Cover photo on 'Veils and Vows'

I had been dying to share this with you.... and its finally here :). Please go through the pages 9, 18, 28, 29, 30, 44 of the 'Veils and Vows' magazine.


This is all thanks to my friend, Amanda, of Amanda Fales Photography. I am sure most of you have been to her website and experienced her mindblowing talent. Those of you who haven't, are seriously missing something. Veils and Vows - an Indiana based Wedding periodical, did this Big Dream Makeover for a lucky bride-to-be. Amanda, who works for the magazine asked me if I would make a fall colored bouquet for the Makeover. Of course, I said yes! :). The bouquet has orange roses, white peonies, monkeytail ferns, stephanotis and some berries and foliage. I loved the photos so much, that my new website pretty much revolves around them :). This is my first magazine mention and I am super excited :).
Betty and I were away the whole day, shopping and sight-seeing..... when I logged on to my facebook, after I came back home, I found that the magazine had been published :). I was happy as it is, and then I even saw the ad that was put in there for me :). That was a big surprise!So, do let me know how you like the feature, the photos and my flowers .... :).

P.S.: All photos are courtesy Amanda Fales Photography

Disney Tiki House themed Tropical Flower Bouquet

I am pretty sleepy :), but I realized that I hadn't posted for quite some time. So, here's some eye candy, although, it still needs a wrap. What wrap do you think would look good on this? Do send in your comments.....My DECO Clay friend Betty Phillips is here with us, to spend 10 days in beautiful Puerto Rico. So, along with flower making, we are also going to give her a tour of the Isla del Encanto - the Enchanted Island. Today, we went out for dinner to Frida's - a great Mexican restaurant and I had grilled chicken with Mango Salsa.... I never thought it could taste that great! And of course, we had Guacamole :) - the absolute best I have ever had.
Tomorrow, we will probably drive to El Yunque, the rainforest here.... it's beautiful! Anyway, I have to sign off now, but do let me know how you like this bouquet. It has red and yellow hibiscus (Yellow Hibiscus is Hawaii's state flower), Plumeria, Green Cymbidiums, Yellow smaller orchids, green roses, tuberose and tuberose buds - that's a lot of flowers there :). This bride is getting married on the beautiful island of Oahu (my Oahu .... how I miss it!). Lucky girl! :) I am going to put up more pictures of this bouquet, once the wrap is on. Okay, really have to sign off now.... I am dozing off.... Buenos Noches ....

Red Rose Vintage Glam Bouquet

So here is the other red rose bouquet that I was talking about and was really excited about. The wedding colors are red, black and ivory and I have tried to incorporate all the three colors here.
There are red roses, pearl loops and ostrich feathers, surrounding the flowers. The bouquet handle is wrapped in an ivory ribbon first and then is overlaid with vintage - looking lace (which took some effort to find) and finally secured with ivory pearl pins :).
This is one bouquet that I didn't have to think much about... because the moment the bride explained her wedding look to me, I just knew that it had to be this design.... I think it looks quite glam. Let me know what you think.

What I have been up to

The last week was quite eventful.... I drove on the streets of San Juan :). For those who are thinking why I am so excited, its because I just got my driver's licence, a few weeks back.

Also, we saw the film, "Inglourious Basterds", not once, but twice :). Loved it! I shut my eyes during the gory scenes, but the film is brilliant. I must mention that I didn't particularly like Brad Pitt, but I am a fan now :). But, the actor who plays the evil guy - Christoph Waltz, beats Pitt hands down. He is marvellous in the movie. Go check out the film and if you are like me, just shut your eyes close, when you think a gory scene is around the corner :).

Also, there is this book that I have been reading for the past two weeks: The Lost - A search for 6 of 6 million, by Daniel Mendelsohn. It is very emotionally draining, although it is not the first Holocaust-based book that I am reading (I started when I was 13 or 14, with
'The Diary of Anne Frank'). I always wondered why I have always felt a deep connection with the victims of the Holocaust. I think I have found my answer today, thanks to Daniel Mendelsohn. Like him, I want to know more about my ancestors, who had to leave behind the land of their birth and start afresh. Like him, I lost at least one member of my family in a similar scenario. And I have no idea if there were more, whom I don't know of. And I often think of them..... I often think what my grandparents and their families.... witnessed during the years of madness, that preceded and followed India's freedom from British rule. The stories I have heard, and the things I have seen myself, several decades later, only make me want to go back and find out more. Huh! Hate is such a powerful emotion.... so destructive! Anyway.... this paragraph was about 'The Lost'..... a book I highly recommend! The only thing is, the author digresses a lot and writes in long winded sentences - both of which make the content difficult to grasp. But once you learn to work around that, there is a lot you will learn from the book - about the author's lost family, the world at that time and I think, even yourself.

Real Wedding Photos - Cake Topper

Mariette commissioned me to do her cake topper. I still remember myself sipping on a Java Chip Frappuccino at the Starbucks near Walmart, in Honolulu, when my Blackberry beeped with her message :). She wanted purplish roses, Sahara roses, lilacs and other flowers that she already had in her bouquet - for her cake topper.
In the course of time Mariette told me that she was having her wedding at the Grand Hotel in Mackinac Island, Michigan. The description she gave me of the place, made me want to go there rightaway. It seems like a dream place to get married at.
Mariette sent me these photos, without me having to even request for them. I am so happy to be sharing these with you. The cake was designed by Mariette's daughter. Didn't she do a wonderful job of it?
Another cool thing that I just got to know was.... Grand Hotel was rated as one of the 40 best places to stay in, by the Sky Magazine published by Delta Airlines. So, is the gorgeous Prestonfield in Edinburgh, Scotland where Nella got married. :).

Blogging from the Sky :)

Hello! I am on my way to Phoenix for a few weeks. Am carrying all the stuff I need to make my flowers with me :). I hate flying and I figured the internet would keep my mind off it :). So, here I am....
Oh! Turbulence again! :(. We are flying over Florida now, and then, once I reach Atlanta, there's a layover of 3 hours! Anyone has any interesting ideas to kill 3 hours at the ATL airport? Let me know :).
A little bit of an eye-candy for you bothering to read my incoherent nonsense today :).

This a centerpiece I made for my friend Eve for her wedding in late June. It has roses and peonies (I love those flowers!) and is about 16 inches in diameter. I didn't get time to write a post on Eve's wedding, but, I shall do that soon. Till then, stay in touch and let me know how you like this photo.

Red Bouquets

Red seems the color of the season :). I have already made two all-red bouquets and the third one is on the verge of completion.
The first one is a very traditional, simple all-red, all-rose bouquet, finished off with dark green leaves at the bottom. I love the simplicity and elegance of it. I know red roses are cliched, but I LOVE red roses. And I hadn't ever made a red rose bouquet and I was dying to! And now, I am making another one :). But that one's going to be very different, although the flowers are exactly the same. Can't wait to finish it!


Then, there is this all-red anemone bouquet. I never knew this would turn out so pretty! :). I wish I knew how to take better pictures, because these bouquets definitely deserved better pictures. I hope the brides send me some photos from their wedding so I can share them with you. This bouquet traveled all the way to Ireland and made it there in good shape. Not that I had any doubt it would... LOL, but sometimes even I am surprised by how strong these delicate-looking flowers are. This anemone bouquet was mailed with a matching bout.
Donna contacted me to make a bouquet for her, with about 45 days to go for her wedding. Not that I had time on my hands, but I love taking up last moment challenges :). The initial idea was to go for a wildflower bouquet. I had almost completed the bouquet when she saw an anemone bouquet and couldn't get it off her mind. She asked me if I could make that for her instead. It was very difficult to say yes, especially because I had almost made all the flowers for the wildflower bouquet. But, truth be told, even I was smitten by the anemone bouquet :) and HAD to do it. And then, I figured, I can always use the wild flowers for an arrangement or something :). That is how this bouquet was born :). Oh! And I figured out this cool way of making the petals! So, this bouquet was rewarding in a lot of different ways.