I have to say, the amount of times I’ve had to reschedule this post is far too many times to be able to count!
But finally, today I got my Big Girl Camera out and took some snaps of a few of my favourite things we have growing in our garden! Since beginning my Floristry course, I’ve become a lot more interested in what we have growing out in the backyard along with being quite keen on adding more stuff to it! Mainly succulents at the moment but this will change as Spring begins to greet us closer in September!
So with these two little succulent plants below, they were very graciously given to me by my classmates over the past few weeks, which is so lovely of them to do! And what’s more they’re so easy to replant and then watch them grow and grow!
(PS. Don’t ask me what their names are – I’d have no idea! Ha! 😀)
This next particular one was a fab little find I made late last week! We were over at my brother’s house (which is owned by my parents) and as we were waving goodbye in the car, I was suddenly interested in this bush/shrub thing that’s growing next to their letterbox. So in near darkness, I jumped out of the car (which was stopped btw!) and went over to discover what it was… And to my shear delight is was a treasure trove of a beautifully coloured succulent called Jade. It had beautiful sprays of flowers budding out all around it and was so delightfully soft and flexible to touch! I was so excited by my new find! So I asked permission to snap off a branch so that we could take it home and pot it up into some soil to make it grow and flourish in our own yard! Yay!
A few other favourites that we have growing is a beautifully delicate Maiden Hair Fern that is totally loving life and flourishing perfectly before our eyes!
Another is a few of these Zygo cacti that Dad has been growing. They’ve only just begun to bloom this week!
And lastly is this Teddy Bear Cactus…
I bought this as a small plant a few years ago and within that time it has doubled and doubled and doubled in sized that we have at least half a dozen fully matured plants (that are still growing!) dotted all around our backyard in pots of all different kinds! It’s a bit of a bugger of a plant to touch with tiny little spikes that stick to your skin even if you barely brush past it!
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So there’s just a little tour of my garden. We do have lots of other things growing here and there like a few Grevillea, Banksia, Lemon Tea Tree and Bottlebrush trees (Australian Natives), as well as a few ferns, a lovely purple/pink Bromeliad that has just begun blooming too along with a Rose bush and a few little Azalea shrubs that love sitting in the sun!
What types of plants do you have in your garden or would like to be able to grow one day? For me, it would have to be either a beautiful Blossom, Jacaranda or Magnolia tree or a lovely full hedge of French Lavender! 🙂
I wanted to share with you a few of the designs I made in class this week… I’ve had such a wonderful week at Floristry school! It’s one of the first times since I started when I didn’t want the week to end because I was enjoying what I was doing so much! I just wanted to keep playing!
Something seemed to click this week where I finally felt confident in my new found skills and noticed a rising passion for the art of floristry flourishing deep inside! (Corny, I know!)
This week we focused a lot on wedding bouquets and posies which are so fun and beautiful to make! Monday we had an assessment for a design called a Formal Hand-Tied Wedding Posy.
Packed full of even distributed flowers with a closed form (meaning no to very little negative space) and natural stems.
The second assessment was the informal version of the Hand-Tied Wedding Posy. The difference with this one is that there should be lots of negative space with materials placed high and low as well as placed in groups e.g. grouping of roses, carnations, foliage etc. This design should also take on a more vegetative effect which means the materials should look like they’re growing in a natural way.
The other assessment ticked off the list was the Informal Trail Wedding Bouquet. Although it did take about 2 hours to assemble, this one was slightly less stressful to make compared to the Formal version pictured below!
Formal Wired Posy
The Informal Trail Bouquet is a lot less structured, has lots of negative space and incorporates the use of line materials to carry colour and texture from one side to the other. The design is fully wired, which means all of the stems are cut off at the head of the flower, then wired and parafilmed. Materials then can be moved, bent, shaped and manipulated in any way you wish to achieve the design you want! This is sometimes easier said than done!
From the FrontFrom the Back
I really can’t stop looking at this design! I love all of the flowers and foliages I used and love the texture the pink/maroon Tea Tree sprays brings to the overall effect! So pretty!
Each of these designs are always finished off with a ‘ribboned’ handle which can either be ribbon, jute/hessian, lace, decorative ribbons, doilies or even natural materials like bark or big modern-type leaves. With the top two designs, I finished them off using a 20mm jute ribbon and bow and then used a lovely white satin ribbon on the last one.
It’s only three weeks until I finish my course and I’m trying my best to savour every minute – especially now that I’m really, really, really enjoying it!!
Since starting my Floristry course a few months ago, I’ve been visiting the Sydney Flower Markets early most Saturday mornings to buy my flowers for class the follow week.
To be honest, for a while there I was so intimidated by the place that I really struggled with the thought of going each week. It’s a pretty hectic place to visit when you’re not used to packed market conditions and very busy people rushing about! I’m not all that good with crowds and quite intense busy environments! However, with each visit I get under my belt I’m getting just that little bit more experienced and confident in what to buy and how to face the busy madness of the place!
On today’s flower run, I was happily accompanied by a good friend, Sam, who I’ve known since high school. Together we perused all of the different stalls, discussed colour choices and plant names, swooned over pretty flowers and then spent a fair good amount of money on them! (Well I definitely did anyway!)
Amid all of that, I even managed to get a few snaps to show you what was at the market this morning!
Pretty Natives!Matching & Choosing Colours!
I really can’t believe that I’ve only got a few more weeks of shopping as a student and then it’s on to the ‘real thing’! (What ever the ‘real thing’ will actually be!) Time has flown by so quickly and I’m not sure whether I’m ready to leave the comfort of my classes and ever-knowing, lovely teachers!
Also, I never thought I’d say it but I’m actually gonna miss making the trip into markets each weekend and getting what I need for class the follow week. It’s that concept of innocence you still have as a student… You’re still in that learning phase where you’re discovering new flowers and plants in class and then seeing them for sale at the market! (Always exciting!) And then there’s that moment when you bring your haul of flowers home and really connect and discover their beauty!
(Whoa! I’m talking like a real Florist now! OooOoo!)
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!
3and3quarters 