Wedding flowers for an autumn bride

Here are a few arrangements that I did with my (business-y) partner in crime, the lovely stylist Shana Ecker, in conjunction with the fabulous Twigs & Buds floral design. Above, bridesmaids bouquets in a plum and pink color palette accented with peacock feathers, then below, a tall table arrangement featuring lilies and orchids.

The surprising part: The bridesmaid bouquets were super-easy. I know they look fancy, but really they just used a hydrangea as a flower frog for the other blooms. Its naturally full, round, bloom-packed head eliminates the need for lots of filler, and it also serves to guide your arrangement (keeping things in a pleasing round shape). Keep that in mind the next time you work with hydrangea!

Photos via Heather Johnson photography. (She's also handy with the flowers!)

More fabric flowers!

I think that the impending winter/bare tree season is causing me to gravitate more and more towards flower crafts. Such as: These light and airy fabric flowers, as seen on the 100 Layer Cake blog. I'd love to make them, though the step-by-step looks a bit involved, so to speak. You basically cut lots and lots of petals, then stitch them together, which is do-able--however, the reason the filmy fabrics can stand up so well is with careful structural stitching. So really, "involved" wasn't the right word. You'd just need some time and patience. (If only they sold that at etsy!) Directions are here.

I'd use these to decorate sofa pillows, perhaps string some together like a garland, add them to a chandelier, or treat them like regular flowers and create a centerpiece arrangement.

Image via 100 Layer Cake

Spring store windows...

Today a co-worker (responsible for getting props for our photo shoots) said, "You know, it's hard to shop in my spare time, since I spend my day trying to find cobalt blue salt shakers." What she meant is that it can be hard leaving our "Decor Hats" in the office. I know I wear mine, which is more of a Decor beret, during evenings and weekends.

And that's when I get around to doing store windows, like this one for the fabulous cupcake boutique, La Dolce Divas. This theme was...well, Spring. I filled the shop, and windows, with all sorts of flowers. I made about 90% of them, by folding and cutting tissue paper until my fingers were individually cramped. It took about two days before I could properly hold my favorite highball glass.

I'd like to think it was all worth it. Here are some more pics: