Christmas in the shop

I've been easing myself into the Christmas spirit this week, having a reshuffle in the shop, revamping the windows, pulling different ranges together and mostly sprinkling pine cones of all sizes everywhere.

And my favourite Christmassy touch - snow kissed pine cones, garden twine and brown paper. Rustic gift wrapping.

Date for your Diary - Christmas Wreath Workshop

The date has now been set for the Christmas door wreath workshop I'm running. The first of a series of  floristry workshops I shall be holding with Make and Do, at their creative hub in Caversham, will take place at 7pm on Monday the 19th of December.

During the 2 hour long workshop you'll learn how to make a fresh spruce wreath from scratch. I'll teach you the skills and techniques needed to create your own stunning fresh foliage wreath to decorate your door, hang over your mantlepiece or give as a gift that will last right through the festive season.

The course costs £55 which covers 2 hours floristry tuition, and all the materials you'll need. You'll pick up lots of tips and ideas on decorating your home with flowers and foliage at Christmas time, and leave with your very own Christmas Wreath, and the skills and know-how to be able to create your own fresh foliage Christmas decorations.

Should be good fun, and who knows there may even be mulled wine, that is if I have anything to do with it! To book your place and to check out other crafty classes pop over to the Make and Do website.

Simple festive vases

As the festive season approaches I've been thinking about Christmas decorations, and how I might decorate the table this year. Always fun. Continuing with the theme of simple vases, I was wondering how best to wrap vases to give them a festive feel.

I love the idea of of wrapping a vase with red and white striped candy canes to give your Christmas table setting a quirky touch. Really sweet, literally. And you get to eat them after, or pack them away and hang from your tree next year.

And if you're on a budget (cos who isn't this year?) you could gather twigs, cut to similar sizes and tie with raffia around a straight sided vase. For added festive spice, try cinnamon sticks. They smell so gorgeous and Christmassy too.

If you want a little more colour, add a band of pretty wrapping paper or wallpaper to co-ordinate with your scheme and trim with ribbons, beads or tiny bells. I love the simple colour combination here - it looks very fresh and clean and a tad scandinavian.

Images found here, here and here

Christmas Door Wreaths

In December I will be holding another floristry workshop, this time at Make and Do in Caversham, showing the local green fingered and crafty types how to make Christmas Door Wreaths.  

One beautiful sunny weekend, I headed over to Crystal Palace (oh the glamour!) and with the help of the lovely and talented photographer Corin Brown, set about styling some shots to promote the workshop.

I think we got some nice shots, what do you think? More photos and details to follow next week.