Tuesday, 28 June 2011

Going Nuts Over Porcelain Flowers






























 1.Valeria Nascimento  2. Far4  3. John Whitehead  4. MaaP Studio  5. Studio Klimenkoff   6. Elizabeth Prince  7. Melissa Gamwell  8. Source Unknown  9. Source Unknown


I should be working right now but instead I have spent hours trawling the Internet looking at porcelain flowers. I love them. The ornate, delicate white ones make my heart skip a beat. I almost can't bear it. White porcelain just seriously does it for me. I can feel another obsession coming on. How much I wish I knew how to work with ceramics...and wasn't so clumsy handed...I'd love to be able to make some of these. These are just a few I found to be particularly lovely but there are tons more out there waiting to be seen and adored.

x

Monday, 27 June 2011

Making Millinery Flowers










My passion with flowers doesn't stop in the garden. I have also been harboring a serious millinery flower obsession for as long as I can remember. As a child, I used to go to the dime store and buy all sorts of velvet flowers, fruits and berries. It was the 1970s and things like that were in abundance. Sadly millinery flowers that have the kind of quality of yester-year are very, very scarce. In fact the whole artificial flower business is quite elusive. Most artificial flowers that are readily available are mass produced in the Far East and are made from cheap polyester and come in garish colors. There are places that sell good quality millinery flowers, but they are so traditional. I want something unique, funky and kinda quirky. When I do find some old millinery flower stock though, I find it very hard to part with it.

Lately I have been busying myself with trying to make some of my own. These are some of my first attempts. Try not to laugh. They are 'flat' and 'new' looking and aren't really 'there' for me. I think I will try to dye some of my own fabrics next. I am also ordering a set of heat flower presses which will hopefully give future flowers that I make a more 3-D appearance. I want my 'new' flowers to look old and vintage...so onward and upwards with experimenting!

Meanwhile...these flowers may just end up on a fascinator base with some other embellishments...so stay tuned.

x

Sunday, 19 June 2011

Summer Wedding Fascinators



























Wedding season is here and I have been busy making fascinators. Both of these were made with vintage flowers and bits so they are one-offs....but I have also been very busy making some repro flowers too. I have been studying vintage millinery flower techniques and although I'm still in the experimenting phase, I hope to have some fabulous ones (with a funky, modern twist) made up and in my shop very soon. I'm not really a hat person but I can't seem to resist floral fascinators...or huge flowers in hair! I can probably trace that obsession back to the day I fell in love with Frida Khalo. I spend most days alone in my studio so I never have a reason to put my hair in bunches and festoon it out with huge blossoms, but I am going to a big bridal fair on Thursday...so maybe it will be as good an excuse as any to stick flowers in my hair!

x

Friday, 17 June 2011

Another Lush Batch of Gluten Free Cupcakes!



























The Gluten Free adventure is still on but I have to be honest that I haven't been on it 100% which may explain why I don't feel any different. But I can say one thing...if I eat something with lots of gluten in it....like pizza or a big portion of pasta...my Fibro symptoms are way worse. I have really noticed it since I have been (mostly) gluten free. Maybe I needed to cheat here and there to kind of test it...I don't know...but I do plan on going at it 100% full throttle very soon. I'm still poring over all the cookbooks I bought and planning meals etc. Will keep you posted.

Meanwhile...will you look at these gorgeous cupcakes! They are chamomile, lemon and courgette with a chamomile/lemon butter cream frosting...and they are gluten free. I made them for a dinner party and everyone there said they tasted better than cupcakes made with wheat flour. They were delicious. The recipe is from THIS amazing book...I highly recommend it.

Have a great weekend!
x

Thursday, 2 June 2011

Caroline Victoria Rose: A Rose for the Arts
























A gorgeous, strong and elegant rose created in memory of Caroline Victoria Coldicutt, a young and talented artist who's life was cut short by a tragic death. Read more about the rose here...and read about the Foundation here.

Mine is blooming and filling my studio with the most heavenly fragrance.

I so love roses.

x
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