The Yale Club

September has been a month full of floral arranging for me. Last weekend we had the Mustard Seed event and last night we had a gala at the Yale club. My job was to create 30 center pieces that were elegant and all within a $500 budget. 500 dollars may seem like a lot of dough, but when your covering 30 arrangements along with vases, this can be a bit of a challenge. 

Now, I know when you think of flowers, mathematics does not immediately come to mind, but when your arranging for any event you want to be cost effective. So, math is essential. If you have an event coming up here is EXACTLY what you need. 

250 stems of roses (I selected Madelines, since they smell sooooo good)

60 stems of hydrangeas (whichever variety you prefer)

3 bunches of small leaf ivy

5 bunches of white berries. 

My first step is always to organize my work area. I clean all my vases, then I clean all my flowers and organize them into groups. Then I divide the flowers evenly, for instances, 2 stems of hydrangeas, 8 stems of roses, a few stems of ivy, and a few stems of the berries per arrangement. I then create a symmetrical shape, clip them down, and wrap the flowers in floral tape. For this arrangement I also added ivy to the bottom of the vase. 

Each arrangement had its own personal look, very fall chic. So, if you have a gala or just a personal party your arranging for, remember symmetry is key and also ordering the right amount of flowers. 

Happy Arranging!!!

Mel

Rethinking the Kitchen

We are really getting close to wrapping up some of the major work in the kitchen, which means I will have lots of photos to post for you of before and after soon!  At the moment we are discussing what direction to take with our kitchen island, and we can't seem to make a decision on the paint color.  I love the idea of creating a distinct look for the island, setting it off from the rest of the kitchen, so rather than matching our countertops with the black granite already in place, our new island is getting white marble instead for a contrast.  I'm also not sure if I can match the hardware from the rest of the cabinets, which I like and don't want to have to replace, so we're going with another finish and shape altogether, again setting the island apart.  The question now is, what color to paint it??  I'm busy painting our other cabinets a pretty shade of white, so we are trying to imagine if we want a subtle contrast with a pastel?  Something punchy and bright?  Or dark and weighty with a high drama factor?  Since it's such a feature in the room, I know we both need to love the color... pressure's on! :)

Little Green Notebook

Houzz

Home Made Ginger

12/12 Architects & Planners

Do you have a color you really love? 

xo

Liza

Happy Monday & Happy Halloween

Last week Sophia had one day out of school, so we went out for breakfast and tackled some Halloween crafting. Now, like I have said before, when you are crafting with kids remember to keep it light and fun, and remember to stop if your little one needs a break or is too frustrated. 

On Wednesday S wanted to create a Halloween book. I knew this would be fun for her and a great way to practice writing. Sophia was really excited to get started, and right in the beginning I told her the project would be in two parts, meaning two days. I didn't want to overwhelm her since she is just beginning to write. 

The first step toward our project was to practice making pumpkins, freely drawing, and cutting. 

Our next step was coming up with a character and phrase for each page in the book. Now, Sophia is not writing on her own yet, so she came up with the phrase, I wrote it down, she then copied the phrase onto her book. 

We strung "Spooky Tales" together and Sophia is now an author.  The process was so much fun, and who doesn't love glittering and telling spooky tales?!

Happy Fall!!!

Mel