"You've got to pick a pocket or two!!"

Wow. What a mad week! Quite glad to see the end of it to be honest.

Anyways, this time of year is fab for florists as gardens are blooming so country- garden style bouqets are always on the agenda. I went to my friends house to have a imprompt hairdying/housewarming/on- the- floor Come Dine With Me experience and eyed up two MASSIVE ferns they had in their front garden. I got some flowers together and made them a beautiful arrangement for their front room.

Last night, I took a load of roses from the garden and just kept adding things I found in the garden, so everything from mini foxgloves to lavender went in there! Heres a photo:

So pretty.

But heres the problem, Im finding myself walking past peoples gardens thinking "ooh, thats nice, maybe I could just take a few stems and it can go with this and this".

But amazingly, Ive found out this is called stealing and said owner of garden isnt too happy when finding someone edging towards some pretty plants and flowers in their garden. Cant imagine why!!!

One Hour (and a bit more) Photo

So, clearing out my stuff the other day I came across a old memory card that had been long forgotten in a drawer. As it was loading up, I was thinking what photos could be on it- pictures of the dog, pictures of the ex, random pictures, drunken pictures and pictures no one could explain.

True, pictures of the dog and drunken pictures cropped up, but it turned out to be mainly very early floristry photos displaying work I would now gasp and shun from daylight as techincally they are awful. There is also evidence of me not knowing how to take a photo as some of the light- be it natural or artifical- is awful and then I obviously went through a "arty" faze where I presumed taking an arty photograph required me lying on the floor- pointless.

So, here are a few with descriptive titles:

"The gappy but impending (g)loom of Lily buds"

"The on- the -floor job"

(Part of the exculsive Freesias giving birth to Roses collection)

"The difficult second child of the Freesias giving birth collection"

I have no idea who this person is, where this was taken, and how he got that cut on his head. Although I am sure I didnt cause it, the evidence shows I was there when it happened and I can only apoligse for snapping away when it was obviously a serious situation!!

zombie.zombie.zombie.zombie nation.

Currently reading a great zombie book at the moment called Plauge of the Dead by Z.A Recht which has slighty taken over my life at the moment! I do love it when a book does that!






Anyway, it got me thinking- how could I create zombie themed flowers? Ive got fantastic little extras such as mini metal skulls on hoops (orginally for jewelry) which would look great within it. I could start with a lime green Chrysanthemum bloom, they are quite wierd to look at, much like a zombie and maybe add red colours to keep it lively and accessorise with a chainsaw for protection from the darling creatures of course.

If Zombies ever did attack, you'll find me somewhere surrounded by water with a bat to knock their heads off (it is the only way to finish one off you know) and most likely listening to Queen full blast in a appricative nod to Shaun Pegg.

Ill update you if my zombie flower plans awaken (see what I did there? Awaken? No? nevermind.....)

xx

Twice as nice

Opening a wrap of roses today, I came across two out of the eight stems were double roses- the shape of two roses within one stem of a rose. Ive never seen anything like this in shop bought roses before, so I thought I would share it with you all!

Really unusual I think!!

Didn't stop me from making a small arrangement of roses and hard ruscus, ideal for a bridesmaid or to decorate the mantlepiece.

Baby Pickle

No flower based post today, as Ive been doing a lot of the paperwork side of the floristry industry today so nothing visual to show. Im currently watching the Mel Gibson film Signs at the moment, and I had forgotten IT SCARES THE LIFE OUT OF ME when watching it, so Im going to share with you some pics and info about my baby, Violette Pickles,whos long- lost cousin seems to be in the film.

We got Violette by chance- I had a rare day off and we were flicking through the paper and we noticed that the local animal welfare centre was advertising German Sheperd pups. We decided to have a wander down and have a look, and when we got there she was in the playpen with her (bulkier) brother and two labrador pups. Turns out they were bred for the Christmas market but werent sold, hence why they were dumped. We were watching the german shepard pups play, and when Violette saw me, she bounded over and just wanted to play. She also started crying when she couldnt reach a biscuit that was near the cut-off point of the fence. I was unsure at first whether I would bond with her as I had a bad experience with a previous dog,so was wary. That quickly dissolved when she fell asleep on my lap on the way home and drooled all over my very expensive leather jacket- and I didnt care.

Two years on, shes the best thing in my life and she is so clever- if she knows Ive had a bad day, she jumps up and puts her head on my shoulder just like a hug. she is the ony dog I know that actually sings-yes sings- in response to something and she smiles when she sees you. she gets called Batfink by me and any telling off usually lasts for about 20 seconds too. I love her to bits, and I knew she was my baby when she cut her paw badly a few months ago and had to have it stitched- it was the first time she had been away from me and put in a cage the vet- one thing she is terrfied of. I slept downstairs on the sofa to be with her incase she ripped her bandages in the middle of the night and when her painkillers began to wear off, she came to me and gave me her paw as she knew her mum could sort it out for her.

she is currently barking in her sleep so Im having to shout different foods at her- this usually gets her to wake up!!

xx

Theres no mistake, I smell that smell, its that time of year again....

Ive had a wedding consultation today for a August wedding.The theme and flowers chosen for it are really good,great to sink my teeth into.The client's daughter, who is two, spent the time with the fabric sample of the dress over her head and singing along to the CBeebies channel which was sweet. Now is the time to do the calculations for the wedding, which is always a headache! Sometimes I wish you could do the consultation and wedding in one day and leave out the paperwork.

Anyways, like I promised, heres some photos of some stuff I made yesterday.I bought a load of scented stocks, and put them with some single carnations, roses and asparagus fern so it became a informal countryside-style wedding bouquet. Note the antique brooch on the ribbon- it can give the arrangement a personal effect,especially if the brooch/other jewelry piece has sentimental value to you.

Do you want the truth or something beautiful?

Ive had a lot of things on my mind recently, and I seem to be taking out my frustrations on making flower arrangements. I made 20-odd buttonholes the other day for a business conference to spread the word about Faith,Trust and Pixie Dust and they seemed to go down a storm. As floristry is a visual profession, I thought a way to stand out from the crowd would be to create buttonhole business cards in a twee wooden basket- much better than a single boring business card. Unfortunatly, I didnt take any photos of them (which I regret now as they turned out to be works of individual art) but heres a photo of one Ive made about an hour ago which was a similar design for the conference.

I also made this really funky buttonhole the other night when I couldnt sleep- and I think you can tell that my thought pattens are all over the place at stupid O' Clock in the morning as if you look closely the heart is actually made out of brightly coloured paper clips.I think it works well with the bright gerbera, and my mum pointed out all black paperclips with a red gerbera would look cool, especially for a Goth wedding. Take a look!

Ill put up some more stuff Ive made today soon, but Im off to find a late night snack and watch my dog run in her sleep!!

xx

Butterflies.

One year ago, a beautiful baby girl was born called Annie Rose. She fell asleep two days later.Even though she was with the client's family for a short amount of time, she brought joy and happiness upon them.The family asked me to create an arrangement for Annie's first birthday, and said that they would love a butterfly as whenever they think of her, they think of butterflies.

Having consultations about what they specifically wanted was difficult as it is still very raw for them to discuss,and I'll be honest in saying I cried for two days solid when Annie fell asleep, and still get upset when talking about her. Therefore I created something that I knew Annie would have liked- a 3D butterfly.

Unlike the 2D Oasis foam shaped into a butterfly, I created the wings from scratch using chicken wire and packed it with Oasis. Therefore, the angle of the wings was completely my choice- either having them upright as if the butterfly had just landed or at a wider angle as if the butterfly was there to stay. The wings were mainly gypsophila, with added carnation buds and diamante pins in various patterns and designs on both sides of the wings, and the body was roses and carnations. It took me a long time to do, but I was determined every single aspect of it would be perfect for the client's family.

When it was delivered, the family loved it and couldnt thank me enough- I had hit the nail on the head with the design. "It has blown me away.It is a work of art and Im staggered at how spectacular it is.I never in my wildest dreams imagined it would look good as it does" She wrote in a email to me afterwards.

Are you settled? Then we'll begin......

So,

A few people have asked if I have a website to show off my floristry skills and Ive replied I havent.Website land, to me, is full of gigabytes,megabytes and whateverbytes which really didnt inspire me to create one.

However, watching my very talented sister create a blog to help her along her film production career, I realised how easy it looked and could be constantly updated- perfect for me and my ever- wandering mind and expanding portfolio.

So sit back, relax, fasten your seat belts,its going to be a bumpy ride, but enjoy the forthcoming posts and pictures of my work, may even throw in a few odd ones here and there. Dont forget to leave your comments in the box too.

x