wanted. I went with coral garden roses, ivory heirloom roses, gardenias, purple stock, lily of the valley, dogwood, greenish blue hydrangeas, light yellow ranunculus and light pink peony buds with Dusty Miller leaves. 

The groom's boutonniere is an ivory heirloom rose with Dusty Miller leaves. Best wishes to Brittany and her fiance!

Flowers that have special meaning...

While I don't want to spoil the surprise for my client, who plans to give these flowers to a loved one soon, I just wanted to share the images I took yesterday of the finished flowers. I will share the back story behind it in a few more weeks...

Mini Teapot and Teacup Ensemble

 One of my repeat customers, had purchased a mini teapot and teacup ensemble for her mother for Mother's Day. A friend of her's saw it and fell in love with the idea. So my client asked if I could make another set for her friend to give for Christmas. This time she requested daffodils, purple irises and pink roses.  I just love how they turned out!

Pink Peony and Cherry Blossom Bouquet

Last year, I had a handful of brides tell me their wedding was called off. Many times by the time they notify me of their circumstances, I can't refund their deposit. I try, however at least to give them the opportunity to use their deposit towards an arrangement if they so choose. I'm happy to say that 2 of my brides have come back and told me the wedding is back on a year later and still want me to create their bridal bouquet. 

Brittany wanted a pink peony bouquet with cherry blossoms for her special day and this is how her bouquet turned out. I can't wait to see her wedding photos and wish her and her fiance all the best!

Flowers To Brighten Someone's Spirit...

One of my friends asked me a couple of weeks ago if I could help her design a special piece. Her mother-in-law is undergoing medical issues and they wanted to give her something to raise her spirits during this difficult time. She talked it over with her husband and they thought having a clay bouquet would be something that would be a constant reminder of positive energy and thoughts.

My friend said her mother-in-law's favorite color is purple and while her favorite flower is iris, I decided not to do it. I told her I want to spend more time on perfecting the iris flower so she said when I do to let her know. :) She wanted something cheerful and vibrant, so I went with shades of purple, white and green. I chose to make ranunculus, rose, lily of the valley, hyacinth, sweet peas and hydrangeas. 

I hope this arrangement will bring positive energy and lift my friend's mother-in-law's spirit each day and with it she remembers how many people love her and are praying she overcomes her illness!

Tropical Bridesmaids Bouquets

One of my brides was supposed to get married last year but some unforeseen events occurred and they had to postpone their destination wedding. While she was able to still purchase her bouquet and her groom's boutonniere, she told me she would contact me closer to the date of their new wedding date and have me create the bridesmaid bouquets.

During that year, the color scheme changed slightly and Felicia asked me to minimize the yellow as yellow wasn't going to be one of the main colors any longer, but rather the fuchsia pink and the orange were.  However, her bouquet had lots of yellow. Regardless, I think the bouquets will compliment one another really well yet be different from the bride's bouquet.

New Items on Etsy

As wedding season is winding down, I've had a little bit of time to create some new home decor arrangements to fill my Etsy site. Hopefully in the next several weeks I will be able to add more.

I always love my mini teapot designs so I wanted to do some fall inspired pieces with dahlias, tea roses, ranunculus, hipericum berries and lily of the valley. 

The 3rd piece is some delightful peachy pink peonies with some whimsical wired berry vines and Dusty Miller style leaves.

 You can visit my shop at www.dkdesignshawaii.etsy.com if you'd like to see more images of these pieces and purchase them.

Stephanotis and Cherry Blossoms Embellished in Rhinestones

This particular UK bride asked me to recreate a bouquet that I had made for a past client. While I try not to replicate the same bouquet twice, I think even if I tried, they wouldn't look 100% the same.  Sometimes with email communication with my clients there's a bit of misunderstanding, but in the end everything always works out. :)

Beki wanted lots of bling so we put crystals in both the stephanotis flowers and cherry blossoms. The difference with the cherry blossoms is I preferred the cupped rounded petal shape with the stamens in the center. Originally I didn't put the crystals in because I forgot what my original design had. So I had to modify the color of the center of the blossom from a light pale green to an ivory shade and add the mini rhinestones.  the bouquets and boutonnieres are wrapped with a shimmery ivory ribbon.

  I am so very grateful for all my international orders. It's always a great compliment to my work to see that people are willing to pay not only for exchange rate differences, international shipping and customs duties just to own one of my customized clay designs for them. I am so appreciative for all the business I've received over the years. :)

Special Customized Gifts

Recently I was contacted by this particular international client who wanted me to make some special gifts for people in his life. The first arrangement is of pink tulips and common yarrow flowers. I had never heard of yarrow until he asked me to make them.  While I wasn't able to capture 100% of what they look like in nature, I think I managed to get it close enough that one would know what it is if they knew what yarrows were to begin with. :)

 

The 2nd arrangement is of 6 long stem roses in whitish ivory, pink and red. I'm very happy with how each of the arrangements turned out and I think my client is as well. :)

Fall Wedding Bouquet - Oranges, Peaches and Greens

Today, I finished a bridal bouquet for my client, Kirsten. Kirsten had found me via Etsy and asked if I could make a bouquet with dahlias, carnations or marigolds, roses, ranunculus, hipericum berries and viburnum. I just love how this bouquet turned out. Lots of shades of orange, peach and green.  Definitely a fall wedding bouquet!

Best wishes Kirsten to you and your fiance on your wedding day!

White Lily with Rhinestones

This bride requested a white lily for her hair, but instead of the clay stamens and pistil, she really wanted to have some "bling". So I replicated the look of the stamens and pistil with the handwired rhinestones.

Custom Bridal Hair Comb

 I've been in a bit of a creative lull, but trying to get back into the swing of things. Thought I would catch up on a few blog posts today and share what I've been making. 

 An Etsy client/bride of mine requested me to create a bridal hair comb that included a mini coral peony with green leaves and lily of the valley blossoms wired with rhinestones to go with her veil. I'm pleased with the way it turned out.

Custom Colored Cymbidium Orchid Hair Flowers

My 2nd cousin's good friend is getting married this coming weekend and Natana was very interested in the clay flowers I make. My cousin Danielle asked if I could help her. They had tossed around several ideas, but the final decision was to make cymbidium orchids in the colors of the 6 different fall colors the bridal party would be wearing. Mind you, I am always worried about having to do deep hued shades and worry whether it will turn out well. I'm happy to say that they almost perfectly match each of the pocket swatches Natana gave me to work from. While the orchids may not come in those colors in real life, I think they will be a perfect accessory for each of the bridesmaids. 

Natana also wanted to have some rhinestones in each of the flowers so instead of adding the pistil accents in clay, I handwired rhinestones in the middle to take the place of the clay ones. :) Just adding a bit of sparkle to the flowers.