Comedy Bouquet

This past weekend my god-sister, Micaela, performed at the Sacramento Comedy Spot.  I made her a little bouquet because, really, I think that women should be given bouquets more often in life outside of their weddings!  I'm getting a lot better at getting the classic "bouquet shape."  They are my favorite to practice!  I picked up the flowers at Trader Joe's and I was really happy with what I found: reddish-pink alstromeria, pink mums with green centers, pink spray roses, and GORGEOUS pink and green tulips.  Let me just say that my car smelled amazing on the way to Sacramento.

I also had fun with some green and pink-tinged ribbon that I found at Michael's.  I added a little star with beads for Micaela to remind her that she need not be nervous because she was gonna kick butt anyway!

Here is a front view.

And here for size comparion next to me in my loud red shirt.

I also got to visit my grandfather and his wife so I brought along a little arrangement to give them with what was left over after the bouquet.  I really liked the shape that I ended up with.

Again, I couldn't help but inhale deeply on the way to the show.

Sacramento Weekend Farmer's Market

It's been a really long time since I had the chance outside of class to do some arranging on my own, and I've got to say that I really needed it.  My confidence has been low and it really helped to sit down in the comfort of my own home and just enjoy the process.  I traveled up to Sacramento to the X Street farmer's market and grabbed some purple amaranthus, green and purple-tinged hydrangea, white dahlias, and calendula flowers (which looked like a flat marigold to me, and the Internet tells me that it is indeed a type of marigold!).  I got a badly-needed visit with my God-sister, made her a quick arrangement, had lunch, shivered on the way back with the AC on full blast for the flowers, and commenced the arranging.
In my last (and final!?) flower class, I really grappled with enjoying anything that I made.  I also realized that I really shy away from arrangements with any type of, well, height.  Whenever I tried making taller or wider arrangements, the end result looked unfinished and like it was full of holes.  To say the least, I felt like crap every time I left class.  I decided to try to start fresh on my own, get some flowers that jumped out at me (and oh, the hydrangeas always do), and have a day of enjoyable arranging.  I decided to work on small, grouped pieces.  I'm comfortable with smaller arrangements, and heck, I can get really confident at these and work up from there.
I borrowed mason jars from my Mom and used a cube vase I had from past weekend arranging.  I'm happy to say that I enjoyed myself.  I'm working back up my confidence, and hopefully my skills.

And here are some single views.

I'm in love with the dahlia in this one.

The amaranthus to the right is bugging me, but for the sake of progress, here we go!

The following is my favorite.  I really like the combination of dahlias with the amaranthus and hydrangea.  It's a combination that I'll have to remember.

 

I'm sorry, I can't help it.

All in all, it was a lovely day.  $21 dollars spent for flowers--I got 5 small arrangments, plus the 1 that I made Micaela out of it.  I'd say that's pretty good.  It was all worth it to have a good flower experience that was calming and enjoyable.  Here's to enjoyable practice, practice, practice.

Wedding Lab Madness

One day a few weeks ago, an acquaintance of Carol's came knocking at Carol's front door asking for some help with her daughter's wedding flowers.  Carol replied that she no longer did weddings, but she had a whole class of students who would jump at the chance to do a wedding--and so tonight about 15 people crammed into our floral classroom and proceeded to arrange like crazy.  There were 30 large centerpieces, all of the personal flowers, plus pomanders and more.  All together 400 people are going to be attending this wedding on Saturday.  To say the least, I think we were all surprised at what a huge event it turned out to be!  There were roses, calla lilies, hydrangea, bells of ireland, gyp, leatherleaf, gladiolus, waxflower, heather, hypericum, amaranthus, snapdragons, larkspur, and oh my god the list goes on.  It smelled amazing in that room, though it was hot with all of us designing our brains away. 
Carol assigned me to the bridesmaid's bouquets, and to be honest, I was petrified.  I was definitely slow at first, but I picked up momentum and got some greatly appreciated help from another classmate.  I loved how they turned out and I wish I could see them on the big day.  The bride herself along with bridesmaids and family members helped out--and they were extremely lovely people.  I know the wedding will be gorgeous and perfect.  And so now, here follows a crazy amount of pictures.  Darn the iPhone for taking blurry pictures, it does not do the flowers justice. 

Two of the bridesmaids' bouquets.  Let me tell you, they smelled amazing.

Like the fancy beakers we used to hold the bouquets up?

Had enough of these?  Okay, let's go on to all of the other gorgeous arrangements done by my other classmates and the bridal party.

Blurry boutonnieres and corsages done by two very talented classmates.

I really especially loved the groom's boutonniere.  Look at that detail.

One of the many centerpieces.  I love the colors.

More centerpieces!

And the Bride's bouquet...with Crowning Glory.

Birdseye view of the Bride's bouquet, minus the Crowning Glory spray this time.

The Bride's toss bouquet.  The Bride said it was just too cute to have to toss!

Another gorgeous centerpiece.

And lastly, a fraction of the centerpieces lined up in the back lab storeroom. Holy moly!
All in all, it was an amazing night and though I felt like I definitely was too slow I know that practice makes perfect and I'll get there.  Here's to lots more practice.  Thank you, thank you to all of the family for letting us do your flowers.