design on a lime

last weekend was the sunniest and hottest of the year, and i spent most of it indoors. my friend said she felt sorry for me, but don't worry, the doors and windows were open and the view inside was just as gorgeous- since this is what i was doing. i've been getting calls to do weddings that are different than i am used to ever since i did one last summer. i don't know why, but these are all weddings where the siblings of either the bride or grrom are in charge of planning and selecting everything. so i worked with the groom's sister on this- and didn't meet the bride or groom until i was handing them their flowers. it was a little stressful to think about. but i loved what she chose for flowers. the bride's bouquet was all white peonies and as fluffy as frosting. the picture is bad, but it's my new favorite bouquet.the centerpieces were mostly peonies, hydrangeas, mums, and stock. all flowers i love. i usually don't love one color for the entire wedding, but the limes in the vases were adorable- and they used whole limes with names pinned on as the place markers. it was just cute. oh, and did i mention it was on the top floor of the tallest building in seattle? so even though i spent the day indoors, the view(s) were worth it!

the sun is shining!

i'm so happy to finally see some sun! it makes me want to set my table like this. still waiting for flowers to bloom though. but i guess that would also require that i plant some first?

hooray for hot glue (no.16)

oh goodness! this posting everyday is harder than i thought it would be! this is what kept me from posting yesterday. but there is still a good thing involved. who can underestimate the value of a hot glue gun? i know my sister especially can. when she kindly lent us her couch slipcovers, the ties were held on with hot glue. my hot glue gun was especially handy yesterday because i used it for everything. more than usual. i even used hot glue between some of the flowers to keep them together. i really prefer the high temp glue. yep- did you know that there are different temperatures? i had my cheapy glue gun and a friends- both looked the same, but the high temp one worked much faster and produced a better hold. it does burn a little easier though, but after a while your fingers get calloused enough that it's okay. i'm starting to think that hot glue is all you need. oh and i just love this picure even though it's blurry! the bride was adorable but couldn't hold still enough for my little camera. did i mention i loved her dress?

billy button balls

aren't those little yellow ball things on top just adorable? i am now in love with craspedia, or "billy buttons" as they say in australia. while in utah once again, i got to help with the flowers for a big convention. it was so fun to make these gorgeous centerpieces of white dahlias, mums, scabiosa pods, craspedia, fern, and moss. the overall look was gorgeous- there were 120 tables plus a stage display and flowers all over another room. the girl who designed everything is so so talented! i want to be like her when i grow up- seriously. my pictures aren't too good, but hopefully i will have more later.

still talking flowers

is this blog becoming a flower blog or what? after this post, it's all sewing all the time. i have lots of orders to catch up on and neglected them last week because i was so absorbed with this wedding. the bride was so adorable and so much fun to work with! since most of her family is from out of state, she planned the ultimate experience-seattle wedding. a ceremony overlooking lake washington, a reception at the space needle, and of course, flowers from pike's place. what could be better? speaking of flowers from pp, i -love-them! other florists in the area told me not to use them, but i did and they were far superior to the ones i bought wholesale - in every way.

every time i do a wedding i want to talk to the family after it's all done and find out what they really think, but so far i have never had the guts to do so. i just hope they like what i come up with after meeting multiple times and talking/emailing so much. if anything from this wedding, i think i became proficient in wheatgrass. i had ordered 11 flats for the centerpieces and on monday the wholesaler called and said the grower is only sending 3. no reason. no apology. just 3. how am i supposed to make 20 centerpieces with 3 flats??? so i called every place i could think of and thank heavens for charlie's produce! they saved my life with the most perfect wheatgrass ever- at a better price, and in better condition to make the centerpieces. now i have 3 flats of untouched wheatgrass on my deck and nothing to do with them. any ideas?

the charlie's produce experience was a little scary though. it was a warehouse in south seattle. but not just any warehouse. it was a "watch for speeding forklifts, the parking lot consists of loading docks only, there's no nice entrance" type of warehouse. i had macy with me and she clung so tight the whole time we were there. so enjoy the pics of my most stressful, but most fun wedding ever. next stop: the sewing machine.

flowers on my mind

i was so excited to help my sister in law with a wedding when we were visiting last week. she thought i was crazy to want to help her work, but any excuse to do flowers is fine with me! we just made centerpieces using roses, dahlias, and curly willow. have you ever looked closely at a dahlia or a zinnia? i think those are becoming some of my favorite flowers. it was fun to make some centerpieces and i learned some new techniques too! thanks kim!
we also helped my dad plant some flowers that had been waiting for over a week! i just hate to see flowers go to waste. he has a new philosophy on his yard. perennials. what a thought. you just plant them once and enjoy for years to come. if you know my parents, this is a brilliant step toward a beautiful yard. they just don't have the time to spend pulling weeds and planting flowers. richie also mentioned that his new hobby will be yardwork when we move into our house. that was music to my ears! i don't know a lot of husbands who want to work in the yard just for fun! so i already started a list of what we are going to have: hydrangea, lavendar, lilacs, zinnias, dahlias, oh and then there's the vegetables: tomatoes, potatoes, corn, zucchini, pumpkins, watermelon, squash, green beans, snap peas, lettuce, and of course carrots! then richie checked out a book from the library on green lawns. i don't think we have the same yard-vision in mind.

june's blooms

so remember in my past life when i did wedding flowers? everytime i did a wedding, i would walk out of it exhausted and say to richie, "why don't i do this more often?" as tiring as it can be, i love it! so, i decided to resurrect the wedding florist! actually, i decided to try it again the same time i made my little dresses shop. i couldn't decide which i enjoyed more so i am trying both until one demands more time or i decide i don't like the other. now are you seeing why i am an "etc." i really can't decide what i like to do the most so i just do too many things. anyway, i did three weddings last weekend.. all of which were new experiences for me. the reason is that i have only done one type of religious wedding, where flowers are only at the reception. to be honest, i couldn't remember what an 'altar arrangement' was so i had to refer back to my floral design textbook from college! so it was fun to learn from these weddings. the first one was at a cute a-frame church. the theme was 'breakfast at tiffany's' and she wanted all white flowers. the second was definitley the most fascinating. the bride had already been married a month and was now having the reception. it was at a hotel in two conference rooms: one for the men and one for the women. i really don't know the religious or ethic background, but the women are always veiled in public and the groom was only allowed into the women's reception for a few minutes. needless to say, we only decorated the women's side. the third wedding was a 'last minute' girl who just wanted a couple things --at first. by the time i went to pick up her flowers at the wholesaler, she had quadrupled her order and it turned out to be my biggest wedding of all. luckily she was 'pick-up' so i didn't have to deliver or set up anything. whew! it was a tiring but fun weekend. so if you are still reading.... i have a favor for you. since i am actually charging people for more than flowers now (markup, time, etc.), i really want to have a catchy name... here are my ideas:

Studio Blooms

Daisy Studio

Simple Blooms

Cherry Blossom

Blooming Studio

Where Flowers Bloom

In Bloom/InBloom

so, what do you think? leave a comment and tell me your favorite name! most of you have seen my flowers at real live weddings, and hopefully these pictures give you more of an idea of my style... for now, enjoy the view!

better late than never

in light of the tragic shootings in virginia, i give you flowers. oddly enough, i didn't hear about the shootings until thursday(!) to be quite honest, we don't watch the news and we've developed a love-hate relationship with our paperboy, so we didn't read about it in the daily paper. ironically, at the same time as the shootings, i was sitting at the dmv for the fourth time in three weeks. while sitting there i thought, i am so thankful that i only have to come to this place once every 5 years. twice a decade is plenty enough to get a dmv fix. it even crossed my mind that the crowds of people were so vulnerable in a place like that with so much organized chaos and so many seemingly unhappy people. i never remember feeling that way in a college class. it was always such a privilege to go to school, and i am sure the students at VT feel that as well. so why was i sitting at the dmv for the fourth time in less than a month? it's my own negligence. i let my license expire and had to take the written and driving tests again. on a lighter note, i failed the same thing i failed when i was 16! (he made me back out of a cul de sac like i was backing out of a curved driveway. he must have known that is how i hit our mailbox) but why am i writing about this? well, as soon as i realized i was driving with an expired license, i knew i had to fix it even though i didn't want to spend 4 hours at the dmv. and although it's been a week since the shootings, i feel it's something that has changed all of our perspectives. so, i still want to take a minute to reflect, and share my condolences and hope for the families of the victims. better late than never.

P.S. the flowers i currently have on my deck are these geraniums and daffodils. i looked up the meanings of each:

daffodils: regard

geraniums: stupidity, folly

somehow... appropriate

loving flowers

i love love love flowers.i can't describe it any better way. everytime i do a wedding or other floral arranging i rediscover my love of flowers. i love the smell of fresh flowers. i love how flowers are what they are; they are not perfect, yet proud to showoff what they have. flowers give everything to you regardless of who you are. flowers can say a million different things, all nice, comforting, loving, etc. have you ever heard a flower given to someone with hopes of an insult? i just can't get over how much i love flowers and sharing them with people.