So again, the story begins with bouquets, when the gerberas' stems are at their longest:
Remember, a week ago or so I posted a story about the life of a bunch of roses which ended up in the hands of a practicing florist, i.e. me ;-) And I've used them till the maxiumum of their potential!! Today, I have for your a similar photo-story, this time about a pink gerbera. So again, the story begins with bouquets, when the gerberas' stems are at their longest: And them we continue with slightly shorter stems... ...and even shorter, perfect for wedding bouquets in a florist's microphone... ... and finally ends with simple table decorations :-)
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Since I've already started the topic of Easter cakes, here are 3 more ideas for a major Easter cake creation, guaranteed to stun your guests ;-) These are 3 entirely different styles, and maybe you'll find one here which you really like. The first one I've found here: And the one below - a good solution if you need a smaller cake - comes from this webste: Can't imagine an Easter cake without a huge egg on top? Then this one is for you ;-) I've found it here.
If you've visited my blog before, you know that I'm a florist-in-learning. So today I'm going to tell you a story of a bunch of pink roses, which I've got my hands on, and how I've used them over and over again, to practice as much as possible... I guess your average rose - once it's cut - usually ends up in one arrangement or bouquet, and there it stays till the end of it life... Well, my roses have a much more intensive and exciting existence ;-) Obviously, such a rose will first ge used in a boquet with other flowers, since at the begining its stem is the longest. So step 1 is a bouquet such as this: Once I'm satisfied with practicing bouquet-binding, step 2 for my pink rose is to shed its leaves while still keepeing the stem long, and to be used in a graphical arrangement - such as this: Step 3 - shorter bouquets, with unusual shapes, such as e.g. an arch-shaped one: Step 4 - the stem gets shortened, and my rose gets to pose for photographs in a number of average-sized arrangements, in various containers: Step 5 - the by-now-slightly-tired rose gets even shorter, and acts as a focal point in a number of tiny arrangements: Step 6 - and yes, there is a step 6, since cutting off almost the entire stem is not the final step in this story of rose-reduction - my rose must shed its petals, which are perfect for a variety of interesting projects - such us these original wedding arrangements: And that's how interesting a life of a rose can be in the hands of an aspiring florist ;-)
And since I seem to be on the roll when it comes to the topic of winter wedding bouquets, here is yet another one. This time I went for strong colours and bold form, as if to defy the sleepy winter atmosphere. Still, all the flowers used in it are available this time of the year. The arch-shape is a classic one, even though surprisingly many brides-to-be have not heard about it. I guess it's because all the wedding flowers catalogues nowadays are filled with complex, often futuristic and one-of-a-kind creations, which are always great to admire - the way art is - but not really ideal for a lot of brides. Anyway, the arch form is perfect e.g. for 20's style dresses or any dress with an empire-line, so if that's what you have in mind for your Big Day - this style will suit it really well. The winter is on but surprisingly that doesn't mean that the wedding time is off. True, maybe more couples say the sacramental "yes" during the spring and summer months, but there's still quite a few weddings taking place this time of the year.
One of the challenges facing February brides would be a rather limited choice of flowers available, but with what today's floristry can offer, it's hardy a problem anymore. So you can either go for splashy colours which, in a way, defy the winter time, or you can use the winter aura as your floral theme - with white colours, snow-like textures, shimmering pearls, fluffy feathers etc. If you like the second option, I have an idea for you - a feather-wrapped creation from carnations, hypericum and pearls. I must say I really enjoyed making it, even though I usually don't go for feathers in other areas of life. Like it? This last weekend of my floristry course we experimented with interesting ideas for a wedding bouquets, and we were shown that floristry is so much more than just arranging flowers. A perfect example is this long, flowing wedding bouquet (although strictly speaking, I shouldn’t call it a bouquet…), made from flowers glued to a special wire cocoon, which we have woven from scratch. We have worked with the cheaper black wire, although for a wedding, you can go with a silver or gold one, or one in any colour you choose.
And again, initially I did not like this idea very much, but when I saw the possibilities and the eventual affect – I was fully sold! And yet another floral arrangement from my course - a contemporary one. The idea is to create a relatively flat form, with flowers arranged in parallel way, but with definite differences in their shapes and textures and small variations in height to make it interesting. A series of these on a long wedding table would work perfectly. I think that it can also be adjusted to create a Christmas version – e.g. with gold candles, red roses and carnations and an occasional pine twig.
Here are the two versions I’ve prepared – one with the green santini, and the other without. Are you feeling inspired? ;-) A flower ball tree This is another idea for an interesting flower arrangement which we covered on my floristry course. Basically it’s a foam ball fastened securely on a bamboo stick, and you can decorate it in any way you want – your imagination (and technical skills, I guess) being the only limits. I made one from deep purple santini chrysanthemums, with a graphical arrangement on one side. You can also use pine twigs and make it into a Christmas ball, or baby’s breath and other white flowers for a wedding arrangement, red roses for a Valentine’s one or whatever your imagination dictates! And finally I had a moment free to work on the photos of the second wedding car decoration which I made yesterday. As you can see this one is also heart-shaped, but the basis is from Oasis foam, not from wire (as in the previous one). We were trying it on this morning, under some pretty trying circumstances – the temperature has dropped below zero (although only slightly, for now) and there were few centimetres of snow lying everywhere! But it was worth it, I love the shape of this one, and I love its deep purple colour with violet accents – although it’s a bit dark for traditional weddings, and better suited for those with a bit more of a flair ;-) Wedding car decoration: heart-shaped garland I wanted to write that I’ve been suffering from autumn blues lately, but I just looked out through the window, saw the fat snowflakes falling to the already white-covered ground, and realised that it’s actually winter blues. Anyway, apparently nothing cheers me up better than my floristry course, and 7 hours of uninterrupted hard work with flowers. It leaves me creatively and mentally satisfied, and physically exhausted - in a good way. I really, really recommend it! And here is the main arrangement I made today – a woven heart-shaped garland, from mimosa, which acts as a wedding car decoration. It’s attached to the car’s hood with a series of cleverly attached silicon suckers. It looks good, but it requires about 3 hours of repetitive, finger-numbing and slow-going work – and a lot of patience. Up to you to decide if it’s worth it… |
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August 2012
AuthorA fiery red head, a writer and a photographer in love with beautiful design and all things creative |