Our Maui Trip Photos

On Friday, the 12th of December, we decided we were going to Maui. On 13th, we were on the 6.00am flight :-). We had been to Kauai (twice) and the Big Island (thrice), but never to Maui. Well, in a sense, we didn't like Maui as much. To us, there wasn't as much 'Squeal Appeal' (which means places that make you squeal) as the other two islands I have mentioned. In Kauai, there is the Kilauea Lighthouse Marine Sanctuary, the Waimea Canyon, the Wailua Falls, the Spouting Horn and of course, the Na Pali Coast! On Big Island, my favourites are the Volcanoes National Park, the Akaka Falls State Park (which has 3 waterfalls and a great great forest-y walk), the Waipio Valley, the Hamakua Coast Drive, the Lava Tree State Park, the natural pools heated by lava....... I can just go on and on and on.
Maui has the Road to Hana, but we came across lots of bad local drivers, who just wanted to overtake and on the narrow road (just one lane going each way), they still push you to a corner, went onto oncoming traffic and overtake. (Yes, in the no-passing zones!) We had a few incidents like that. And the road has about 60 one-lane bridges :) and about 600 bends :). And there's hardly any place to park your car and go and take a closer look. That is what was most disappointing. We had so many beautiful waterfalls, but couldn't see them properly.
From Hana, we went to the Haleakala National Park. People go there to see the sunrise, but we wanted to be different :). So, we went at noon. Now, that is one place that blew us away (literally too!). Its gorgeous! On the road up the Haleakala, you get to touch clouds :). And when you get to the summit, you are actually above clouds. It such a great feeling! And from the summit, you can take a peek into the crater and different cinder cones of the dormant volcano (I don't think its extinct yet). The summit is at 10,000+ feet, so be prepared to acclimatize before you move on. Its super cold too :). On Haleakala, we saw the Silversword plant, which grows ONLY on the Haleakala and nowhere else in the world. It's really a marvel in more than one way! It starts out silvery-green and goes totally silver!!! Metallic, gleaming silver! It's amazing. My pictures don't do them justice.
We stayed at the Old Lahaina House. The room was so CLEAN! Why do I stress on clean? Well, usually, in Hawaii, unless you cough up a fortune, its almost impossible to find a room that you want to stay in. And Maui is the most expensive. So we were happy to find a room for less than a hundred dollars. And even more excited to see how nice and bright and clean it was. The Old Lahaina House is a Bed and Breakfast place. We were very pleased with our experience. And we loved the old town feel of Lahaina. This is one place that makes Maui score some Brownie points over Kauai and the Big Island. We found that we had a choice of places to eat from and they were open beyond 8pm :).
The next morning, we took a drive and simply stopped at places which interested/intrigued us. We also stopped at a place from where we could look at 4 islands (Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe and the tiny submerged volcano Molokini). Standing there, we also saw the HUMPBACK WHALES!!!! That was amazing. We then went to the Iao Valley State Park and finished our trip with a visit to the Maui Ocean Center, which is nice too.
Anyway, that's a lot of travel blabber from a person who didn't like Maui as much :). Imagine how much I'll have to say when I talk about Kauai or the Big Island :).

Moo - The cutest little cow

I haven't been around in my blog much of late. Been very busy with work (and a Maui vacation.... photos coming up in the next post, so stay tuned)! But its been great fun too - because my work is fun for me :). That's the best part, isn't it?

Anyway, I had been missing my DECO Clay Craft Academy a lot. I hadn't been there in a while to take classes and wanted to try out the great special projects they had for the holidays. One of them had this cute little cow that I totally fell in love with. I just HAD to make this lady. Why is it a lady and not a guy? Well, don't you see how well dressed up she is? Ribbons, a shawl and flowers too :). Only a lady can be so elegant. What say?
Doing this project with Yukiko (my lovely teacher) and Chen Li, I learnt not only this figurine but also how to make those cute flowers. Those are called Kimono flowers. They are originally made with kimono fabric. Only, we have made them with DECO clay here :).
I want to say a few words about Chen Li here. (In the picture, she's the one in a grey top and Yukiko's the one to her left) She is such a wonderful teacher! And a great person too. We have several wonderful and friendly people in our academy. And Chen Li is definitely one such person. She helps Yukiko teach us and even when Yukiko is away, Chen Li teaches at the academy. She is such a wonderful addition to the teaching stuff! And she is extremely talented as well. I totally flip for her plumerias :). Unfortunately, I don't have a photo of her plumerias, but here's a photo of another tropical arrangement that I bought as a present for my parents, who just loved her creations! Isn't it lovely?
What else is new at the academy? Well, there are two bits of wonderful news! Firstly, we will be having a new flower course in April - new flowers, that we haven't learnt before. How exciting! The only bad thing about the news is that, its in April :(. I don't know whether I'll still be in Hawaii to learn the new flowers. Secondly, Sensei Miyai.... the Great Kazuko Miyai.... is going to be here in January or February next year to teach us a special project. Yay! This year, we did a clay kimono :). So, I know next year too, there's something truly special in store for us.

Somdutta - Another Fab ETSY Artist and a dear friend

Somdutta is someone I know from my college days. This pretty girl was a year junior to me in college and we lived in the same hostel (dorm). We had lost touch for years, but one fine day she found me in ETSY, where she too has a store. No, actually, she has two stores. Two fab stores. She is a jewelry artist and her jewelry is so gorgeous that it has actually made even a person like me - I hardly wear jewelry - buy from her store. And not just once. I keep going back to her stores and when my father wanted a totally flawless gemstone - a London Blue Topaz, at least 8 carats - Somdutta was the one I trusted with my purchase. My father is very finicky and I was apprehensive whether he'd like the stone. He loved it! And he couldn't believe the price he got it for. And Somdutta personally handed it over to my family, when she travelled to India. I can't thank her enough! But I can recommend her - her quality of work, the quality of stones that she carries in her ETSY stores and her customer service. Truly, greatly, recommended.

SomsStudioSupplies has an awesome collection of precious and semi-precious stones, lab-created stones, crystals and pearls. In short, its a DREAM sourcing store for a jewelry artist. I stress on it, because I keep going back to her store, just to see what stones she has listed. The quality is so awesome! (She even gets appraisals done, if requested) And the price is extremely reasonable. Just as an example, take a look at this huge CITRINE in her shop. The appraiser puts the average retail value of the stone at over a 1000 Dollars, while her price is just 360 Dollars! This store of hers is doing really well. And its really no surprise :).

Her other store is SomsStudio where she sells jewelry designed by her. Somdutta's jewelry design is very unique. Her designs can be traditional, modern or even abstract. And sometimes, she can mix up all three effortlessly. This store of hers needs a little more buyer-attention, because its designs are very unique and the pieces very affordable.

So, if you are looking for a truly unique piece of quality artisan jewelry, you should be headed to SomsStudio. And if you are a jewelry artist and are looking for affordable and/or unique beads of excellent quality, SomsStudioSupplies sure is one place you MUST check out!

Christmas Wreath Custom Order

Sometime back I had written a post about the Amaryllis flowers that I had made as a custom order for a lady. She also wanted a Christmas Wreath with candle stands inside it. She sent me an advent ring and some pics depicting what she had in mind. And here's what I came up with.
The wreath has peonies, callas, and tulips. It also has a variety of foliage, pine cones and lovely red holly berries. This one is the most difficult arrangement I have done in a long time.
First of all, it is a pain to find the stuff you want, in Hawaii. We searched and searched for three full weekends for the right kind of berries and the right kind of foliage. And we just could not find a styrofoam ring! Not the kind I liked, at least. (Finicky, ain't I? LOL!) Once we started finding stuff, they turned out to be far more expensive than I had estimated :(! That is what happens when you move from Arizona to Hawaii! Your costing sense goes topsy turvy! And ultimately, it turns out, that I really didn't make any money on this project - given the cost of materials used! But I learnt something new and that is an achievement too. :) Please let me know how you think the wreath turned out and if you think its missing something.... I went all out to make this wreath happen and happen well and I really want to make this wreath very special, because its a Christmas wreath :).

Holiday Arrangements

I have been tremendously busy of late, but these are a few arrangements I have managed to finish. There are a couple more in my etsy shop.

Do take a look and let me know how you like them. I am not happy with the photos, but its been so cloudy here, that I couldn't get better pics. :(
The top picture is that of an amaryllis and rose arrangement for Jennie - my friend from ETSY. She wanted one of my creations for her family. One look at her shop will tell you how awesomely talented she is. Not just that, she's an amazing person too. I have been buying her creations for sometime now and recently she made something for my sister's baby, who's due in March 0f 2009. I just ADORE what she's done for me. I will write more about it soon.... Keep checking this space.
The second picture is that of a red poinsettia arrangement. My school in Hyderabad, (St.Ann's High School) used to have Poinsettias blooming at Christmas time. I have always loved them, though I knew them as 'Christmas flowers' :) back home. I have put some glitter on them, and it really looks so much better than in the picture... I love it so much that I don't want it to sell. Ain't I crazy?

Peonies :)

I love the ball like poufy peony blooms and have been making peonies like crazy since the past few days (when I wasn't making lillies or roses that is). This arrangement, I finished today. It is a custom order.

This arrangement has brought me many sales. I sold the original in the 'Made in Hawaii' festival. It got me two wedding orders as well. And now this order too :). So, this is really my lucky arrangement.
This arrangement is very time consuming since each peony has about 35-40 petals, all made one-by-one :). But its really good fun. And when the arrangement is ready, its so pretty that I forget the hard work. :)
Do send me your much valued feedback :)....

Amaryllis Flowers

Almost a month back, I heard from a lady who wanted two holiday arrangements. One in a vase and one a wreath for an advent ring. For the vase arrangement, she wanted crimson amaryllis. So, here's my first attempt at the flower :). I had been taught regular lillies, but not amaryllis (which belong to the lilly family). But instead of bothering my teacher - which I do a lot :) - I thought, I will try these out myself. So, I went to florists' shops and checked out the way amaryllis is structured. This thing about learning the botanical part of flowers is something that my friend Betty Phillips - a fellow DECO Clay artist - taught me. And really, it helped. I learnt that the petals are wider than the regular lillies. Then I figured out how to give texture to the petals. Then, I made some 'compromises' with the stems. Since my client wants the arrangement to be a certain way, and since clay flowers and stems are not soft like the real things, I made the stems thinner than real amaryllis stems. Also, I put only one flower on each stem. Since, the stems won't show as much in the final product, I figured it was okay to make these changes. I went ahead with an okay from my client. This is what I have right now. I just put them all in the vase sent to me by my client, for the photo. I should have pictures of the finished arrangement by tomorrow morning. :) But I just had to show these flowers off! I just love them. What about you?

My Christmas Wreath

This week I attended a couple of classes at the DECO Clay Craft Academy and this is one of the things that I made :). I am so happy about this one. I just love it! I love all the glitter, all the pearls and I love how the white, pink, silver and gold go together. Now, I am just waiting for it to dry enough, so that I can hang it at home.

The wreath has anemones with golden centers and roses, which look like they are made of fabric. They aren't. They are made of clay. But this is a new technique that Yukiko taught me.
I am keeping this post real short for lack of time. I have lots of work to finish this week. But do let me know how you like this creation of mine.

Here's presenting Nella!

I have been thinking of writing about Nella’s ETSY shops for quite some time now. I did not do it earlier, because I did not want it to look like a favour to a client. I did not want anything to take away the attention this girl deserves.
Nella is truly special. She is a crafter, yes. And she does so many crafts. Her wedding was a DIY (‘Do-it-yourself’ for the uninitiated) wedding. She did almost everything by herself! I was amazed at her creativity and energy. I say energy because Nella, is a student-doctor and she spent almost the whole day diagnosing illnesses, suggesting treatments, learning more about new faculties and then she came home and did her wedding stuff! Amazing!
Nella found me through ETSY. She saw the Martha Stewart Show and learnt about DECO Clay, which got her interested in the option of using for her wedding. When she searched for DECO Clay flowers, my flowers turned up too, including my fall colored wedding bouquet. In her own words, "I thought it was absolutely beautiful and that is how it all started. I was going to use the florist that Prestonfield had suggested but after seeing your bouquet, I was hooked. I’m glad I choose you. It was the best decision I ever made and the posies and table arrangements made great keepsakes for our guests!" Thank you Nella for those wonderful words!
As for me, I was pleasantly surprised to note how much she trusted me. After looking at just 3 samples (one of each flower), she went ahead with her order. It was the start of an amazing process and a friendship too. I didn’t even realize when we started sharing little things and deep thoughts with each other. There, there! I am getting carried away again by Nella – the person. I want to talk here about Nella - the crafter, Nella – the Etsian.
Nella has two shops on ETSY – The Quirky Bride and Ukiyoe Designs. Which is my favourite? I love both. I have been the lucky recipient of several pieces of Nella’s Jewelry, which she sells in Ukiyoedesigns(Ukiyo-e : Pictures of the Floating World). I have two bracelets and two sets of earrings made by her. I just adore them! I am not a jewelry person, but I do know that she works the wires between the beads (and she uses the real stuff!), kind of like crocheting with wire. Her jewelry is so beautiful and unique that several people have suggested to her that she should sell her designs at high-end stores and let other people make them for her. But like most artists, creating is what she HAS to do. So, she opted against having others make jewelry for her. It also makes her jewelry unique and personal.
Nella’s other shop – “The Quirky Bride” is really unique. Here she sells Guestbooks, hair flowers, throw bouquet etc. But my favourite and Nella’s too, are the Bride and Groom Love Birds that she creates using fabric and lace. For her own wedding she made burgandy coated grooms and lace and feather fascinator brides for her wedding and they were too cute for words. She tries to give them personalities similar to the bride and groom she’s making the lovebirds for. Isn’t that sweet? About the lovebirds on her cake, she tells me, “The groom had a silver ‘pocket watch’ which I think fit my husband very well (he has a bit of that old Hollywood look to him with all the class and sophistication) and I had a sterling silver and pearl fascinator and a long tulle train - very glam which fits my style”. As for her hair flowers, I truly love them. I had Nella make me one too. Though I make hair flowers myself, my raw material is different and in any case, it is always an honor to own another artist’s creations.
Nella’s dad was an artist in Nicaragua and her great aunt had her own line of clothing. Its no wonder then that Nella too has an artistic bent of mind! She tells me that even when she was a child, she used to love to create. “When I was 4 I used to get into a great deal of trouble with my grandmother because I would cut up our appliquéd and lace pillowcases to make dresses for my dolls. When I was six I used to mix her perfumes together and add water because I was “creating” new scents. It kills me to think about it now – mixing Chanel no 5 with Opium. LOL!” Nella’s grandma still has all of her fragrant masterpieces.
Nella’s journey on ETSY has been very interesting so far. In fact she told me that she intends to write an article on “How to have an ETSY wedding”, since she ordered most of her wedding stuff from ETSY. A little serendipitous, considering the fact that she just ‘bumped’ into ETSY. Here’s wishing Nella all the best with her lovely creations ! I hope she becomes a wonderful and famous doctor…. But I also wish that she never gives up crafting, because she is so creative and so great at it. Most of all, I wish Nella all the happiness in her married life with her wonderful husband (also a doc), Jonathan.

Gardenia and Stephanotis Bouquet

Today's flowers are the ones I shared with you about a month back, when they were still just flowers, stuck on to stems. Now, they are a bridal bouquet, complete with ribbons and pearls :).
My client contacted me through ETSY and told me that hers is going to be a simple seaside wedding and the colors are just white and light almost Tiffany Blue, with less of green than the Tiffany Blue. And here's the final product. And there's a boutonniere and a hair flower to go with it, but I don't have photos yet. Let me know how you like this simple, elegant bouquet.

A really sweet gesture

A client of mine, Liz from California got in touch with me via ETSY (Don't I just love ETSY!) for a Gardenia Hair Flower. And this is what she sent me as a part of her feedback for her flower. I thought this was very sweet of her, sending me a picture of her wearing the flower I made for her and also the cute thumbs up sign. It really made my day! So, I thought I should share this with you.

Making these beautiful flowers takes a lot of effort. And it feels so good to be appreciated by people who buy the flowers.

I found myself on the ETSY Wedding Gift Guide!

I love ETSY. And not without reason. Ever since I started listing on ETSY, thanks to my friend Andrea (I can never thank her enough!), my business has been on the upswing :). And just the past week, I even found myself on their Wedding Gift Guide. Alright, the arrangement chosen by them isn't one of my hottest sellers, in fact I haven't really sold one of those arrangements :). But I am pretty positive that being featured on ETSY's wedding gift guide sure got me lots of hits, which then converted to sales :). And I am on the third page! :) Since most of the orders I get through ETSY are wedding orders, being featured on the Wedding Gift Guide is a huge plus for me. Yes, I know, I can't stop smiling :). So, please click on the picture and take a look.
I have also been featured in a couple of treasuries lately, but I have been so busy that by the time I found out about the treasuries, it was time for their expiry. Next time, I shall be more careful and try to share these too with you... While I go and check out if I am in any treasury today, do send me your comments :).

I have been featured!

I have some news to share with you. Lots actually! I was recently featured by two different wedding planners. (If you click on the photos, they will take you to the posts)
On October 9th, Mary of 'Very Merry Wedding & Design Planning' did a feature on me. She put together some of her favourite creations by me in a nice collage and wrote some nice stuff about my work - which always makes me happy :).

Mary is a new talent in the wedding industry, based in northern California and got interested in wedding planning as a career, while planning her own wedding. Her background in visual merchandising, I am sure helps her in her current profession. Thank you very much Mary, for featuring me.

After that, I was featured on Sugar Blossom Wedding's blog. Sugar Blossom Weddings is a Luxury Wedding Planning and Coordinating company based in UK. I wanted to write a bit about them - and I will in future. But right now, here's what one of their client says about them and its worth reading:

“When I forgot to provide the caterer with our napkins, I carried on getting into my dress and you sorted it out.
When I realised that I'd made a mistake with the seating plan you fixed it.
When the photographer needed assistance, you stepped in.
When the DJ arrived and we were still eating, you met him.
When it started to rain you even appeared with a smart umbrella!
These are just the things that instantly spring to mind and I know that there were so many other things that you did entirely behind the scenes.”

I don't think there can be a better testimonial for a wedding planning company! And I am really honored to be featured by them. Another thing that makes me very proud about Sugar Blossom Weddings is that they are all for Eco-Chic Weddings. And my product falls in line with what they believe in.

I really wanted to share these features with you. Do read them up. As for me, I shall go and take some well-deserved rest :).

I've been tagged!

This Tagging is a fun thing that's doing the rounds in blogland :). I was having fun reading all the other 'tagged' write-ups, but Linda's tagging me came as a surprise. But writing weird things about me, shouldn't be tough at all. This is what a 'tagged' person is supposed to do (copied and pasted from Linda's blog): 1. Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog. 2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird. 3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by including links to their blogs. 4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs. Here's a link to Linda. Linda is an ETSY artist. Her shop is named LindaButterfly. She creates wonderful ACEOS and watercolor originals as well. Also, she is a self-published author, who is also a retired teacher. A very accomplished lady I would say! Linda shares her pearls of wisdom with me and I am only grateful that she is able to do so with me, because I really have so much to learn from her. (Hugs for you Linda)

Ok, now here are the 7 Random/Weird things about me (I am keeping out my clay flower crafting out of this, because I write about it all the time. Through these 7 points, you can perhaps know a little more about me):

1. I can remember exact incidents (day to day happenings) from when I was a two year old. My parents are surprised too :). Okay, the photo is from when I was a few months old, but I just wanted to give an idea :) and also let you see how cute and cuddly I was once ... hee hee!.


2. I miss my grandpa all the time, even though it is 25 years since he passed away. I often have dreams of him talking to me. In the picture above, he is the person to the extreme left. He used to work with Paramount Films and in the photo above is apparently receiving Alfred Hitchcock and his wife at the Calcutta airport. The photo above is one I found a couple of years back, while rummaging through old photos in my grandmother's closet after she passed away.
My grandfather was an excellent vocalist. He had also fought in WWII as a part of the Allied Forces. His army mattress is something I still have and treasure.



3. I love big doggies. I had two German Shepherds. But after they died, I am too heartbroken to have any more doggies at home. They become family members and best friends. Even today, I cry when I think of them or see their photos.

4. I am trained in Indian Classical Music (vocals). People who have known me for long will vouch for my singing more than they ever will for my clay flowers.... LOL! I have been training since I was four, but even now, it gives me the jitters to perform in public. :)


5. When I was a child, there were three of us (Nayana, Anuradha and I) who stuck together. Till date, they are the closest friends I have outside of my family. Luckily, we all now reside in the US (Boise, San Diego and Honolulu respectively) and are in constant touch. Recently we had a grand reunion.



6. One of my favourite books is 'The Adventures of the Wishing Chair' (and its sequel, 'The Wishing Chair Again... I consider them one book) by Enid Blyton. She was my favourite author for a long long time. Unfortunately, I can't find her books in American Bookstores.


7. My husband means the world to me. We have an interesting little story (about us, of course) which I'll share some other day. But its been 3 great years with him so far...

Okay, so I was required to write 7 random or weird things about myself.... this ended up becoming quite personal :).

Links to other blogs:

Mommy Lion Design
Whimsical Creations
Its Very Merry
Vivace Crafts
Bright On Early
Holistically Heather
Sarang

Wedding Photos

I am so excited today! I am finally able to share Nella's wedding photos with you. A lot more are in the pipeline. But for now, I have four. Enjoy them! (On public demand, I have put larger pics now...)

The one above in black and white is of course, the bride - Nella. My wonderful Nella! Over the wedding project, we struck up a friendship that I am so proud of! She is a doctor and also a crafter herself. An ETSY-crafter at that! I love the way just the flowers are highlighted. Its so elegant. I had seen a couple of photos like this before and was hoping that I get one too. It was like the photographer - John Carroll - read my mind.

The 2nd one has Nella and her Maid of Honor Ruth. Ruth is a very close friend and a colleague of Nella. It was around Ruth's gown, that the wedding theme was created; including of course, my flowers.

The third photo is that of posies that Nella decorated her wedding table and aisle with... This was a HUGE project- bouquets, posies, a vine for the wedding table, centerpieces, boutonnieres, corsages! And I was a little nervous as to how they would turn out. My FIRST full wedding order, after all. But as I know now, I didn't need to be that nervous. :) Of course a big thanks goes to Nella for that. She put her complete faith in me and my craft. Without her, I wouldn't have been able to achieve what I have.

The last photo is of course, of Nella's shoes and her wedding bouquet. I love it how the bouquet, the shoes and the lovely quilted background go together. Maybe that is why professional photos are so treasured :).
Okay, that's it... for today. Let me know what you think.... your words mean the world to me.

A BIG Move and some great news!

Ok, so its not really a BIG move, per se. We are still in Hawaii. We just moved to another apartment. But in terms of hassle, its been a really big one! LOL! We are still setting up our new place. I had no idea that we had bought so much stuff over the past one year. No more shopping for the next one year! :) And I really need to get rid of things. I get attached to stuff pretty soon, so I have an older pressure cooker, that I really shouldn't be needing... because my mom's gifted me a brand new one. I have two boxes full of my practice flowers! Can't use them (because they are all different) and can't throw them (because mostly, nothing's wrong with them!) . I have beads, that I don't use anymore (I used to dabble in jewelry once, no time anymore. But I have beautiful and pretty expensive beads...). A whole lot of extra stuff? Do all ladies have these... unused things, which we just can't throw away? :) Or is it just me? It would be interesting to know.

Even while we were moving stuff, I'd keep doing my flowers whenever I had a few minutes. My husband - Sarang- got so mad at me! :) LOL! Somehow I have this dreadful feeling that if I don't do my flowers for even a day, I will forget how to do them.
Now, coming to the new apartment - Its a beautiful place. And its got central A/C (not such a common thing in Honolulu) and a DISHWASHER (that makes me want to dance .... its one housejob less!) too. These we did not have in our previous apartment. We also have a peekaboo of the Pacific Ocean in this one . And we have a much needed Lanai (that's what we call balconies in Hawaii). A lot to love in this new place. But we will sure miss our old one as well... it had red accent walls and was open on 3 sides. But well, you gain some, you lose some. I have put up some photos of my new place. I hope you like them.

Oh! I forgot to tell you the BIGGEST news from the past week... Nella, my bride from the United Kingdom... sent me links to her wedding photos. I was so thrilled! As I mentioned before, she got married in a Scottish Manor. And my flowers looked so grand there. For a moment, I thought, "Wow! Those flowers look great!", when realization struck me that I actually MADE those flowers and being tough on myself, I reminded me - that I shouldn't get carried away, and I shouldn't get complacent and that I have to do better and I can do better :). Its something that has been instilled in me... that if I feel proud about what I have achieved, I will never improve on my achievements. So, I just feel happy, do a reality check and move on... striving to do better the next time. Ok, now I don't want to sound like a pompous fool! So I shall stop talking about how wonderful I am :). Anyway... coming back to Nella, she will be sending me a CD soon. As soon as I get it, I shall upload some photos for everyone to see!

Alright, got to get back to work now.... the setting-up-home kind of work. Not the nice flower-making kind of work :(. But I'll be back ... and soon.

PS: I think this is the longest post I have ever written. LOL!

All-White Bouquet

This is an order I received via ETSY. My client wanted a bridal bouquet for her tropical themed wedding. Her theme colors are white and almost Tiffany Blue (with a little less green than Tiffany Blue). We decided on an all-white bouquet with blue ribbon. The flowers are Gardenias and Stephanotis. Gardenia in a bunch look so wonderful together! I had no idea it would look so fluffy and fun too, despite being elegant. Here's the 'sneak preview'of the bouquet, actually not even that. I just wanted to share this bunch of gardenia and stephanotis with you! But there's lots more to do :) - add more flowers(these are probably just half of the flowers), plug gaps, put them all together into a bouquet, add leaves and then finish it off with a pretty blue ribbon. I am so excited to be doing this. I hope my bride likes this one! If not, well, I can always make changes for her :). And, as always, let me know how you like it.

Feedback Please

Hello Readers of my Blog....

I have updated my blog in a lot of ways recently and have been giving it a lot of time. For instance, I have changed the colors, I have added some extras on the right side, I have linked my favorite stores and blogs and so on... I would love to know how you like the new additions and if you would like anything changed. Unless you tell me, I won't know. So please take out some time and write to me. Your feedback is highly appreciated.

Thank You!

Cake Topper Photos! Yay!

I am so happy! And I have reason to be.... These are the first professional photos of my flowers and they are my photos from a real wedding too! Really, how alive the flowers look. A big thanks to Todd Kuhns of Studio12 who made this possible. I just had to send an email to him and he sent me the photos rightaway - all those that I wanted. How wonderful these will look in my portfolio!

If I sound excited, it is because I now know how my flowers look in the environment of a wedding. Pity, I couldn't be there myself ... Some day.... some day.... ha ha!
I wish you will visit Studio12's website. It has some awesome photography by Todd and his wife Amy. I am sure, if you live in the Dayton Ohio area, you'll want to give this husband and wife team a try. What I found great about his photographs was that, the photos captured the natural flow of weddings. Emotions were the main focus and I am sure, the wedded couples and their guests will treasure the photographs.

Eve, Thank You!

This morning was very special for me. My ETSY friend and soon-to-be neighbor Eve -about whom I had written a few days back, was the one who made it special. As mentioned earlier, Eve is a wonderful photographer. And she offered to click some photos of my flowers! The photos that I have clicked in the past, often haven't done justice to the passion and hard work I put into my flowers :). So, when Eve said she could help me out, I jumped at her offer. And not just did she click some awesome photos, she also picked me up and dropped me off and also bought me breakfast :). Really, how sweet can a person be!

We went to two different locations - first a beach park(where we were having a lot of fun, until the sun started came over our heads) and then we moved to a garden, complete with Taro Patch and a lovely Hawaiian Koi Pond. The day was hot and not too breezy, but we had lots of fun! Here are a few photos from the session, but these are clicked by me (I don't have Eve's beautiful hair, so I made her tie her hair in a bun and shot these pics). I am waiting for her photographs and as soon as I get them, I shall be able to share more of her work with you. Meanwhile, please take a look at her shop again.... I am going to!