Button Boutonnieres for the Spring!

I just finished with a really fun project – button boutonniere’s for a lovely upcoming wedding.  They requested shades of salmon, seafoam green, yellow and white – all different combinations for the groom, groomsmen, fathers and ring bearers!  There are also variations for the base colors from green, brown and green which make each of them even more unique.

Springtime Button Boutonniere’s

I really enjoy working on bout’s – they are so fun, whimsical and unique.  The hard part is really finding the buttons in the colors and interesting shapes that work together well.

Hoping that the bride and her mother are in love with them as much as I am!  Cannot wait to see pro pictures!  Check out my Etsy shop for samples of the unique and custom button boutonniere’s I can make for your upcoming special event!

Purple Kusudama Flower Bouquet

I’ve probably made thousands of Kusudama flowers over the past year.  For my wedding, my centerpieces were mason jars with a variety of Kusudama flowers in them.  I find them very relaxing to make – I make them while watching TV a lot of time.  They do take a while ot make actually – each one probably takes 15-20 minutes because each flower consists of 5 individual handmade petals.

I’ve been experimenting with different types of papers, colors and different centers to them. I’ve always struggled with how to make the handle look substantial enough.  I’m not sure if I’m entirely there, but I’m getting better at it.  This specific bouquet has 12 handmade purple and pink Kusudama flowers.  All of them have slightly different black buttons as the center of the flower.  I’ve used a purple satin ribbon to make up the handle as well as the large, beautiful bow.  What do you think?  Any suggestions on how to make this better?  There are more pictures available at my etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/listing/108574600/large-purple-and-pink-kusudama-bouquet

 

I’ll probably make Kusudama flowers for the rest of my life.  Right now I have them decorating several of the rooms in my house.  I just think they are such a great way to bring a touch of whimsy to a room.

First sale on Etsy!

After much hemming and hawing, I decided to bite the bullet and open up my Etsy shop (altFloral) to sell one-of-a-kind decorations for weddings and other special events.  I discovered my love for creating these pieces while I was planning my own wedding.  After the wedding, I was trying to figure out what to do with my time that I had been spending making decorations, which is why the option to sell on Etsy is such a perfect creative outlet!

Miraculously, I made my first sale after just having the shop open for 4 days – so I am working on filling that order right now.  The order was for light yellow tissue paper pomanders with a delicate lace handle (see picture below).

These decorations are so versatile – they can be used as:

• aisle decor on shepherds hooks or hanging on the back of chairs
• a bouquet alternative for the bride or bridesmaids
• flower girls can carry them down the aisle in lieu of throwing rose pedals
• place them on a chunky candlestick holder and it becomes a gorgeous centerpiece
• hang them from the ceiling for a whimsical and festive atmosphere

Yellow Tissue Paper Pomander with lace handle for weddings

Of course I opened the shop right before a month of intensive travel, luckily these are pretty easy to make while sitting in a car – I precut all of the paper that I needed and folded and puffed all the way to and from Boston!

I will keep you updated on my crafting adventures.  My next agenda with building up my shop is to add more inventory and examples of what I can provide.