Plumeria & Cymbidium Orchid Centerpieces Complete!

I have to say, when I get a big order such as this one where I was hired to do cake flowers, 50 favors and 10 centerpieces, when it's all done, there is a huge sigh of relief and a sense of accomplishment. I was expecting not to finish them until tomorrow, but once I get something in my head and I have a deadline, I need to finish it and call it done before I can move onto the next thing. Granted I have 3 weeks until the bride's wedding, but I have so many other orders and samples to work on right behind it that getting this done was a big deal to me.

I've done 40 centerpieces for a client once before a few years ago, but this is the first time I've done centerpieces this large. Granted they are probably 12" high and 6 inches square, but the process is very involved. Making 80 plumerias, 60 fern curls and 50 cymbidiums is no easy task and then letting them dry, painting, attaching wire, preparing the base and then arranging. I think I started this order early last week and between other things going on, I managed to finish in a week's time.

I'm so excited to send this order to Carol and Shaun. Carol and her mom have been a JOY to work with and so appreciative. They have loved all the pictures I've sent them along the way. I think that's the one thing that gets my clients excited, the fact that I share photos of their orders as I complete the items. I think it helps make their wedding day a reality and that the day is fast approaching and they look forward to seeing all these things on their wedding day. Best wishes to Carol & Shaun!

Mahalo for entrusting me to create the elements of your wedding reception in clay! :)

Plumeria & Cymbidiium Orchid Centerpieces

I'm almost done with Carol's order. This is the last component of her order, 10 table centerpieces! She definitely wanted plumerias but also wanted green cymbidium orchids. We originally had talked about a 4x4 glass cube with the flowers coming out of it, but I remember that Carol wanted some height to her arrangements. So I found these 6x4x4 glass vases that seemed perfect for what she wanted and still within the budget. So I intermixed the plumerias with green cymbidiums and instead of doing a lot of green filler, I thought the dark burgundy brown fern curls would add a nice earthy element with the grass fillers by giving it some height at the same time.
I'm really happy with the way these came out and I am sure the bride will be too. Thus far her and her mom have been very pleased with the items I sent them photos of today! I'm still working on the centerpiece flowers, but by Monday, I hope to be completed with the order, let dry and ship on Thursday! Best wishes to Carol and Shaun!

DK Designs Clay Floral Centerpieces - Part III

Another BIG order completed this morning! What a relief. The red orchids really added the finishing touch to this beautiful fall floral centerpiece. I really think these arrangements are going to look great in Jennifer's church and reception hall!

I have to say with centerpieces like this, I'm even amazed at what I can create. I get a real sense of accomplishment when I finish pieces like this and I'm so happy that I had an opportunity to really challenge myself artistically. I hope in the future I get a chance to create more centerpieces for brides who are interested in having an "eco-chic" alternative to fresh flowers. Can you imagine how beautiful this would look on a dining table or entry way table? My husband often told me when we lived in Hawaii that I should try to pitch my centerpieces to hotel chains instead of them using fresh flowers in their lobbies. Could you imagine??? Now that would be a REAL challenge!

Today I'm taking a tiny break to spend time with family and then later, back to work on my next bouquet (phaleanopsis orchids, callas and tuberose) for a Canadian bride getting married in Australia. Now that's a fun destination wedding...

Congratulations and Best Wishes to Jennifer and her fiance!

DK Designs Clay Floral Centerpieces - Part II

Yesterday, I honestly did not get much done in the way of my orders. I had planned to knock out some flowers for the centerpieces, but instead, my son decided it was supposed to be about him, especially when he figured out that it shouldn't be about mommy on her birthday, it should be all about him. LOL... I think I need a birthday "do-over"!

At any rate, I digress. Today has been much more productive. I'm almost finished with my next client's centerpiece order. Another fall-like arrangement. Believe it or not, each arrangement measures 20 inches high by 16 inches in diameter! These will definitely be interesting in terms of shipping them to Maryland as they are quite heavy. The only thing that is left for these centerpieces are the red Singapore orchids the client requested. The centerpieces are made up of large creamy ivory peonies, yellowish tone roses, red ranunculus, green hydrangea, bells of Ireland and Singapore orchids. I used some red and green fillers to fill in the spaces, and add a little more depth and texture.

After this order is done, I go back to a white and blue color palette.. Fall is over (in terms of my fall color palette orders) and it's back to destination wedding style floral bouquets (tropical flowers in light colors) for my up and coming clients... I seriously don't think "wedding season" has ended for me... Which is a good thing!

DK Designs Clay Floral Centerpieces

I have to say, I've been working so much on flowers the last month that my elbow and wrist are starting to tell me something.... Don't take 8-9 wedding orders in one month! LOL.... I wanted to share some photos of my work in progress for my first official large centerpiece order since I was featured on Martha Stewart. This particular client saw my Victorian Elegance pieces and really liked the urn style vase. She said she has some black lanterns and so we decided upon these large black ceramic resin urns. They are 12" tall! Jennifer is using these centerpieces as her decor for the church as well as for the memory table at her reception.

The photos show light yellow really large roses - 25-30 petals each and creamy ivory peonies with that golden yellow fringe center. The photo actually has all the flowers that will go into 2 centerpieces, just to give you an idea of the scale. There will be green hydrangeas, orange-yellow tulips, red orchids and some green bells of Ireland. I think by the time it is done, this arrangement may measure 16 inches and will be 4 sided!