Brunch at Bills and a New Venture

Hey, how was your weekend? The rain stopped many from risking a trip to the shops meaning I was able to crack on with making topiary trees for a window display.

Sunday I popped in for a browse around the Reading Vintage Fair, held at Revolutions. The location was once home to an undercover market of independent traders, including a treasure trove called the Magpies Nest where I first lost my heart to vintage.


There were treasures to be found this weekend too and it was great to have a little rummage. Loved the stock from Frock and Roll who only recently opened their doors to the Reading public. Will definitely be checking them out again soon. Was also tempted by a couple of possible bridesmaids dresses in sweet sherbert shades and a cute beaded tapestry bag, but I refrained and decided to save my pennies for a spot of lunch.

With a snackette on the agenda, we headed over to Bills which is a small chain with a handful of restaurants in the south east, and luckily for me, one in Reading. I love this kind of place, it has a really nice atmosphere with soft low light (always a blessing), wooden tables and a combination of beautiful architectural details, exposed brickwork and industrial-style piping strung with raffia. Its the kind of place I could linger all day.

Between us we tucked into open sandwiches, potted mackerel and mini yorkshire puds, olives, dips, chips, a rather fine date and walnut cake and topped it off with tea served in an enamel pot. Yum.

The place was so full we sat upstairs where I spotted this amazing room with a great long table and comfy leather and sacking seats scattered around. It would be perfect for hen parties, workshops and meetings, which got me thinking...

Spring Flower Workshop Part II

This weekend I had the pleasure of hosting a floristry workshop at Make and Do in Caversham.  The idea for the workshop was to demonstrate some spring flower arrangements in upcycled vases. 

I decided to use containers that we all have lying around at home - such as tin cans, jam jars and glass ramekins (if you enjoy a posh pud now and again as I do, you are bound to have a few of these lurking in your recycling bin). But rather than recycle them, we were going to reuse and upcycle them by looking at different ways we could add some pretty. 

We started the session with a small hand tie of Tulips and Genista, spiralling the stems and tying lightly so as not to crush the delicate stems, and cutting to size to suit the proportions of the tin cans.

Then I demonstrated how to make a little front facing tied posy suitable for a jam jar - using groups of Hyacinths, Muscari, Feverfew, Tete a Tete and Paperwhites.

Before moving on to work on a petite oasis arrangement in a ramekin. These sort of arrangements are great for using odd stems from larger bouquets, or a few cuttings from the garden - be sure to condition the flowers and foliage well before using them in oasis.

We used Ranunculus, Lisianthus, Waxflower and a few heads of limey green button Chrysanthemums. Roses would work equally well.

Lastly we looked at ways to decorate the containers. I'd brought along tin cans painted with tester pots from Farrow & Ball, and wrapped jam jars with wool in aqua shades. Hannah from Make & Do had used Enamel paint to give her jam jars a tint of pink.

The class then decorated their vases with fabric trimmings and ribbons from Make and Do's well stocked shelves.  At the end of the afternoon, they had 3 little spring arrangements to take home and hopefully picked up a few tips on how to recreate them at leisure.

It was such a lovely afternoon, hopefully we'll do it all again soon, but with a summer theme. 

Perhaps in time to inspire your Jubilee tea party decorations?..

Spring Flower Workshop

Its a gloomy January day, but I've been having fun trying out a few ideas for an upcoming Floristry workshop at Make and Do in Caversham.

Spring flowers never fail to cheer me up. I just love the simplicity of Tulips, the heady scent of Hyacinths and the plump and heavily petalled perfection of pretty Ranunculus.

For this workshop I'm going to be giving tips on how to turn everyday containers like jam jars and tin cans into pretty vases, and demonstrating how to make petite tied arrangements - perfect for your kitchen window, bedside table, for budget weddings and thank you gifts.

The workshop costs £35 (which includes tuition, all flowers and containers) and takes place Sunday 1st April 2 - 4.30pm, at Make and Do, Prospect Street, Caversham. Check out their website at Make and Do, and phone 0118 3276717 to book.

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.

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.

Simple vases

Working on some ideas for my next workshop. I'm thinking up ways to reuse, recycle, and revamp everyday containers - lots of inspiration to be found on Pinterest. These cherries picked here, here and here 

Love the tin cans, they're great planted or with fresh flowers, plus there's so many ways you could trim them to make them your own. And the lightbulbs are genius. They'd be really pretty hanging from branches for Christmas, with maybe some glitter in the water for added sparkle.  

Fabric wrappings are a simple way to bring extra colour, texture and pattern to your table too. Experiment with offcuts from craft projects for a double dose of recycling - perhaps gingham, stripes or lace.     

Vintage Blooms & Buttonholes

Back in September I was asked to take my skills on the road, and invited to host a floristry workshop at a Birthday party in Islington. I'm always happy to share my love of all things floral, and set about gathering some beautiful dusky pink Roses, interesting foliage and hydrangea in muted antique tones to complement the vintage theme of the workshop.

 I started off with a demonstration of some of the basic techniques to make a buttonhole or corsage, and the girls got cracking with wiring and taping flowers and foliage to create their own unique buttonhole.

Then we moved on to making small grouped handties or posies, the type of thing they would be able to make from a few salvaged blooms, or cuttings from the garden. I'd asked the group to bring along a small container like a jam jar, a quirky vintage find like a teapot or china cup to display their posy in.

Delving into buckets of waxflower, hydrangea, thistle, snowberries, lisianthus, and cool water roses, the girls rustled up an array of pretty little posies. The workshop was a great success and got the Birthday girl's afternoon of treats off to a great start. Here she is below in an action shot making her own posy.    

If you'd like to arrange a workshop, or to discuss the different options please drop me a line to blueskiesandbunting@gmail.com. 

Vintage Blooms

Want to create a vintage feel for your big day, or for a little corner at home?  I shall be hosting a workshop with We Make London called Vintage Blooms and Buttonholes at The Oak Studio in Hampstead on Wednesday 6th July, 2.30 - 4.30pm.

I'll be demonstrating how to create a vintage style arrangement using some of the new vintage roses in teacups and teapots, which as well as looking fab on your kitchen or dressing table, would make great budget wedding table centres.

I will also be covering how to make a buttonhole fit for the occasion of your choice or just for lolling around in elegant splendour.  You can book online here.  Please do come along and join in the fun.

I don't know about you but I love vintage - be it fashion, furniture or flowers.  And I'm not alone, the trend for vintage has definitely gained momentum over the last few years.

In the shop we have seen more enquiries for vintage themed weddings. Brides seem to be moving away from formal handties of head to head roses and favouring a more wild, english country garden feel for their flowers, and incorporating vintage tea sets and cake stands, accessories like birdcages and books, and elegant vintage or vintage inspired dresses.

Beautiful blousey David Austen roses and dusky antique tones epitomise the vintage look, but with roses available in so many shades and shapes, combined with different blooms and foliage, there are endless ways to create a vintage feel.