NEW BOUQUET IN THE SHOP TODAY!

I've been working hard on this bouquet for the last two weeks or so and I'm super excited to have it finished and posted in the shop.  Getting this bouquet done and some photos taken of it were the last things I wanted to accomplish before I start getting together applications for some new advertising.  Here's hoping I can get accepted to a few good blogs!

Here are some pictures from our little mini-photo shoot this week...

New things are coming soon!

I've disappeared from the blog a bit the last two weeks, work and personal issues are big time suckers for me, like they are for most people, but I've also been hard at work on new things for my shop and the blog.  I've been working on this black rose for a customer, as well as putting together a new bouquet that will be debuting with another photo shoot next week!  

Also, I've been doing lots of research on the new trends for 2014 and I can't wait to get started on some new items in these colors, picked by Pantone for Spring 2014.  I already have items in something like hemlock and, of course, radiant orchid, but I love some of the others too, like the pretty Cayenne below!  I love these bright colors for spring... winter is almost over!

via The Perfect Palette

Thanks for looking... check back soon!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Happy Valentine's Day!  Hope you had a great day, whether it was a day with that special someone or Singles' Awareness Day!

Here are some fun items from my shop in the spirit of Valentine's Day :)

MY HOUSE! The kitchen....

I'm finally writing about my house! When I bought my house about a year and a half ago, almost every surface in the entire place was yellow.  And not light, cheerful, sunny yellow... icky, sickly, mustard-y yellow.  The walls in the bathroom, sunroom, and kitchen were all painted the same shade of yellow, the kitchen had yellow countertops, and the bathroom had vintage yellow tile up the walls (in addition to the yellow paint).  Anything that wasn't currently yellow had clearly been yellow at one point, since when paint chipped off of doors, cabinets, or anything else, there it was underneath. It was a lot.  I'm pretty obsessed with keeping original details in vintage houses, so the kitchen countertops and the bathroom tile are staying.  The sickly yellow walls had to go though.

Before I moved in, I painted every wall in the house (including the weird green bedroom) to shades of greige, grey, and navy.  I ran out of time though and the kitchen languished in yellow purgatory for a few more months.  Eventually, I couldn't take it any more and painted the walls a light ivory just to make it more bearable.  Still though, it remains the room that has gotten the least attention.  It got a pretty corner hutch (which will get a post of its own) and a new stove that I love, but while it's a vast improvement, it's still the most overlooked room of the house.

The rest of my house is about 90% finished inside (the exterior is a whole other story... we spent the entire day yesterday planning what we want to do out there, but I digress).  The interior needs a few decorative finishing touches and some organizing, but it's mostly the way that I want it.  The kitchen is the major exception though and I'm excited that its time is coming.

So now for my design plan, some before photos, during photos, and some inspiration photos....

vintage hutch, Grow House Grow wallpaper, similar table to what I have: Saarinen Dining Table from hivemodern.com, similar bentwood chair: Sweetheart Bentwood Chair from americanchairs.com, similar houseplant from houzz.com, my kitchen cabinets, mint canisters from Pier 1, grey cabinets: marthastewart.com, appliances are from GE.

PHOTO SHOOT for Fuzzy Rose!

While the rest of the country has been frozen in a polar vortex (and Snow-mageddon happened in poor Atlanta), central Florida has escaped mostly unscathed.  Still though, the chilly rain is getting old and depressing.  Tuesday though, we had a break from the gloom and it was a beautiful, sunny, warm day.  It was the perfect day to run outside and get some photos before the sun hid again.  We're definitely still new at this and need to get a better camera, but I'm super happy with how the pictures came out, especially for our first try. 

MINT GREEN WITH GOLD by ELENA on ETSY

My last post was about a beautiful treasury that I'd been included in which featured items in plum and glitter gold.  This time it's another pretty gold combo that I love even more... mint green and gold!  Mint green and the variations all around it, particularly the aptly named Robin's Egg Blue, are really "my color(s)," so I'm loving that so many things these days are being made in that color.

On a somewhat related aside, I'm sure I will mention this again at some point, but love what you love, whether it's trendy or not.  A lot of people who aren't completely mainstream or "normal," (err... like me, I can often be found marching to the beat of my own drum... completely off rhythm, but I digress) often feel like they can't love something because it's trendy or super popular.  I know I've struggled with that a lot in the past, but you know what?  That just means that things you like are more readily available.... and it can be fun to accidentally be in fashion occasionally.  Being yourself means liking what you like, regardless of popularity.  So... I love me some mint green, even if it's ridiculously trendy right now.

Anyway, trendy mint green and gold are awesome....

GLITTER + PLUM by KARO on ETSY

I'm really digging this treasury on Etsy that I was featured in recently.  It combines the gold glitter that I've been loving on everything lately and the purple that's becoming more popular with the declaration of Radiant Orchid as the Color of the Year.  Really pretty.  This could be a really great color scheme for a wedding.  Shades of purple with some gold glitter thrown in for good measure, I like it!

UPDATE: radiant orchid in my shop

So, a week or so ago, I posted about all of the hype over Radiant Orchid, this year's Pantone Color of the Year.  While I had a few purple things in my shop that could be called that color, it was time for me to fully jump on the Radiant Orchid bandwagon and list some new products for 2014 that were most assuredly Radiant Orchid.

So here are some of my newest items for 2014!

Radiant Orchid boutonnière with peach button and flowers

Shades of Purple with Radiant Orchid boutonnière 

Radiant Orchid corsage with lace, flowers, and gold dots

Check it out in my shop!