Sparkley Christmas

My friend Alice has the most wonderful house and I have posted pictures of her decorations before.  I may have even posted a picture of this fabulous rhinestone wreath, but I am sure she has added more glitter since.   It is pretty over the top for most people, but on her hall coat rack surrounded by hats and nothing more, it is just right.  At least in my opinion - what do you think?

Party flowers

Some shots of flower arrangements I made for a party on Sat. night.  The tablecloths were chartruese with a bronze overlay so I found some wonderful green hydrangeas - both full size and mini and added in cream roses and callas, green cymbidium orchids, magnolia leaves, lemony green cedar, berzilia berries in two sizes and in the larger piece, bells of ireland. 

Silk arrangement

I made this silk and dried arrangement for a house last week.  I used dried lotus pods, lemon leaf that will dry nicely and wonderful silk roses, hydrangea and evergreens. 

Embassy Christmas party

Some details from tonight's Christmas party at the French embassy.  The color palette was a mix of silver and gold - it was very festive.  We used white roses and hydrangeas and lisianthus, holly berries and a mix of evergreens - princess pine, cedar and  white pine.  We added in iridescent snowflakes - in the arrangements themselves, on the sides of the vases and sprinkled on some of the tables. 

Ikebana class

This week we did a simple arrangement - an uneven number of stems, 3 different floral materials, all in a row. 

I went to the wholesaler to pick up flowers for a job and found  these wonderful peach anemones with cherry red markings, they were too pretty to leave behind.  and I brought them to class for this piece.  I
added a stem of red twig dogwood from my yard and an interesting tropical leaf with a serrated edge to
complete the design. 

Speedy delivery

My next door neighbor ordered some flowers for her Thanksgiving tables.  They came over to pick up the 6 pieces with their old Radio Flyer Wagon.  I may have to get one of those wagons for my own deliveries.

I used beautiful Fado roses, burgandy mums, hypericum berries, wax flowers and green pittosporum.

Burgundy, lime green and grey

I have a theory that adding the color burgundy or lime green or grey to any arrangement elevates the sophistication of the color palette.  This little arrangement has burgundy photinia leaves, my latest enthusiasm.  They are a perfect addition to many arrangements.  I am now looking for a place to plant one - my yard is filling up with all types of foliage plants.

Candle wreath

Today I delivered a wreath of dried and silk flowers that sits around a large vase filled with candles.  I matched the flowers as closely as possible to the colors of the rug in the room.  It was fun - dried hydrangeas, 3 colors of silk hydrangeas, silk cream fringed gerbers, lotus pods in 2 different sizes and a variety of other silk and dried flowers. 

Flowers for an art opening

I made these two pieces for an art opening.  I used a new mimosa foliage that is silvery green, cream hydrangeas, Sweet Eskimo pink roses, dusty miller, cream lisianthus and seeded eucalyptus. 

The wedding of Alex and Van

Today Alex and Van are getting married.  They have a beautiful fall day in Washington, DC and will be able to have their ceremony outside in the courtyard of the Arts Club of Washington on I St.  I think her bouquet is among the prettiest I have made - I used pink cymbidium orchids, Free Spirit and Anna roses, orange freesia and ranuculus and put a collar of red photinia leaves around it.  Free Spirit describes Alex and I used that rose throughout the wedding palette.  Two wire urns mark the ceremony area in the courtyard - I made a wreath of hydrangea, Free Spirit roses, photinia leaves, burgandy amaranthus and some mini pink garden roses and used gold painted birch branches in the center.  The centerpieces had the color volume pumped up with Free Spirits, orange Mambo spray roses, purple tulips, magenta carnations and fuschia roses. 

French embassy event

This week we did the flowers for a corporate event at La Maison Francaise at the French Embassy.  We used fall colored roses - Gypsy Curiosa and Manitou, Dutch red antique hydrangeas, peach hypericum and red photinia leaves in gold cubes and on top of gold painted trumpet vases.  Gold birch branches topped the tall pieces.  It was a very pretty combination on brown and gold embroidered tablecloths.

Vintage weddings

Lately we seem to be working with brides who have large bridal parties.    It is an interesting trend but 

obviously not a new one.  I can't remember where I found this picture but had to share it.  We haven't had a wedding yet with 11 bridesmaids, but we have gotten close.

Cocktail party at Landon

Today I made some fall arrangements for a party at Landon.  I used golden Euphoria roses, amber amaranthus, grasses, varigated yellow and burgandy mums and burgandy leucodendrum, all in a nice ceramic burgandy container.

Landon Reunion 2011

Tonight is the first event of Reunion at Landon.  They are having a dinner party and we made centerpieces and a large arrangement for decorating the main room.  We used a beautiful sandy colored rose called Quicksand with brown grass, brown mums, large brown hypericum berries and pieris greens and for the large arrangement some gold sprayed lemon leaf.

Hannah's baby shower

A few years ago we did a spectacular wedding for Hannah and Brian.  Today I delivered flowers for her baby shower.  The baby is a boy so I used lots of delphinium and hydrangeas and a few brown gerbers for a pop of color.   The first piece is the type of thing we do all the time, interesting colors and flowers with lots of texture.  The second piece involved large hanks of grass connecting three rectangular small vases with delphinium stems.  The third piece was made from 5 hydrangeas and delphinium stems in a tall narrow glass vase.  Lots of blue!

Buckeye butterfly

Today I was at my favorite plant nursery, American Plant, looking for a few things.  I was really taken by these beautiful asters and then noticed the incredible butterfly on them.  It took me a while to get a good photo and when I did, I got a good look at the amazing eye pattern on the backs of the wings.  I don't think this guy is going to be anyone's dinner.

Shower at Peggy's

This morning I delivered some pieces to Peggy.  She is hosting a bridal shower this afternoon.  The colors she proposed were apricot and brown and purple.  I made several different arrangements for the spaces in her open plan home.  For the kitchen counter, I used 3 cylinders filled at different levels with clear Deco water retaining beads.  I put apricot cymbidium orchids stems in them and philodendron leaves.  I also used Leonides brown and Cosima apricot along with Super Green roses and tried to add a shade of purple or lavender into the rest of the arrangements.  I love the saturated color of the purple carnations.  I also used purple Mexican sage from my garden.

This was a small posy I made as a thank you gift.  I like to mix a little pink into the standard fall color palette - it makes the rest of the colors pop.

I made this ikebana piece for a show at Meadowlark Gardens in Virginia last weekend.  I worked closely with my ikebana teacher, Kyoko Petersen and was happy with the results.  I used whaleback leaves cut on an angle, orange pincushion protea and some walnut branches with some nuts emerging from their pods. 

Yanna and Rich's wedding

Yanna and Rich got  married this weekend.  Their ceremony was at the incredibly elaborate St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church near the National Cathedral.  The altar has the most incredible gold leaf work.  We made two arrangements of lavender and blue hydrangeas with blue delphinium and a phalenopsis orchid draped over the hydrangea base for the church.  The bridal party and reception pieces were all in a variation of green and white.  We used green cymbidium orchids, both mini and full size, white and burgandy callas, white phalenopsis orchids, cream Patience garden roses, green celosia, baby green and white  and full size green hydrangeas , and horsetail, variagated pittosporum, and gardenia leaves.   The reception was at the St. Regis Hotel in their beautiful reception room. 

Early fall

Today I delivered a wreath and a cornucopia tipped on its point filled with pumpkins and flowers to a new client.  I matched the colors in the wreath to the rug in the flower and the colors in the cornucopia to the colors in the room.  I used a combination of silk and dried flowers.  I find that the silks add a pop of color to the otherwise dull colors of drieds.  Dried flowers have wonderful textures and the combination works very well. 

Cocktails at Holton

A couple of arrangements for a cocktail party at Holton the other night.  Fall colors with roses that are red and cream, a pretty orangey/red celosia,  peach hypericum and brown weigela leaves. 

Carnival arrangement

Last week I worked on some samples for a carnival themed party.  I found a lot of cute stuff at World Market like the little weight lifter in the center and made the pinwheels from foam sheets and hard plastic polka dotted straws.  AC Moore also had great stuff - wonderful wooden beads that I strung on wire and twisted into curves.    It is always fun to do something completely different.

Dinner at Landon

I just brought this piece over to Landon.  The dining room is a cherry color and I used beautiful jewel colored dahlias and celosia with some brown leaves and curled burgandy ti leaves...it looked very pretty in the room.

New bunting

I made another bunting for a baby shower for a boy this weekend - such fun to work on these....

Woven stems

Woven stems of lisianthus put in a bed of ruffed eucalyptus leaves.....

Samples

A couple of samples for gift deliveries - blue and white were the colors specified.  I made one traditional arrangement and one more contemporary.  For the first I used blue delphinium, white Polar Star roses, Bells of Ireland, thistle and white lisianthus.  For the second, I used a fan of green berzillia greens and white dendrobium orchids, with thistles nestled in and a small aralia leaf tucked in front.

A small group of us have begun to get together to work on design.  Each time, one of us has idea to pursue or a technique to teach. 

This week, we worked with driftwood.  Gloria has a large collection of pieces that we put together in
different ways and then used in a composition with flowers.