Showing posts with label flowers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label flowers. Show all posts

Tuesday, 26 May 2015

DIY: FESTIVAL FLOWER CROWN

This is a quick and very cheap flower crown that's perfect for festival season! It took only half an hour to make and the flowers and materials cost under £10! I used chrysanthemums as they were very cheap, are easy to work with and last quite well out of water.


MATERIALS
  • Bunch of chrysanths from the local supermarket 
  • Wire 
  • Floral Tape 



(I used quite a thick wire but any gauge will do. If it's thin just double up and wrap in floral tape before you start so that you have a firm base. I like this kind of floral tape. It's easy to use; you just stretch it gently until it goes translucent and then it sticks to itself. You can get it really thin so you barely notice it)

METHOD

1. First thing's first MEASURE YOUR HEAD. I actually forgot to do      this but by some miracle it still fit. I created loops on the end    to attach a ribbon but you could just create a complete circle of    wire.

2. CHOOSE THE FLOWERS. I chose a couple of big flowers for the focal    point of the crown including a yellow gerbera daisy. The rest        were little chrysanthemums.



3. WIRE THE LARGE FLOWERS. It is much easier to get the focal         flowers to sit the way you want if you wire them insead of using     their own stem. Here's how to wire them:


Cut off the stem


Bend a short piece of wire into a hook


Push the long end of the wire through the centre of the flower and pull through until all that can be seen is the very top of the hook.


4. You can then wrap the new wire 'stem' of your focal flowers onto    your wire circle and position them exactly how you want them.        Finish by wrapping the wire in floral tape so you aren't being      stabbed by wire when you wear it.


With the smaller flowers I just used their own stems and the floral tape to attach them to the wire frame. Easy-peasy! Add some ribbon and you're ready for your (hopefully) sunny festival.


Happy Festival Times :)

Sunday, 12 October 2014

LATEST FINDS IV: DESCENT INTO KITSCH

A slight(ly huge) hiatus in blogging. Sorry about that! The house is progressing nicely and I thought I'd share a couple of lovely items recently purchased from eBay. I suspect we have passed by vintage and retro and are heading down the difficult road to full on kitsch with my latest items. Kitsch is difficult to control. I now have the overwhelming urge to fill my house with brightly coloured plastic animals and have a slight obsession with wall mounted flying birds. Oh god help me. The first, a flying saucer like fifties (?) lampshade for the spare room.


Then we have THE BEST LAMP EVER. We found the spun fibre glass lampshade in the loft and already had it on a very dodgy base...but then perhaps this new one is even dodgier? 



Who couldn't love dried flowers and a shell suspended to perfection in resin?

Of course a shopping spree wouldn't be complete without another broken vintage clock. This is a westclox cream enamelled metal case with curved glass, complete with originally complicated winding mechanism. It tick tocks so we keep it wound down.





Happy Hunting!

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Sunday, 15 June 2014

TOP THIRTEEN DAVID AUSTIN ROSES

A slight departure from the traditional top 10 but I couldn't stand to leave out any of these roses from the list. I saw them all at the David Austen Roses Plant Centre which is in full bloom at the moment and well worth a visit.

1. Graham Thomas CLG 'Ausmas' (English Musk Hybrid) David Austin page

This was planted against a wall and has a lovely variety of colours in the flowers, from pale cream to vibrant sunny yellow.




2. Ferdinand Pichard (Old Rose) David Austin page

This was one of only a few variegated colours I saw so it stood out amongst the others.


3. Lady Emma Hamilton 'Ausbrother' (English Musk Hybrid) David Austin Page

This has a fantastic fruity fragrance and the new foliage is a deep burgundy. 



4. James Galway 'Auscrystal' (English Leander Hybrid) David Austin page

A climbing rose that can be trained along a wall or over an arch. The flowers are perfect.


5. Crown Princess Margareta 'Auswinter' (English Rose) David Austin page


6. Jubilee Celebration 'Aushunter' (English Rose) David Austin page

The colour of the flower is what attracted me. It is an unusual dusky pink with hints of gold.


7. Tranquillity 'Ausnoble' (English Musk Hybrid) David Austin page



8. William Morris 'Auswill' (English Leander Hybrid) David Austin page

My favourite is the side of the flower when it is half open; layered and with pointed petals.



9. Spirit of Freedom 'Ausbite' (English Leander Hybrid) David Austin page

This literally smells like turkish delight!


10. Scarborough Fair Rose 'Ausoran' (English Rose) David Austin page


11. Jacqueline du Pre 'Harwanna' (Modern Shrub Rose)


12. Sir John Betjeman 'Ausvivid' (English Rose) David Austin page


13. Queen of Sweden 'Austiger' (English Musk Hybrid) David Austin page




DAVID AUSTEN ROSE GARDENS


My sister visited yesterday and we spent the afternoon at David Austen Roses near Wolverhampton. It was like a dream. I died and went to rose heaven! We were lucky because we caught the gardens at their absolute best. 


I was very tempted to buy everything in the shop but restrained myself. There's too much to do on my house without the added stress of gardening. My garden will have to wait until spring.



My favourite of all the different gardens was the 'Renaissance Garden'. The semicircles of clipped box, pavilion and square pond looked wonderful against the big, blowsy roses.








Outfit

Skirt: My Grandmother's 
Top: Warehouse
Shoes: New Look
Bag: TU at Sainsbury's
Necklace: Holiday buy in Istanbul

I'll be posting again with all my favourite roses from the day, as well as a few other flowers.

Tuesday, 3 June 2014

A WEDDING FOR UNDER £600!

Today I was listening to 'You and Yours' on BBC Radio 4.They had an interesting piece about the cost of weddings nowadays (average being approx £20,000). There seemed to be two sides to the argument. 

First was:

 "It's the most perfect day of your life and you want to really make it memorable and enjoyable for all the guests. If the budget gets away from you then so be it." 

Second was:

"In this day and age when getting a house deposit together is hard enough why on earth would you spend £20,000 on a wedding?! If friends and family chip in you can have a great day without breaking the bank." 

I am very much of the opinion DO WHAT YOU WANT, IT'S YOUR WEDDING.

I personally have decided not to marry at all, unless I have a really good (unsentimental) reason to do so. That doesn't mean I didn't get a little misty eyed when two of my friends got hitched last week. It doesn't mean I didn't enjoy every single glass of champagne that came my way during the toasts either. Last week I also experienced my dream wedding. My brother and his girlfriend, who are both students, had an impromptu wedding which I'd like to share. Some may not get it, but it was awesome AND it cost less than £600!

York Registry Office Ceremony and Room for 8 Guests - £200


Bouquet and buttonhole (Made by me as a wedding present) - £40




Tasty Wedding Cake - Wedding Present 
Personalised Cake Toppers - Wedding Present
Chips/Dips/Champagne back at their flat after the ceremony - £40


'Wedding Breakfast' at Lo Spuntino - £250




After all, the main thing is whether the bride and groom are happy, isn't it?
They look happy to me. Congratulations little brother.

Congratulations guys!

Sunday, 1 June 2014

GARDEN COPYCAT

I am not a gardener. I have never really gardened properly at all. In my last house I stuck in some plants around May time on a sunny weekend and then literally did nothing again for the next two years. I am determined that now I own the house I live in that I'm going to make more of an effort. I found the perfect garden to copy at Barn at the Bury Court! The main problem with this idea is my garden is about a tenth of the size but I still found a few flowers that I have to have in my garden! I'm aiming for a traditional English cottage-style garden with wide boarders and flowers tall enough to hide in. 


Astrantia Major 'Claret'



 I wish I had a big enough garden to do exactly what they've done in this garden. I love all the different green textures and the total absence of grass in most of it. I bet weeding it is a right pain though! One of the flowers I haven't managed to identify that I REALLY want to know is in the photo below in the bottom right corner. If you can help pleeeease let me know what it is!




Peony 'Buckeye Belle'


Papaver Orientale 'Manhatten'


Allium 'Purple Sensation'




I think this might be a Siberian Iris...


Happy Experimenting!