EmBELLEished wallpaper info

June Purples

I've wrapped up what promises to be my only wedding for the summer.  (I am not terribly sad about this.  Pregnancy is not kind to me.)  And I'm bracing myself for a few more bouts of intense craziness before June is over.  My brain is mush.  But the wedding turned out well, and the bride loved her bouquet (always the clincher.)  I hope I get to see the photographer's shots, because I was too busy running around being ridiculous to take any decent ones myself.





And here's what I mean by ridiculous.  I had a bouquet delivered to the temple around 10:30 am, and my plan was to then zip over to the reception center and unload and set up before and during the wedding luncheon.  The entire production was an hour north of my house, so when I left in the morning I had my minivan stuffed to the gills with flowers ($$$) that needed to be kept reasonably cool, if not downright cold.  I arrived at the reception center and was told they wouldn't be ready for me until 4pm.  My fuzzy, passive maternity brain just said "ok" and I drove to my parent's house trying to formulate a plan to keep the flowers cool without spending 3 hours unloading and reloading them by myself.  I figured I'd park in my parent's garage, and take their spare vehicle to buy a dozen blocks of ice in an attempt to turn my van into a cooler.  It was a faulty plan, but it was all I had.

I arrived at my parents' and my dad's 1 ton motorcycle was parked in the middle of the garage, and their spare vehicle was hooked up to the horse trailer.  I couldn't move the motorcycle by myself.  (And I tried, and it was a bad idea)  and I started panicking; making SOS phone calls and crying so hard nobody could understand me.  I ended up leaving my van running in my parent's driveway (to keep the A/C on) and taking the truck AND horse trailer to the grocery store to buy copious amounts of ice.  Finally I touched base with the wedding party, and they smoothed things over with the reception center so that I could come sooner, and from there on out things were looking much brighter.





I shall be having nightmares about keeping hydrangeas happy for months to come.  Thankfully I was thorough enough with my conditioning that all but one stem cooperated.  (At $6/stem wholesale the stakes were high).  Hydrangeas hate Utah, friends.  Almost as much as I hate being a blubbering, mushy-brained, bloodshot-eyed mess.

Gerbers

Geberas and me, we don't really get along.  But every single one of my sisters-in-law love them.  (I have 6, and one unmarried brother, so maybe 7 someday.)  When my husband's sister asked me to make an arrangement for her company's booth at a women's expo she said she wanted it cheerful and she loves geberas.  It doesn't get much more cheerful than this, these ladies are about to break out in song with "All in the Golden Afternoon."  (Then perhaps spitefully dump dew on me - I told you it's a tenuous relationship)







I got to practice using molucella (bells of ireland) as a basing material here - it's an awesome fun unexpected texture down there.

spray paint

I failed to get any real photos - but I had fun playing with floral spray paint putting together some mini-arrangements for my 30th birthday party.  I sprayed some seeded eucalyptus gold and some leukodendron black and felt fairly fancy by the time I was done.

on a stick

I made these centerpieces for a display in a conference last weekend.  (Theme: Family Dinner)  I used some brass candle-holders that I found at a thrift store and contrived a cup to suspend some floral foam on top.  I couldn't afford an impressive array of flowers, but I'm still pretty pleased with how my mechanics held up.  There will most definitely be more elevated arrangements and repurposed items-as-containers in my future.

Boutonniere of the moment

she's blushing

Boutonniere of the moment

all that glitters

Boutonniere of the moment

She likes to tango.

Boutonniere of the moment

I've been challenging myself to do some speed arranging.  I must get faster at boutonnieres, and the only way is to practice!



I ought to call this guy "foraging in winter".  Because, that's pretty much what he is.

I appear to be hired

 Another alter piece for Stake conference.  (See the last one).  Scaled back on size this time, and found a much easier way to suspend it.  Practice, I tell you, makes perfect.

seconds

I spent today at a church doing a wedding.  I'm getting tentatively acquainted with the "cultural hall" venue and all it's limitations.  (Pros: free venue; Cons: it's a no-frills basketball court)  It's a fact of life if you're going to be involved in weddings in Utah.



But for this couple, considering it was a second marriage for both parties, and there were legions of relatives to invite, it was the best fit.

 

Hopefully I managed to make someone forget, for just a moment, that there was a big orange hoop overhead.



(I don't have a photo of the groom, but the bride with her oldest two children makes everyone look twice.  Yes, she is old enough to have kids in college!  No, it's not fair that she looks young enough to pass for a college student herself!)

featured

 The Fire and Ice inspiration shoot is featured over at Magnifique today.  Such a cool concept; it was fun to design something so stylized.  Have a look over here.

Fire and Ice

I was asked by my friend Terra at Magnifique Photography to come up with bouquets for a "Fire and Ice" bridal shoot.  Total creative free reign.  I'm excited to get some sparkly, perfect pictures from the shoot amidst ice sculptures.  I had as much fun as I could afford with that one, and planning and executing it has eaten up most of my spare moments in the last week or two.  But isn't it nice (as a mom) to create something so concrete and tangible?  Every so often, having something to show for all your work is really a nice change.

Speaking of which - nobody come over until I get my house put back together.

 

altar piece

I know, that was a long break.  And this isn't exactly me ending my break.  BUT I did get commissioned to donate my services and create a floral piece for my Stake Conference.  I say donate my services, because no way was I going to show up with what I could really afford to do on their budget.  (They usually have the equivalent of a very small easel spray)  If I'm going to take time away from my family to do a floral project, I'm going to enjoy it and make something I actually like.



Granted, there were still lots of budget limitations when I hit the wholesaler's cooler. I went on a Friday and their inventory was low; pickings were slim.  I may have spent the entire budget on flowers, (and could have easily spent more, it could have been so pretty!) and then raided my neighborhood for more material.  Yes, that was me sneaking in your bushes with my clippers.  I'm told it's a florist's madness.



Opportunities like this remind me how anxious I am to have my own home and subsequently my own garden.  I  have a long list of plants I want in my yard just so I can clip from them.  You know, and not get caught cutting from other people's yards.   As often.



I wish you could have seen my husband and I struggling to invent an invisible way to hang this piece.  There was lots of wire and prayer involved.  We installed it Saturday afternoon for the Saturday evening session, and I didn't breathe easy again until the Sunday meeting ended and as soon as the closing prayer was said I bolted to the front of the room with wire-cutters in hand to take it down.  I was so tired of being so nervous.  It was a heavy design, and I'm not yet overly confident in my mechanics and their ability to defy gravity for that long.  But I'm pleased and relieved to have seen it succeed.  I doubt my next mechanical challenge will seem such an ordeal.

I just gave the last 38 hours of my life to this wedding, with the exception of 3 hours of sleep and a very few moments stolen away to do glamorous things like eat instant oatmeal and pack diaper bags.  I am pretty pleased with how it turned out, and more importantly the bride's mother was thrilled with it.  I just don't want to think about how long it's going to take to get my craft-cave cleaned up and in working order.  The chaos level is unreal.





My friend Jennie Love warned me that centerpieces just about kill you. This was my "take a break" photo session when I was half way done.  The last 4 were painful to complete.  Literally.  My hands are hammered and I cut myself in at least 6 places on my left hand.  And mentally following the whole formula that many times and keeping everything straight and in order was enough to make me a bit batty.  Plus lots and LOTS of stress over peonies that were blush instead of white until they matured a bit, but then were prone to shattering...... and lisianthus with stems too soft to insert into floral foam.  Party in my stress-sensors.

hop skip

No time for coherent sentences, but I'm taking a break from unpacking and settling into our new house to do my last wedding for a while.  I was insane to attempt a wedding within a week of a major move, but I think it's going to be great!  (I, on the other hand, am going to be taking a week-long nap as soon as it's over!)

pinks

In the middle of my crazy weekend of moving I got to do flowers for a sealing.  Pink on pink on pink.  Half of the flowers are from my mother's neighbor's garden.  Another wedding this week and then I collapse in a heap..... or something.

folding paper

This wedding was so much fun, and so much work!



The bride's incredible mother did most of the work by creating a boatload of origami for me to wire and use. It was a lovely personalized touch.





Thanks Andrea for a beautiful day!

sneak peek

goings on in my cave space this week......

origami and pins and needles

A major element in the design for this week's wedding is origami.  My bride's mother is Japanese and a credentialed origami instructor.  She mailed me boxes of the most perfectly folded tiny origami elements to use for the wedding, and I've spent a good portion of the week wiring everything, which has proved about as time consuming as it sounds.  But I'm excited to see it come together.  I'm a huge fan of using origami for event decor, especially as a nod to the bride's heritage.

pinterest (source?)

borrowed and bleu

the crane chandelier project at the wedding co

origami place cards via pinterest (source?)

hanging cranes at the selby