Baby Shower Gaggle

My dear friend is expecting a baby girl this Summer and what better way to celebrate than with an adorable baby shower!? I was honored to help plan with four other amazingly talented ladies to make our 'Oh Deer...Baby Lauren is Almost Here' woodland theme top notch for the mommy-to-be. Above are the invitations I designed with matching insert cards. I also made coordinating food place cards, a signs and baby games. 

Lucky for us, the host has this gorgeous (handmade by her and her boyfriend) wooden dining room table that perfectly fit our theme. Our wedding decor, once again, came in handy as we used the wooden slabs (from our centerpieces), cake plates and branch garland.

The menu consisted of lots of treats from chicken salad sandwiches to dill potato salad, Mexican rollups, a cheese plate, veggies and dips. For dessert we served red velvet cupcakes (the lady of the hours' favorite) and chocolate chess pie. For the non-pregnant guests we served white peach sangria and champagne. 

As an advocate for no games at showers, I actually liked the games we picked - mostly because they required no effort or awkward moments. The clothespin game, the yarn game and the Wright Family game were general crowdpleasers.

We were also very fortunate to have a florist on the planning committee. The flower arrangements were absolutely stunning and seriously classed up the day. But you can never go wrong with ranunculus in my book! Everyone participated in our 'books for baby' which is a great way to build a unique collection of books - and touching words from loved ones. We're so excited for Sarah, her hubby and their little bundle...now finish out these last couple months and arrive safely Lauren!

Ask and you shall receive.

The only request I had for our California itinerary was to see a Flower Market like this:

{credited to @subi_ann}

My sister, who was our very own personal tour leader for the trip, responded with “I’m totally in.”

Boy, did she deliver. She found The Original Los Angeles Flower Market, located at 754 Wall Street, in downtown LA. For just $1 (on Saturdays), you could peruse the hundreds of vendor stalls with absolutely stunning botanicals. It was remarkable to see so many types of flowers I have never seen before. And finally get to drool over these marvelous blooms in person, instead of just Instagram.

I've taken a stab at some of the flower names, but maybe about 20% are actually correct? Feel free to chime in with edits at any point. 

Orchids

Mums

Orchid (Phalaenopsis)

Eucalyptus Silver Dollar

Roses

Heliconias, Bird of Paradise and Gingers (the bizarre basket cone)

Tuberose

Mixed Bouquets

Seeded Eucalyptus (top left)

Snapdragon

Leucadendron

Bottlebrush plants

Pincushion

Banksia

Protea

Ornamental Cabbage

Ranunculus

Green Rosette Red Cone 

Gladiolus

Leucadendron

Hopeful Green Thumb

It's reassuring knowing that I didn't just generate those trashing-digging cravings on my own. My dad found both of these planters next to his condo's dumpster last year and brought them down on his most recent visit. The tiered planter (below) I scored at a garage sale a few years back for just $5. A few coats of brown and gold spray paint and $20 worth of plants from Lowes - and voila!

I finally got around to replanting my African Violet as well. I hop that along with those planters, my dad gave me some of his green thumb so I can keep all these lush babies alive!

#55 Replant African Violet

#76 Porch Planters

I'm participating in the 92 Days of Summer challenge. Click here to see my 92 To-Do's for this Summer - and to see the brave souls tackling their own lists!

Felt Flower: Christmas Collection

I know a certain someone who has already claimed this first Christmas Bouquet. She's made a pretty good trade offer and if the bouquet doesn't sell this weekend, I will just have to take her up on it. This was the second bouquet I made and it makes me want snow and hot chocolate and my living room to be lit up with Christmas lights (pretty impressive a few felt flowers can do all of that, right?). I used a variety of materials for this bouquet, including vintage buttons, burlap, 1950s tinsel garland, pinecones and yarn. Just makes you feel like turning on some Bing Crosby and snuggling by the fire, right?

For this bouquet, I experimented with some satin fabric I had left over from this dress (which I still have not worn). Turn out to be a nice and lovely addition to the felt. I used lace for the accent pieces and centers of the smaller flowers.  

Some of my flower arrangements are inspired by massive amounts of felt I never use, i.e. greys, blues and purples. You'll never find grey flowers in the real world, but here they look plain pretty! I placed the bouquet in a maple syrup bottle we got for a housewarming present, so you might just get a whiff of that sweet, delicious smell with your bouquet.

Felt Flowers: Spring Collection

The Spring Collection was the hardest for me, and I'm still brainstorming some other color combinations. My grandmother always had daisies growing beside her garage, so I definitely want to make a big daisy bouquet for all the Mothers and Grandmothers in May.

I played around with lavender stems and am pretty happy with them. They would make great housewarming presents, and since they are lightly infused with lavender spray, it's pretty much the real thing.

The great thing about felt flowers is you can have them in any color! In the real world, it's a little hard to come by real baby blue flowers. In the felt world, it's just another day in the studio.

I think these mini bouquets (about five inches tall) would make great Easter gifts for family and friends. The flowers can also be attached to hair clips or elastic headbands and tucked inside Easter eggs. Is it bad I'm already looking forward to the Spring and it's just starting to feel like Autumn? I guess another benefit of felt is I don't have to wait to for a new season to start working on my creations!

Felt Flowers Have Arrived!

The cat's out of the bag! I'm officially making felt flowers, boutonnieres and bouquets. It's something I've always wanted to try and after my successful attempt at the brooches, I figured, why not?! At first, the process was very tedious and, to be honest, a little frustrating. After of a weekend of practicing, trying different wires and strategies, I think I've got a hang of this.

This first bouquet was modeled after one I received on Sunday. Sonia brought me the lovely flowers (right) when the family came over for dinner. As I sat down Monday night thinking of what to make, I looked at the fresh bouquet and decided I would make those.

This would be a great idea for brides who do the traditional 'bouquet toss' at their reception. Instead of having an extra bouquet made, you could have one of these made, and it's also a great memento to the receiver.

The sunflowers are probably my favorite so far. I just love the big, bold presence of them, and they look great on a plain stem without even putting them into a bouquet.

The JMU Flowers...One thing that's difficult for me is not seeing team colors when I'm arranging the flowers. Is that weird? I think it is. Regardless, of your team allegiance, the purple and gold bouquet is quite a statement piece and would be pretty addition to any room.

This is the miniature variation of the Autumn bouquet, consisting of 7 flowers, instead of 13 (not including the leafy garnish). The mini bouquets would make great table centerpieces or lovely accents to a buffet or mantle. As you can see, I've been quite obsessed with this new crafty outlet... I'll be posting more throughout the day, including Christmas and Spring Collections :)

Autumn Brooches

Some nights I make things and I feel like I should probably never craft again. I will have to say that last night was definitely NOT one of those nights. Kitsch asked me to teach a class so we decided on Fall Brooch class (to be followed up by a Holly-Day Brooch class in December), in early November. I was kind of cramming to get them done so I could photograph, package and drop off to the shop....which never means a good outcome. Although, I'll have to say I'm pretty happy with the way these cuties came out.

These would make lovely boutineers, brooches or corsages for an Autumn wedding, a nice hostess gift, or cute stocking stuffers for all the ladies in your family. I'd be happy to take custom orders :)

I may make another batch tonight for Glass Gardens to showcase at the Portsmouth Farmer's Market, which is every Saturday at 10 a.m. Stay tuned for class details, or check Kitsch's class schedule for updates.