Blossomking Bespoke Bouquets

My amazingly talented friend gave me the most precious wedding gift; my bouquet.

Becky and I met at college where we studied Art and Textiles together; we've been great friends ever since. After college Becky went on to study Floral design; she has a natural flare and set up a business in with her mother: Blossomking Floral Design. Becky's arrangements have always had that little something extra, for her own wedding she used lanterns, mirrors and wired bodices incorporating flowers for her table centres, it was beautiful (I pinched a lantern and have it on display in my home alongside a photo of the happy couple!). I have always known that when I eventually got married it would be Becky I would entrust with the floral arrangements; she just gets me!

So after Mr Shortcake proposed I immediately started to filter images and inspiration from wedding blogs down to Becky.

Via

We were planning a long engagement to allow for sufficient savings to be made, as we didn't want to fall into the trap of taking out a loan, so my thoughts on bouquets took a back seat while I finished up my studies. Unbeknownst to me, Becky's creative brain had been ticking over and she produced this beauty in the summer time:

The minute I saw it I needed it! I put in a request to reserve it and kept my fingers crossed someone else wouldn't get it before me.

A few months past and Mr Shortcake got the call for the job in Dubai and suddenly our relaxed wedding plans, which were just pictures I'd saved into a folder, had to be actioned. We had TWO WEEKS to plan a wedding. The panic set in. I called Becky to let her know and asked if I could buy the bouquet on the website. She said yes! Becky also added that if I need anything changing she would do it for me if I let her know. Once Mr Shortcake had picked my shoes (yes, I let him choose, he has great taste!) I acquired some ribbon to match and sent it down to her workshop in Bedfordshire. Accompanying the ribbon were some vintage buttons that matched in colour. Becky gave me a call and asked the colour of my dress and whether I had a preference between gold and silver. I then received this tantalizing picture:

I was now uber excited; she was making me a bespoke bouquet, all of my own and was also giving it to me as a present. It was so very generous I had a little cry! Along with the bouquet were matching buttonholes for Mr Shortcake and Dad Shortcake and a corsage for Mum Shortcake too! They were beautiful and more than I could have hoped for. The most precious thing was that as they are all artificial we are able to keep them as a memento of the occasion. Mum and Dad Shortcake have theirs next to a wedding photo of us!

Becky has since gone on to produce numerous designs in different colours for brides that want something a little bit different form your standard bridal bouquets. One of my favourites’ is 'Victoria', a beautiful gold bouquet:

'Victoria'

Becky collects all the buttons and jewelry herself, bedding them on a base of foam roses. The foam roses look so authentic one customer actually remarked how lovely they smelt not realising they were artificial!!!

Hop on over to Becky's Facebook page and have a look.

Toodles,

The Special Event

So, that event I told you about that took place in the garden really was a great day…. I got MARRIED!!!

Yep, Mr Shortcake and I finally tied the knot. With TWO WEEKS notice we booked the registry office, set up a Facebook Event, called the family, purchased a dress, picked some shoes, sorted a suit, made some decorations, had bouquets and buttonholes created, organised photographers, hired caterers, acquired rings and wrote our vows. WOW!

The reason for the rush? Mr Shortcake was offered and accepted a job in Dubai; it’s illegal to live together unwed over there, so we whipped up some plans. We were already engaged and I had been gathering inspiration for our impending nuptials, I just wasn’t prepared for them to be so soon! We kept the reason a secret so we could tell everyone at the reception and thought we'd be inundated with questions about the rush, but no-one did! They all just put it down to our crazy, impatient personalities and thought it was 'typical' for us to do something like that!

I’m simply amazed at what we achieved with so little time and a very very small budget. I couldn’t have asked for more; the best day ever, FACT!

I’m sharing it here, as I want other brides to be to understand that you don’t need to spend thousands to have the perfect day. Here are the details and some pics:

The Outfits

My dress is from Warehouse, the shoes are from Kurt Geiger and were purchased in the sales. I made the bow in my hair and I changed the laces in the shoes. I knew immediately that it was the dress for me. It has long ruffled sleeves and a tiny bow at the back. Cute! Mr Shortcake picked his suit up in House of Fraser and I found him a tie to match my shoes. My outfit cost £76, his came in at £150. Bargain!

The Bouquet

Made and gifted by my AMAZING friend Becky of Blossomking Floral Design It's completely precious, crafted from foam roses and reclaimed jewellery. I still can't stop looking at it.

The Cake

The cake was completely gluten and wheat free, tasted delicious and cost a few pounds! It's a Chocolate and Cherry sponge from Marks & Spencers, the weekend we went to purchase it we were informed they were on offer 2 for £3 so we picked up 7 chocolate and 3 lemon drizzle for a bit of choice. £15 for a 5 tier wedding cake + spares is pretty good going! I made the cake toppers from wallpaper samples and wooden craft sticks I had in the cupboard. While I was getting ready my nimble assistants dressed them. The cake stands are made from thrifted plates and glassware that I stuck together with epoxy resin! The prettier glassware I saved for the sweeties! The table cloth is grey suiting fabric I had in a box with a piece of statement wallpaper over the top.

The Bunting

In the cake room the bunting consisted of hearts cut from the wallpaper samples, loving hole punched and glued by my friend Laura.

Outside we had tissue paper bunting and pom-pom bunting (see below). These were also made with the help of Laura along with another superstar Jacqui. These lovely ladies couldn't make it to the day so we had a craft session and a curry to make up for it, creating these beauties in the process!

The Reception

At such short notice it was difficult to find a venue for the reception at a reasonable price. We knew we didn't want a sit down meal, it just wasn't us, so we went with the BBQ option, supplied by our local butcher Johnny, in our garden. The food was awesome and it produced the relaxed atmosphere we wanted. However, it was the 6th November so we provided a couple of patio heaters and a hamper of blankets, scarves, hats and gloves which went down a treat.

The Entertainment

It was the day after Bonfire Night so it would have been rude not too! Fireworks supplied and lighted by my new husband, purchased from the firework factory down the road. Sparklers were handed out to everyone and we gazed up at the sky in wonderment!

The Photographs

Our photographs are brilliant and we were lucky enough that it didn't cost us a penny. We asked around and got a couple of volunteers with cameras that were eager to use them. Our wonderful friends Laura and Dru got some absolutely amazing shots, they have a natural talent. I then tweaked a few on Photoshop which will be framed up and hung in pride of place.

The Live Video Stream

Mr Shortcakes family were spread across the world on the day we got hitched. It was important to us that they were still able to be a part of the day so clever-clogs here, set-up a channel on Ustream.tv and broadcast the wedding ceremony live! It was a wonderful idea as anyone who couldn't make it was able to watch at home/work/on the beach. We recorded it as well so we can watch it wherever we are, whenever we want!

It truly was a budget affair but such an amazing one! We are so blessed to have such fantastic people surrounding us that pitched in and made it a day to remember. A BIG THANK YOU to all those that helped and attended.

Excuse the poor quality picture (phone camera!) but I wanted to share the fact that I'm finally creating some sketchbook work I'm pleased with :)

I've been making an effort to use sketchbooks again since encouraging my students to do so in lessons. Over the summer I cracked my 'white page' and 'precious' issues and began using an A4 hardback to doodle in, this has been my launching point. It has provided a personal place to explore, to make mistakes and most importantly to play. This in conjunction with some great feedback and thought exchanging with friends has given me the confidence and inspiration to start a new sketchbook dedicated to a new project. More will be revealed at a later date. I had forgotten the joy of a project that is self motivated, virtually all of my work over the last 10 years has been for courses, work or because I felt I 'should' be working rather than wanting to.

I'm enjoying this exploration so much, I plan to encourage the feeling to stay!

Toodles for now,

Kt -x

Knitting Needle Case

Pleasingly its been a very productive week for me. I've sorted the studio, caught up with some unfinished projects and started some new ones. One of which was this knitting needle roll....

I've been meaning to make one for a while, all my needles were clumped together in a box with rubber-bands. There were some scraps left over from a special project Mr Shortcake was working on (I'll tell you about that tomorrow) and I managed to throw this together in about an hour including a tea break!! I'm sure there must be some tutorials out there on how to make these. It would make a good starter project for a class I think!

Cloth Dolls: mini naked people!

Their life less forms lay on the cutting mat and I could take it no longer!! The hair went on first, lovingly hand-stitched to their bare heads then one by one the bodies developed (!). I couldn't resist giving them Lady-gardens, it was too much of a giggle! I diligently matched hair colors too!

They have a range of faces as I couldn't decide on a style so I tried them all out. I love the overall effect of them together with their varying expressions!

I'm in the process of designing some dresses for them to hide their modesty! Hope I've not offended anyone!

Toodles, Kt x

Reconstructing knits.....

As you are aware, I've been sorting out the studio. During this process I unearthed a box full of handmade fabric, knitted swatches and woven fabric I have created. I was overcome with inspiration, well, slightly inspired to make use of these pieces. It seems such a shame to have them just sitting in a box, so I got thinking!

There was a piece of turquoise knitting I inherited with some gifted yarn that just screamed at me to make it in to a hat. There was a small hole left in the top once I stitched it together so I made a lovely big Pom-pom to cover it. I love pom-poms!!!

The other piece was a black knitted swatch I made to pass the time about 4 years ago. It was just the right length for an arm warmer, so with the rest of the yarn I had left (yes, after 4 years!!) I made another one!! I'm chuffed with myself, it's been a while since I've been so motivated! There are still some bits left so I'll blog them in their new forms soon!

Cloth Dolls

Over Christmas I made this young lady and a couple of others to give as gifts. Very cute and very long!!!! I absolutely loved making them and it has inspired me to create some cloth dolls that may end up in my Etsy shop! This lady was a little too long though so I'm refining the pattern.

I wanted to create my own pattern but wasn't sure where to start. How long should their legs be? Should I give them joints? Clothes or clothing shaped bodies? So many questions!

So I took a couple of patterns from a book and used them as a template, adapting the head and body shape, blending them together, varying the limbs and changing the construction method. Here are the six prototypes I've created.....

My favorite is the fourth one along with the small head but I'd like her limbs to be a little thinner. I also like the last one, although I might give her the small head too!!

They're in the process of getting hair (and body parts!?!) and i've got to dress them! I really enjoying creating these ladies!! I'll keep you updated on their progress and add the development photos!!