Let’s be honest, I’m not one for the attention that birthdays bring. I’m a typical wall-flower type of gal who likes to happily sit in the wings and watch the world float by.
However, the week leading up to along with the weekend that my 30th fell on, ended up being one of the busiest I’ve had in a long time…
So you know how I rave on about being a Florist and such? Well I actually put my skills into use and only did flowers for my first ever wedding!!!
The bride was the daughter of a family I’ve grown up with pretty much most of my life, so it was an honour to be asked and to contribute to her and her husband-to-be’s magical day.
Prep for the big day began early Thursday morning with trip one of two to the Sydney Flower Markets. Day one concentrated on getting foliages – leaves and greenery. Friday, day two, was all about the flowers! And boy did we get lots of flowers! The colour palette was whites, blush pinks, peaches and soft and rustic pastel colours and highlights.
I managed to pick up an array of perfectly coloured Roses, in-season Ranunculus, darling peachy and white Spray Roses, beautifully perfumed Stock, fluffy stalks of Babies Breath and Carnations, feathery lime-green Aspidistra and a whole host of other fun blooms and greeny bits.
The rest of Friday was a bit of a blur of gum leaves, chatter and laughter (I had a good friend come over and help for the day! She’s a real legend!), unnecessary faffing over flower placements, over-the-top swooning over beautiful blooms and total contentment in the sheer joy of what I was doing. (Even though my stress level was at about a 9 out of 10! There was even a moment early in the day when I had a small panic attack that I hadn’t bought enough Roses! No need to worry, I had plenty in the end!)
The Bride’s Bouquet (not finished)
After another early start on the day of the wedding to get all of the last minute ribboning and packaging done, it was off to the venue to set up flowers for the ceremony, the three tier cake, the bridal party and reception tables.
Bridal Party Flowers in the back of my tiny car, ready for delivery!
The ceremony and wedding itself was beautiful. The bride and her maids looked gorgeous, the groom and his men were very handsome and everything went smoothly. Safe to say, I slept well that night!! 😀
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The next day it was my birthday!
I spent a quite morning at home, cleaning up my mess from the past three days. I even made myself a birthday bouquet out of the few left over flowers that didn’t quite make the cut for the wedding!
Then my family and friends all gathered at a local high-rise restaurant that served High Tea and chatted and laughed the afternoon away.
We had a birthday cake, lots of cute little bit-sized treats, scones with jam and cream, fancy hot teas and fresh yummy sandwiches.
It was such a lovely day spent with my close family and friends. Not too much fuss was made and I took the day and birthday wishes as they came. Which is always enough for this quiet little wall-flower!
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Before I go, a BIG thank you to all of you for your lovely birthday wishes you left me either on my YouTube channel, Instagram or Facebook. I appreciated every single one!
How are you all? Jeez, it’s been a while since we last caught up! Although it may not seem it, lots and lots of things have been happening over on this side of the screen and I can’t wait to share them all with you!
But first, let’s have a bit of catch up! A detailed little life update if you may! 🙂
First off, I’m very happy to share that I’m now a qualified Florist! Yay! I finished my course a little over a week ago and passed with flying colours! Here are a few of the final designs we made in class! So many bridal bouquets!
So now that the course is over, I honestly don’t know what I’ll do with this new set of skills… Jobs are hard to come by without ‘industry experience’! (Typical!) I’m actually very interested in studying the next course up which teaches more intricate and creative arrangements as well as how to set up, manage and run a floristry business. So hopefully confirmation of that course going ahead comes about over the next coming weeks! It won’t be as time consuming as the previous course, with class happening once a week over a year, so I’ll be able to dedicate more time to my blog and YouTube channel again!
So if you’ve been out of the loop for a while, I recently returned back to my job at Spotlight where I work in the Fabric/Haberdashery department.
Four years ago I left this job after being there for six years to pursue other things and adventures. Luckily for me, a position opened up in the department and I was happily offered a casual job! It’s been about a month since I started back and I’ve been getting some pretty decent hours each week which I’ve been very happy about! It has also been great working with some wonderful colleagues again as well as catching up with all of my regular customers!
So now that I’m working again, I can’t say how much it’ll impact on having the time to get content made and uploaded onto my YouTube channel… But with a new Quilt Along in the works, don’t worry too much – lots of new and exciting things will be coming very soon!
And mentioning all things Quilt Along, let’s have a chat about where I’m up to with the planning and designing!
So I’m sure you all know by now, the Quilt Along will be a Star Block Sampler and the series will be done in a similar way to the last one. A new block will come out each week and there’ll be a pattern sheet detailing all of the measurements and cutting instructions etc.
Brainstorming some Star block designs!
At the moment, I hope to start the series sometime in the second half of July or very early August. Each block will be 12.5″ square (subject to change) and there’ll be either nine or twelve blocks, therefore the final size of the quilt is still in the planning!
Like last time, the Quilt Along will be sponsored by Dayview Textiles and I’m hoping to use a super fun new fabric range from Cotton+Steel – not telling which one yet, it’s a surprise! 😀
So the final stages of planning and designing will be happening this week and I’ll be sure to share with you more details as they come about! Yay, I’m so excited!
Another thing I wanted to quickly share with you were a few clips I filmed from the Sydney Craft & Quilt Fair last week. The video I made is unlisted, so if you click here it’ll take you straight to it. It’s only really short, showing you a few glimpses of Sydney Harbour (we caught the free ferry service from Circular Quay to the venue at Glebe Island) along with some of the beautiful quilts that were on display in the Quilt Show. I hope it gives you some inspiration!
Surprisingly, when it came to perusing the stalls and booths I didn’t spend up big like I have in previous years. I bought a few beautiful Tula Pink FQs (she was the special guest at the show this year, although I went on the day when she wasn’t there!) and a Drunkard Path template set that I’ve been wanting get for ages! And that’s it! I was so good and contained my inner quilter-monster who wants to buy everything at bay!
So in the meantime, while I plan my Quilt Along, there’ll be a few new tutorials going up onto my channel – penciled in is an Arrow block, a Flower Crown as well as a June Favourites video! I’ll also be going on a short break away this week up to my favourite holiday spot on the Central Coast and was thinking of either taking lots of pictures to share in a blog post or film it and make it into a little bit of a vlog for you to watch. Let me know which one you’d prefer!
So that’s it on my list of things to update you with! I do apologise for being so out of touch and away from all the social places I usually share things with you. I hope to be able to get back to a more regular schedule in the next coming weeks!
And just one last thing, a big thank you to everyone for being so excited about my Quilt Along and for letting me know how much you’ve missed me over the past few months! All of your feedback on my Facebook page and Instagram feed have been so wonderful to receive!
So if you didn’t know, at the beginning of this year I started a Floristry course after always wanting to do so ever since my last year in high school.
Safe to say I’m really enjoying it and am learning a lot about flowers and plants than I ever thought I would!
So in today’s post I thought I would give you an honest account of what a typical day/week for me is and what it’s really like to be studying as a floristry student!
Let’s start with the basics…
I have classes three days a week; Monday 9am-3.30pm, Wednesday 8am-4.30pm and Thursday 8am-4.30pm. On Mondays and Wednesdays we have prac lessons in the morning and then in the afternoon we concentrate on the theory side of the course: basic retail knowledge (so how to work competently in all areas of a retail florist shop) and then a plant class where we learn all about the anatomy of plants, plant care, plant names as well as health and safety info. And because I’m in an ‘accelerated’ course (meaning we just finish the course sooner than our other classmates), Thursday is an all-day prac day where we’re currently learning how to construct formal and informal Trail Bouquets!
Here is a layout of some of the most basic tools I have in and around my tool box…
one: 22 gauge wires. Used for wire-based designs and arrangements such as Corsages and Wedding Bouquets. Comes in thicker and finer gauge sizes.
two: Parafilm. A stretchy, self-sealing tape that is wrapped around exposed wires. It prevents rusting and allows wires to grip onto each other better.
three: Some darling deep burgundy Chrysanthemums that I’m currently using in my arrangements.
four: Floristry scissors. Perfect for cutting flower stems and all wires!
five: Flower Foam. Used in posy boxes and bowls, bats and wreaths as a water source for the flowers. The foam allows the flowers to last longer and gives the florist better control with placement when making an arrangement. Designs featuring floral foam will usually cost more as opposed to those without. The one I use is by Oasis which is considered the best kind in the industry which I whole heartedly agree with!
Now, of course there are so many more other things in my tool box but as I write this, my actual tool box is on campus and what’s above is all I had on hand at home to show you!
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Here are some of my favourite designs I’ve learnt so far… In class we usually practice each design twice and on the third go we’re assessed and marked! Eep!!
(FYI: you may’ve already seen some of these in my Instagram feed!)
This was my very first attempt at a Formal Wired Posy! It features pink Roses, pink Carnations, Sedum (the green spiky bits), white Spray Roses, pink Hyacinth florets and a foliage leaf called Ruskus.
And this was the one I made for assessment, which included a ribboned handle!
Another design we’ve recently learnt was the ANZAC Chaplet.
Made traditionally with laurel leaves (symbolising victory and honour), three sprigs of rosemary (each representing the Army, the Navy and the Air Force) and red poppies(symbolising remembrance), I made this one using Camellia leaves and red Gerberas as these are what were in season at the time! The base of the chaplet is styrofoam wrapped in a green wreath wrap that resembles the texture of garbage bin bags! Each leaf is tacked on using bent 2″ pieces of 18 gauge wire in a particular pattern where each leaf overlaps the one before it hiding the ‘mechanics’. Although after a while my thumb begun aching from pushing thick wire pins into the styrofoam, I really enjoyed making it. The technique was soothingly repetitive and created a very tactile surface that makes my quilter’s heart flutter just that tiny little bit!
Now this little guy I loved putting together! The design is called an Asymmetric Arrangement Gift Hamper. This arrangement features the use of floral foam that is placed in a special plastic bowl with a cage that keeps the foam in place. I choose materials that would compliment the colour of the bear, the ribbons and the basket itself. (FUN FACTS: That basket belonged to my maternal Grandmother and is used in my sewing room to hold all of my unfinished projects while the bear was a Christmas gift from my BFF a few years ago!) The flowers in this arrangement include yellow Gerberas, white Roses, green Mollca Balm with Viburnum leaves, maroon Cordyline leaves, green Monstera leaves and a few dried out Tortured Willow branches at the back.
And then lastly we have the wired Cake Decoration (top) with a Spray (bottom). These pieces are essentially made as a mini version of the wired Formal Posy and a simple Corsage! Admittedly, I did struggle with making this one at first as you needed to get the top part sitting flat as possible while getting the bottom spray to curve nicely and be in proportion to the top. Sooo tricky!!
Currently in class we’ve just begun getting into some of the funeral designs such as Sheafs, Wreaths, Open Sprays and Casket Sprays (both constructed using floral foam), along with more wedding designs such as the Trail Bouquet, Hand-Tied Wedding Posies and Table Arrangements.
Okay, now I think it’s only fair to be absolutely honest about the pluses and minuses to Floristry… Let’s do the bad things first and then finish it off with the good!
Minuses:
The early mornings! (Boo!): Having been a night owl for last few years, the crazily early mornings have been definitely a shock to the system! Since when was there a 5.30am?? But with time and a solid routine, I’m getting used to the early wake up calls – I’m actually involuntarily waking up 6.30am! What!? Funnily enough I’ve actually always loved getting up early as it makes the day seem longer and I’m always able to get more stuff done! Plus there’s always something so nice about waking up before or with the sun and breathing in the fresh, crisp morning air and consciously planning your day out.
Dirty fingernails (and most often than not, chipped as well!): That was the one thing that steered me away from Floristry. I had someone tell me not to do it as it would ruin my hands. Even my Floristry teacher said it would ruin your fingernails the day we had sign-ups. But I thought, I’m not going to let that one thing stand in the way of my interest! Yes my fingernails maybe dirty and stained a light green at the end of the day but there’s nothing a good scrub with a brush and some soap can’t fix!
Fluctuations in wholesale flower prices: It’s Mother’s Day this weekend and because of the demand on flowers, the prices at the market have skyrocketed! Only this morning on a quick trip in, I spent over $40 on five bunches which really should’ve been half that price in a normal week. My poor bank balance has really copped a blow over the past week or so!
The day I made a Flower Crown!!
Pluses:
A new venture in creativity!: I would class myself as a very creative person. I crave making with my hands, whether that be with fabric, thread, food, flowers, craft supplies – anything! – I must always have my hands and my mind kept busy! Plus I love learning a new skill! Especially a skill that I can apply to real-life and potentially do as a job. So what better way to harness all of that and get creative with flowers! Like quilting, the design possibilities are endless!
Witnessing beautiful sunrises!: I touched a little bit on this above… I love a good sunrise (and sunset to be honest). There’s something about the promise it brings of a new day where you are given another chance to learn more, to laugh, to breathe, to sing, to dance, to create, to cook, to communicate, to relate and to live! Sunrises are beautifully inspiring in that way! 🙂
Discovery and playing with beautiful flowers and foliages!: Flowers are beautiful! Full stop! I’ve always loved flowers but I think after being around them almost everyday of the week along with learning all of their names and how to care for them properly, I’ve gained a deeper love and appreciation for them. Flowers aren’t around for all that long and we must cherish their one-of-a-kind beauty for as long as we can before they sadly die! 😦
Learning the tricks of the trade: Ohh, so many tricks, so many techniques, so many ah-ha! moments in class! They’re much more simple than what you’d expect. And don’t worry, I’ll show you them all one day!
It just feels right: You know when you start something new and there’s that feeling inside you where you know that what you’re doing is the right thing? I’ve experience plenty of new starts where the feeling has been the complete opposite – where the whole thing just does not feel like the right choice or right thing for my life. Well, Floristry feels right. After 11 years since leaving school I finally feel like I’m doing the right thing! (A part from doing all of my quilting ventures, blog and YouTube! Where would I be without all of you!!)
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So I think that’s it. That’s everything so far about my course that I think is good to share with you.
There will be more posts during the month that will centre around flowers and making/arranging a few things so I hope you’re excited for that! (I know I am!!)
We’re smack-bang in the middle of March today! (Heck!) And the weather this afternoon is reminding me of why I love the beautiful cool changes in between the seasons! Autumn is slowly beginning to creep into life and I love it! The slow breeze ruffling the ageing leaves of the trees in our garden, the sun setting earlier casting long shadows through the house and the promise of warm afternoon cuppas with a cheeky chocolate biscuit or Hot Cross Bun! (‘Tis the season, you know!)
And with thanks to this perfectly inspirational Autumnal afternoon, I felt it was the perfect time to write a much needed and long awaited blog post!
Oh, my poor little blog has been so neglected this year and it makes me feel so guilty everyday! The year is seriously moving so fast that I can’t scarce believe it that April is just around the corner! Even scarier, it’s Easter next week! It literally felt like yesterday that I was writing all about my Christmas Tree!
So with that, let’s catch up on what’s happening!
How are you?! Have you been making anything fun, new, challenging, inspirational?
Me, I’m good! I’ve been having so much fun learning and playing with some beautiful flowers in my Floristry course. We’ve moved on from making simple button-holes and tricky corsages to learning how to put together wired bouquets (the beginning of our wedding work!) to small posy boxes and baskets as well as big alter-type designs such as this one…
We’ve also begun to venture into circlet/halos (flower crowns) and cake decorations! How fun! But in saying that, there’s also lots of tricky elements to the art of floristry. Colour theory, design choices and placements, spacial awareness as well as all of the ins-and-outs to all of the techniques we’re learning to master…Hand-tied bouquets, wire-work, working with base-medium forms (ie floral foam) and just getting everything looking perfect, precise and professional! And then there’s all of the behind the scenes stuff such as retail education, flower care as well as learning all about how plants work and the science behind it all! It can be tough somedays. Totally exhausting. Stressful. Full-on. Tiring. But fun. Really, really fun. 🙂
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Let’s also catch up on what’s been happening on my YouTube channel! Although I’ve been slightly absent from my blog, I’ve been trying my darn-hardest to keep up with uploading a video every week – whether it be a tutorial or a chit-chat one such as a Monthly Favourites, a Haul or some other video request that I’ve received.
The first thing is a quick and sweet block tutorial I did around Valentine’s Day. It was just a really simple four-patch block tipped onto one of it’s corners, making it look like a lovely love heart!
MEASUREMENT & CUTTING INFO:
Cut –
x1: 3″ white square (Cotton Supreme Solid in Optical White)
x1: 3″ light pink square (Cotton Supreme Solid in Elephantastic Pink)
x1: 3″ medium pink square (Prima Cotton Homespun in Lipstick)
x1: 3″ red square (Cotton Supreme Solid in Chilli Pepper)
– x2: 4.5″ white square
A few weeks before I made the tutorial, I had been seeing this block everywhere in my Instagram feed and it totally inspired me to make it my own and then share the process of making it with you in tutorial form! I can not stress at just how simple, easy and quick the block is to make. The final size of the block (7&5/8″ square) is perfect to make into little mug or pot rugs or to piece into a darling mini quilt or even a lovely lap quilt! The choice is completely yours!
Another tutorial that I was able to recently make and upload was the Boxy Zipper Pouch! I had so many requests for a tutorial on this when I shared the one I made for my mum at Christmas that I knew I had to do it as soon as possible! Already, I’ve received lots of emails, instagrams and messages from you showing me your finished little pouches and they all look so great!!
Here’s the how to –
MEASUREMENTS & CUTTING:
From the batting and two matching or contrasting fabrics cut –
x1: 11″x14″ rectangles from each
You will also need –
x1: 10″ (25cm) matching or contrasting zipper
Don’t forget to share you finished pouches with me! You know I always love to see what you make! 🙂
And lastly, due to another request from you guys, I did a two part special showing you my Quilt Collection and then my Mini Quilt Collection!
I had lots of fun making each one, re-discovering some of my favourite quilts and renewing my love and passion for all things patchwork and quilting!
Oh, I love it so!!
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So that’s my little world to date! I really cannot describe just how lovely and much needed this little blog-post catchup has been! It’s always so nice to have the opportunity to sit and write all of the happenings that have been not only in my sewing room but also out of it as well!
It’s been such a peaceful and pleasant Autumn afternoon!
It’s always so lovely to find the time to sit and write and share and catchup with you!
I must admit, my blog has very sadly been neglected over the past few months… Life has seem to find the accelerator pedal and made the past few weeks just fly by! (I mean, can you believe it’s the middle of February already!! Geez!)
So as always, there are lots and lots of new exciting things to catchup you up on – so let’s dive in!
first update – floristry!
I’m a student once more and no ordinary student at that! I’m learning how to become a Florist!
I’ve always wanted to study floristry ever since I was in my last year at high school. (I’ve also always been into gardening and growing my own plants, veggies, herbs and fruits. A trait inherited from my dad and paternal grandfather.) But things and experiences prevented me from pursuing it until late last year when I was very randomly reminded of my early interest in wanting to do it. So I did some research and found out that one of the local TAFE colleges in my area offered the very course I was interested in! Yay! So I applied and begun the course on the 1st February!
If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen some new photos of flowers and arrangements and be thinking, ‘why?’…. And now you know! Of course I’ll keep posting pictures of my sewing adventures and life adventures and other sorts of things, but now pretty florals and bouquets will be added to the mix as well!
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second update – youtube
Now, you may be thinking if I’m studying floristry does that mean no more tutorials, videos, blogging, sewing, crafting…??!!
No. I will never stop sewing! Patchwork and quilting is my life! I’ve found that if I’m ever having a personal crisis or have had a bad day or am feeling blue or even 100% happy, I know that I can always rely on sewing to cheer me up, to put me back in the right mind set and to remind me that life is good. 🙂
And I love sharing that with you! I love teaching and helping you out. I love inspiring you and watching you grow in your skills and confidence. I have so many great things planned to share with you on my YouTube channel and blog this year and I’m so excited to get stuck into them!
However, now that my time is being shared with my studies there will be times when videos may be late or go up on the wrong date or not go up at all from week-to-week. (I may even change my upload day soon – I’ll let you know when and if I do!) It really will depend on how busy the week gets with study, family life, prior commitments etc. But just know I will always do my best to get something up and out to you each week!
And just as a sneak-peek to those of you who read my blog, here are a few of the tutorials/videos coming up on my channel over the next month or so… (in no particular order, btw!)
– My Mini Quilt Collection
– Ocean Waves Block Tutorial
– Boxy Zipper Pouch Tutorial
– February Favourites
– Behind the Scenes: The Tutorial Edition*
(*This will be a video showing you how I film, edit and produce my block tutorials. It’ll be the behind the scenes of the Ocean Waves block!)
– And there’s the potential of a mini Spotlight Fabric Haul if you would like to see it… Let me know if you do!
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third update – sugar block club
This year I decided to jump on the band wagon and join in on one of Amy’s from Stitchery Dickory Dock Sugar Block Clubs. (Click here if you want to learn more about it!)
These are the two blocks I’ve made so far for January and February – Churn Dash and Log Cabin variations!
I’ve decided to use solids for each of my blocks as I absolutely love using them at the moment! (Plus, I have lots of solid fabric to get through!) I’m sticking with a neutral creamy colour for the background which will help each of the colours I choose to sing and show off the designs in each block. I’m so excited to see where this quilt will end up!
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fourth update – happy mail!
Although I’ve already thanked her, I just want to acknowledge and share this lovely gift that a wonderful friend, reader and viewer sent me last week!
Carissa made me this super cute little ‘thank you’ wall hanging/mini in the design of an envelope, featuring hand embroidered details, beautiful little sample fabrics from her HST Sampler Quilt along with a gorgeous little frenchie bulldog fussy cut for the fabric postage stamp!! Ahh, soooo cute!!
Along with this, she so generously sent lots of fun things like Pop Tarts and a selection of American candies, binding clips, a Buzz Lightyear Mug (!!) and so many other awesome little things!
And so again Carissa, thank you so much for sending me such a lovely, generous and thoughtful package! You’re truly the best! (Can you tell I’m still on a bit of a high from all of it?! Te-he!)
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And that’s the update done! (There’ll be a fifth update but I’m going to make that into a separate post – it’ll be all about my Four-Patch Love Heart Block tutorial!)
I’m so looking forward to completing my floristry course and perhaps sharing some flower care and construction tips with you some time!
And, I’m quite eager to get those tutorials underway and share them with you asap!
3and3quarters 