All posts tagged: flowers

hello dah-ling.

Published by

Some major flower crown inspiration here! I’ve been wanting to visit the dahlia farms in Petaluma. I didn’t have the opportunity to go this season, but I did get to visit the dahlias in Golden Gate Park. This garden is near the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers and is maintained by the Dahlia Society of California. It’s a small garden but packed with so many varieties of dahlias! Apparently, dahlias come in a range of sizes from 2 inches in diameter to over 10 inches! Some, I didn’t recognize to be dahlias. They are all so different! Lucky me, they were in full bloom on my visit (first weekend in October). I later learned that dahlias are the official flower of San Francisco, so it seemed fitting to go see the San Francisco dahlia garden first (before Petaluma). Are you a dahlia fan? What’s your favorite variety? Mine is all. 🙂

bloombox.

Published by

What better way to celebrate another pandemic wedding anniversary than with Matilda’s Bloombox! Ever since I spotted Matilda’s seafoam truck at a local craft event adorned with the prettiest blooms, I’ve wanted an excuse to treat myself to a box (I mean, ya, this one is also for you, too, Hubby). What a delight! Each box comes with a beautifully designed information sheet with details on each grower and each flower/herb, plus owner Emily’s suggestions for how to prepare and arrange the blooms in your vase of choice. I love that each flower/foliage is sourced from local growers, the box is hand delivered, and it’s also a fun DIY activity. Matilda’s Bloombox is not a subscription, but rather you select in advance which weeks you’d like to receive a box and you are charged upon delivery. They give a preview a week or two in advance to give you time to say yea or nay, and when it’s delivered, there’s no address label on the box – it’s like a friend left you a surprise …

bike | bloom

Published by

This is a simple post. It’s about Tokyo bikes and flowers. We visited in the Springtime so all the blooms were majorly beautiful, and I was fascinated by all the bikes parked outside without locks (it’s honest there). Here are a few snaps from our stroll through Taito City and Sumida City in Tokyo. Enjoy. Shoutout to the simple things in life! Do you stop to photograph flowers, too? 🙂

flower coasters.

Published by

Remember when I pressed flowers on Earth Day? I finally made something with them: coasters! Materials and tools: Pressed flowers (My friend Kayla of Impressed by Nature has fun, easy to use flower presses!) Decoupage glue (My favorite is ArtMinds – a Michaels brand – because it doesn’t leave a sticky residue which means you don’t have to put a top coat of sorts. It also comes in a glossy version.) Tiles (I found these at Home Depot) Foam brush How to: You can plan out where you want your petals to go, or just go for it! Brush on a layer of glue. Add petals. Coat tile with an even layer of glue. I like to coat on at least three layers of glue. Allow to dry between layers of glue (10-15 minutes), then allow to dry over night after adding the final layer of glue. Note that some of the petals changed color or bled – the hydrangeas and the bougainvilleas in particular. If I were to do this again I’d stick with yellows …

flower lockets.

Published by

Springtime in the Bay means a bounty of blooming wildflowers. Here’s an easy project that yields stunning results with craft supplies from your own backyard. My friend and I cohosted this craft for another friend’s birthday and everyone loved it. All you need: lockets pressed flowers glue cotton swabs scissors yarn or ribbon Press the flower petals The step that takes time is the pressing of flowers. I’m not sure if my method of pressing flowers is correct but it works for me. Pull off petals and place them on a sheet of paper. Do not overlap petals. Place another few sheets of paper on top, then stack (heavy) books on top. Check on the petals after a few days and change the paper. After at least one week the petals should be ready for this project. Protip: choose petals that will fit your lockets (or lockets that will fit your petals) if you would rather not cut the petals. Design and glue When it comes to glueing, less is way more. Once you decide …

aurelia style.

Published by

My friend Aurelia of Aurelia Style hosted her first crafty workshop last week and I had to get in on all the fun! Headdresses for all! Aurelia had sample headdresses out for inspiration. Each one had a story. It got me thinking that I should have been thinking about a theme for my piece. Ha! Instead, I perused the bounty of supplies for inspiration. There were beads, flowers, buttons, tulle, felt, feathers, chain, …so many colorful supplies! I decided on neutrals and flowers…lots of them! Aurelia shared her pro tips for composing a headdress, like how to create height and volume, and helped us whenever our projects didn’t ‘look right.’ Here’s my finished piece! What I love about workshops is the chance to explore a new craft and use materials I would have never thought to buy or put together. Lace, beads, flowers, and feathers? Yes! Also, there’s a foam visor under there holding the structure together! Genius! Here’s the headdress crew in all our headdress glory. Thanks, Aurelia, for a relaxing and crafty workshop! …

my florist friends. 

Published by

My Crafty Lady Crew is the best and with their powers combined they created beautiful things for our wedding, including all of the reception floral decor. Dreamy… Before the wedding I met with our lead florist – our friend Kristin. (She also sets up the best magazine-worthy meal spreads.) When we were looking at flowers, we discovered we had the same taste, or should I say smell, for flowers. We both like the flowers that either smell like nothing or are on the sweeter side. Anything too fragrant, like roses, and lilies (especially lilies!) smell like death to us. Long story short, I knew I would be happy with Kristin’s floral selection because they wouldn’t smell like anything! Visually, I wanted whites, greens, and soft pinks in our centerpieces. Kristin shopped around for some stems at local farmers markets, but she also gathered some lovelies from her garden! We used Ball mason jars plus old mini yogurt glassware with offwhite ribbon and handmade-by-Kristin ceramic hearts on cord. And just look at how these beauties turned out. They completed my tablescape dreams. …

flower queen lady.

Published by

In today’s special Mother’s Day post I’m sharing a DIY that my beautiful Mama taught me how to make: boutonnieres and corsages! Growing up, I used to watch her make these for all her special events — club galas, church celebrations, birthdays…. So for my wedding, I wanted to make all the wearable flowers with my sister and our queen lady. I gathered flowers from the Temescal Farmers Market in Oakland and eucalyptus from Berkeley Bowl (my favorite market place!). Aren’t these ranunculi gorgeous? And check out my Mama’s flower hand modeling skills below. Materials and supplies were basic. We used floral tape, ribbons of choice (blush and ivory to match my wedding colors), and scissors. We made a boutonniere/corsage for each wedding guest. For the gents we made boutonnieres in shades of pink with eucalyptus leaf accents and blush ribbon. For the ladies we made larger corsages with white flowers and accent flowers, and longer strands of ribbon. How to: Position your flowers and accent leaves. Wrap with floral tape leaving some stem showing at the bottom. You can …

roses are…not all red.

Published by

The roses are in full bloom at the State Capitol Park World Peace Rose Garden in Sacramento. I spent part of my afternoon strolling through the park, sitting, and enjoying the scenes. Look at all the varieties in bloom! I especially enjoy the roses that are as big as my face and the ones that don’t look like “typical” roses. Which one is your favorite? Share below!

flowers in a box.

Published by

I don’t know about you, but I love receiving flowers. I am pretty picky though. I’m not a big fan of carnations, roses, or any flower that smells like death (you know what I’m talking about?). My favorites are gerber daisies — they don’t have a scent, the come in vibrant colors, and, depending on the color, are long lasting. The mini gerbers last even longer! Since I mostly receive flowers for special occasions like birthdays or monthaversaries (yea, my fiancé and I still celebrate those), I like to keep some dried petals in keepsake boxes. I use the 2″ x 2″ x 3/4″ Amac boxes from the Container Store. I simply fill the box with petals of choice and write the occasion on the box. One time I forgot to label my petals so now they are dubbed ‘mystery flowers’… Maybe one day I’ll create an even bigger project with these boxes. In the meantime, they live in a shoebox and it makes me happy to see my collection grow. Do you save your gifted flowers, too? …