Bridal bouquets

I hate to waste blooms and had a few spares left over from this weekend's wedding, so I put together a couple of bouquets. The roses were quite blown but its a shame not to do something with them.  As I've said before I love a bit of rustic and have been keen to use berries in bouquets for a while so thought I would experiment by combining them with Avalanche, and ivory spray roses. I also used a few Ornithogalum which I love for their tiny little black centred blooms. With whites and creams its a classic combination with a country feel.  A collar of ivy would look lovely too.

Then I remembered I had a vase of Craspedia, that have been cheering up my kitchen window sill for the last month (the colour and shape hold for for ages, even if the stems go a bit manky!) Their sunny yellow  hues added a fresh zestyness to the bouquet and brought out the cream in the Roses.  They'd work really well with the yellow and grey colour themes seen all over the net lately.

Which do you prefer?

Which Dusky Roses for your Vintage Wedding?

So many lovely roses in the shop this week, I'm spoilt for choice.  If you're looking for dusky shades to complement a vintage wedding theme.. read on.  You may have heard of Blue Curiosa, or Cool Water both of which are blue toned mauvey lilacs, that have been the go to roses for brides looking for dusky shades. I'll come back to these another time, but if you're looking for something similar how about these sweetie pies..

The roses above are Ocean Song, a soft, subtle lilac-pink rose and a really gorgeous shade. Neat and compact they're perfect for your bridal bouquet or for your bridesmaids and would work really well as a buttonhole for the groom and ushers - especially lovely with dove greys or browns.  The colour seems to be more intense in the centre, with soft paler tones on the outer petals.

 If you're looking for a slightly stronger violet toned rose, these beauties above are Pacific Blue. They're a little more lavender/lilac than mauve, so more blue and less pink. Think Parma violets.  They really are sweet and feminine but so sophisticated with it.  They have lovely pink guard petals (the outer petals), which personally I love to keep on, but they could be removed if pinks didn't work with your colours. Simply beautiful on their own, mixed with other antique shades, in a classic hand tie of soft muted tones, or wild and rustic - I just love a bit of rustic. How would you have yours?

Box of treasures

Looking for a handy home for the squillions of business cards I've picked up at Trade fairs and round and about I happened upon a box of bits and bobs (we all have those right?).  A little rub down and a dash of paint and it will be just the ticket.

Found some treasure amongst the rubble.  Tiny pebbles pretty as gem stones - even more precious as they were gathered by my mum.  3 smashing watch faces, wonder if they still work. Could be refashioned as jewellery.  And the sweetest, soft leather wallet that holds a dinky brush. A tactile connection to grandad. Wonder what it was used for? 

Decided some things are too precious to be tucked away.  Now I'm off to sand that box..

Feeling blue

I'm really drawn to shades of blue at the moment. They're so cool and calming.  From fresh aqua marine shades, to deep indigo denims they really make me smile.
Here are just a few of my favourite blue flowers (I also love Hydrangea and Delphinium) and some architectural features from the neighbourhood.

A dab hand

Just a little collection of snaps to inspire me to dust off my brushes and get a few jobs done round the house tomorrow. I have a cabinet and some freecycled bentwood chairs to rub down and spruce up.

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I'm a bit slow on the uptake when it comes to techie stuff and have just found out about Big Huge Labs, a great site packed chock-a-block with fun photography gadgets and more.  I read about it a while ago on Selina Lake's blog but hadn't got round to trying it out.  I used a 2 x 2 mosaic grid to arrange the pics above, but you can do 3 x 3 or more using your own or pictures around the web.

I was looking for a way of creating moodboards that are easy to share on the blog so that I can post about wedding themes and decorating schemes (just one of a trillion things on my to do list lately).  Glad I popped over and gave it a go as it couldn't be easier.  Lots of other fun stuff on there -  always fancied myself as a bit of a muse, so shall definitely be turning myself into a piece of pop art, Andy Warhol style.  Oh and posing in the vintage photo booth is a must too. 

Window into my world

Fiddling around with the window display in the shop today. Got all inspired by the zingy red Geraniums and juicy lime green Soleirolli - or as its commonly known Mind Your Own Business.  I just love this combination in nature. And the earthy terracotta window boxes and zinc watering cans and buckets add a rustic feel that is so me.  I often use the wooden fruit crates for display, they're so versatile. Back in the day these were really easy to come by and cheap, now they retail at about £20-£30 at most places.  I would advise you snap them up if you ever see them cheaper. In fact don't, I want them.

Don't know about you but I tend to think about sprucing up the garden at this time of year, ready for for dinners alfresco and lazy days on the lawn.  And if you only have a ledge, its amazing what a difference a vibrant window box can make.  Not much chance of getting out in the garden today though, as the rain has been pelting down.  Nice weather for ducks! 

Brighton Bridal Boot

Weddings can be expensive. Ok, so thats stating the obvious but its no joke that trying to realise the big day you've always dreamed of can be seriously hard on the bank balance. No-one wants to be a penny pincher but how is a girl to achieve such a vision without skimping on the finer details?

Apart from learning how to make your own quirky arrangements and buttonholes at my workshop on Vintage Blooms and Buttonholes, why not pop along to the Brighton Bridal Bootfayre on the 25th June.

The first of its kind (as far as I am aware) the Brighton Bridal Bootfayre will see stallholders selling-on their pre-owned and loved wedding paraphenalia from Wedding dresses, Bridesmaids frocks, shoes, accessories, to table and venue decorations.  

Two lovely ladies, Charlie and Emily came up with the idea for the Boot Fayre as a way of liberating their Wedding Booty after amassing bundles of Bridal flotsam and jetsam themselves for their own nuptials. (See Emily and hubby "Tall" above, and pics from Charlie's wedding which I blogged about here: village fete wedding.)

If you have any items that you'd like to move on to a good home/wedding, tables are still available to book at £5 each or £3 if you're happy to share a table.  Entrance is £2 on the day, and rest assured, there will be plenty of tea and scrumptious home made cake to partake in whilst you mull over your purchases.

Pop on over to the girls blog: Brighton Bridal Bootfayre for information.

In the pink

If you're looking for a classic pink rose for a wedding, gift or for home, you can't really go wrong with Aqua - a versatile mid pink rose, with a lovely neat shape and a good spiral. They're not what I would call a large headed rose, but nevertheless have a compact, regular shape and are available year round. 

Whilst I'm not generally a big fan of carnations, my sources tell my they are due for a revival and I'm actually quite taken with this new variety, bred no doubt to tap into the current vogue for romantic vintage style, they have a beautiful painterly quality and subtle variations in tone. What do you think?

Of course you shouldn't overlook Peonies if you want big, blousey pinks blooms. They have a relatively short season and are at their best in the summer months of May and June.  I just love them and use them as often as possible. For some reason they just make me beam. Ah, loving the romance!

Red, white and blue

As a stylist, I appreciate good design in all its forms and am lucky to be able to try out different styles in my work and home.  

Ultimately, for me a home should be a place to take refuge, to relax, and recharge.  I look for warmth, and simplicity in objects, and if I have a constant I would say its a fondness for natural materials, whether that's a beautiful grained wood, slubby linens, natural hues... oh and stripes, because there's something just so clean and classic about stripes especially in fresh blue and white.

So you can imagine, I was in my element on this shoot with Hannah Deacon for Ideal Homes.  I was so busy I barely got to sneak a few shots, but loved the linen and stripes so much I couldn't resist grabbing these.  Beautiful glossy ceramics too. You can see the rest of the shoot in July's issue of Ideal Home, out now.