Brick Dust & Glitter

Thursday, 30 April 2015

Drying Flowers

As a florist I often get asked; ''What's the best way to dry flowers?'' I find that lots of people have their own thoughts and ways to do it but I have always found a place that is warm for a large percentage of the day and a place that is dark is the best way to preserve your flowers.

Not all flowers dry well and people usually are looking to dry flowers that are memorable to them. My mum has hung most of our wedding bouquets up around in her conservatory and over the last 6 years they have grown more and more delicate.

Before I became a florist I used to just hang flowers at the end of a curtain poll and leave to dry. That's what I did with my wedding bouquet, but over time it went brown and got so dusty I ended up throwing it out. Luckily my mum had all the bridesmaids'!

Since learning more about it I have found the best way to keep colour is to not dry them in sunlight as that bleaches them. Or to dry them as quickly as possible like on the top of a heater or AGA.

I took some cream roses I had and tied them together and hung them in a cupboard that has hot pipes running through. They dried within the week and have kept the cream colour instead of turning brown.

I find this is the best method.

You need to be careful what flowers you choose to dry: some are too soft and will mould or will dry and just fall apart. I tried to do some tulips and the colours was amazing but as soon as I touched them they crumbled!

I know lots of brides often wonder what to do with their bouquet. As I said, some just hang them and leave them to dry, some take all the petals off, dry them and make a pot-pouri with them and I know some people press them in the pages of books.

Here is a of flowers that I think will dry best, but there are lots of preserving agencies on the internet who say they can preserve most types if you were getting something done professionally.

Larkspur, Stocks, Statice, Rose, Gyp, Delphiniums, Lavender, Peony (pink ones) Eringium, Limonium, Allium, Hydrangea, Cornflowers, Echinops, Nigella and Poppy heads.

I am sure there are many more and you could test ones from your own gardens.

Whatever you do when trying to dry your own flowers, just try and keep them protected and remember, nothing lasts forever so just enjoy them while you can!

Post by Emily

A Family Wedding In A Barn

So you may have grasped that my sister got married and it all happened at the parish church we attend. Then we had the reception back at my parents' in one of the empty barns. My family aren't farmers but the plot where they and my grandparents live came with barns that were previously used as workshops. This was the chosen venue for a "cheap" wedding. But of course it's not a "cheap" wedding; the venue is just free!

Being a barn, it has already got huge potential as a venue for a party and having been given the job as decorator and organiser by my sister; my head has been full of ideas for it for the last 9 months. Now though, all the ideas have materialised and we had the perfect set up.

My sister has married a Scot and we wanted to include a bit of highland heritage in the decor. We also knew fairy lights were going to play a huge role and of course, the amount of flowers was going to be quite phenominal.

I wanted to share with you all that we did in the barn to inspire you and show you what can be made to really make wedding decor personal.

The Stags' Heads

Stags featured a lot. Not only did we have little figures dotted around the place, but we made these huge wooden boards with Stags' heads stencilled onto them. These were inspired by realising that we didn't have the money to buy 15 ceramic stags heads as they were about £40 each! I came up with the idea and bought a stencil from ebay for £20. The wood was free and the grey paint was made from black poster paint and a tub of cheap white emulsion. I finished them with a tartan bow that I made from fabric from Boyes. The overall effect of these is absolutely amazing. They look fantastic and are real key pieces in the wedding decor.

Old Sash Windows

I have a little collection of old windows at home. I just really love them and have them on the wall as part of the decoration. All the frames we used in the barns were free and reclaimed from my parents' shed and from a building site. We gave them a fresh coat of white paint, then sanded them back to give them a rustic look. We then suspended fresh flower heart wreaths in the middle that we made. They fill up space on the vast brick walls but also bring lovely rustic features into the barn.

A Ceiling Of Fairy Lights

600 metres. Magical, enough said!!

White Flowers

We went for just white flowers at the venue. I knew these would look really classic and stand out against all the red brick. We used Garden Trading enamel jugs in a clay colour and put bunches of stocks in them. These smelled amazing and were perfectly seasonal. We then made window boxes and filled them with white roses and greenery.

Along the tables we also had little tubs of rosemary which were a great way to bring another fresh feature to the tables. The beautiful greens added to the rustic side of things and against the hessian table runners, jugs of stocks and gorgeous candle vases really made the tables suit the barn/rustic feeling.

Tables

We used white sheets with hessian runners to create the perfect country rustic combination. hessian and white are a match made in heaven!

Cake Table

Using more old frames and actual stags heads that my sister had bought for her house, we made a lovely area where the traditional wedding cake went and also where a cheese cake went.

Top Table

This is the area that was most looked at through the day as it was where the bride and groom were. It is also the biggest table in the venue so we had a large space to fill. We had done a traditional long and low flower arrangement that covered a lot of it and placed stags' heads, that are mine, along the table.

Blanket Rack

As the barn had no heating and it is only April we were quite conscious of keeping people warm. The fact that there were 150 people in there is a massive bonus but as the temperature dropped in the evening we hung up tartan blankets ready for people to snuggle up in.

Finishing Touches

As there are always more little bits, I thought I would just share some photos of all other little bits around the venue.

With clean crisp vessels and a big use of white, the wedding was a perfect homemade country wedding. There were all the usual costs for things but small details like bows on water bottles and kebab skewers with bells on were such a small cost for a very big effect!

Post By Emily

Artificial Flower Plant Pots

I always seem to blog about fresh flowers but that is because they are so easily accessible to me being a florist. However, as much as I can fill my house it is still annoying when they don't last long and they die off.

One flower that I wish you could preserve as it has such a short shelf life is blossom. I mean, how beautiful is it? A real sign of spring but as soon as it's cut it tends to drop as it is so fragile.

I have never been a big fan of artificial flowers. We have had some in the shop but only for small projects and never to actually sell. I spotted some in Wilko's and even though they would be not my usual choice to work with as I felt they were too obviously fake, I picked up a couple of stems to try using.

I am a fan of Kew Royal Botanical Gardens plant pots and have a few around the house so I wanted to use some of them to house a spring arrangement.

I filled the pot with dry Oasis and I covered the top in fresh sheet moss. This is available from most good florists or if you wanted to make it for free, fill you pot up with soil and stone mix and find some moss in the garden to cover the top. This just creates a clean ground for you to poke the flowers into.

To help mine feel more real I have used fresh Pussy Willow. This dries really well so don't worry about it not having any water. Just stick it into the pot. I went for a middle point then north, east, west and south positions. The one in the middle is the tallest stick, and the one in the south point is the shortest. You can always put more around creating a fuller look.

With the blossom, there were about 5 branches per stem. I cut them up and positioned them next to each main Willow stem to change the heights of each to make a more natural look.

With the real elements to the planters, the overall effect makes you double take a look at the blossom as it is quite hard to tell if it is real or not.

This is the exact effect you want. I am really pleased with how it looks and I really want to try some more work with some artificial flowers.

Having an arrangement that will last for months instead of just a week is really cost effective, but for me, I will always have fresh flowers in the house, this just means I won't need to buy as many!!

Post by Emily

Being Inspired By Our Wedding Gifts

As we head towards my sister's wedding at the end of the week, I have been listening to her excitement in preparing her Marital home and what gifts from her guests (Via a John Lewis gift list) she is expecting.

I remember Rob and I asked for B&Q vouchers and we also had a Debenhams gift list of all practical house items. The house we bought was a repossession and was in need of a lot of cosmetic work so we knew we needed the B&Q vouchers to buy all the necessary things for doing up a house. On the Gift list was lots of utilities to furnish the house. As Rob and I did not live together before we were married we literally had nothing. We both lived at our parents and were quite happy to respect the tradition and our Catholic faith of not living together before marriage. I was carried over the threshold to our marital home on our wedding night. We left our party and travelled the 15 miles from my parents to our house. It was really exciting but very new. The house was pretty bare as we only got it 2 weeks before the wedding and it still needed loads of work but we had decorated the bedroom, bathroom and hallway/stairs so it was welcoming when we walked in. Our plumber had also been round on the wedding day and sorted out all the heating for us so that was on and our builder friend had plumbed new fittings in the bathroom. We went on honeymoon for 2 weeks after and whilst we were away Rob's family sanded back all of the old wooden floors through the whole house. It was crazy but we were young and as soon as we got back we had stripping parties (wallpaper) where we had friends round and masses of pizza and just got on and converted the house in the 3 weeks after. My sister has had the privilege of having their place for a bit so they are pretty much ready to move in on their wedding night to a complete house.

Like us though, they have not lived alone in their own house together and even though they have some bits, their list consists of lots of homely things but also practical ones.

These days a lot of people live together before they are married or have lived away from home so have gathered all the essentials like kettles, toasters, irons, etc. but for us, they were everything we needed. I love that though; our house is built up of so many people and I look at things now and think about who got us what. Even a lot of the B&Q vouchers went on specifics, like our shower was bought by a group of Rob's friends. Our home has so much of everyone close to us in it.

We had loads of lovely gifts and I have since been quite specific in what we give people as wedding gifts. Most have been of monetary value for honeymoons etc. but with regards to siblings I am a bit more specific in what I get them. When my brother and his wife got married a few years ago I knew they wanted a Roberts Radio but couldn't afford one pre-wedding, so we got them one instead. It is a beautiful gift and something that I know they cherish. I will probably continue on that theme for siblings if they want one. I know Kizzy has her fingers crossed for one so we will have to wait and see (wink wink)!

I thought I would share some gifts that were inspired from things we got. It's nice giving a physical gift at a wedding but I suppose it's important to give the couple what they need. If you have weddings coming up this year and need some inspiration I hope that this helps.

Gold Cutlery, Cake Slice, Plate, Bag, Roberts Radio, Henry Hoover, Kettle, Toaster, Kitchen aid

Post by Emily

#betterwithbrita Water Recipe No. 2

This is the second fruity recipe using our Brita 'Marella' jug and is so easy to achieve. As the weather is getting just that bit warmer it is nice getting the odd moment to sit outside and enjoy the sun.

As refreshing as pure water is, I always think it is nice adding an bit of something sweeter into this and this is the healthiest way to do that.

These ice cubes with real fruit inside are perfect for grabbing out of the freezer and adding into your glass of water.

Just simply cut up the fruit you want to use, place in an ice cube tray and fill with water, I used my Brita filtered water.

Once they have frozen just wait for a warm day and enjoy!

Post by Emily

My Style #mumstyle

This warmer weather is allowing me to remove layers and enjoy the spring colours that are blooming out of the shops. I love more nudes and pinks in this season and I especially love floaty chiffon items in these colours.

These trousers and blouse are both Matalan. I wouldn't usually match top and bottoms to the same colour but I loved how blossomy this looked. Fresh, feminine and floaty; all things I love. These trousers would be really versatile for matching to smart outfits for work or just pairing with a crisp white tee and sandals for a more casual look. They may not be great with sticky little hands grabbing for your attention but they are so pretty and such a great price, I don't mind the small risk, (plus with this gorgeous weather, I can get them washed and dried in no time) !!

Steal my style by clicking the links

It isn't on the website, mine was from our local store

Matalan Trousers

Shoes by Primark find them on the highstreet!

Post by Emily

Etta's Little White Dress

As soon as it starts to get warmer I love freshening up my wardrobe with crisp white tops, dresses and jeans. Nothing beats that dash of bright white in the summertime; it feels fresh and clean and makes you just want to get outside.

For Little Etta, this Next white dress is so simply perfect that it makes me just want one to match. I love how white brings the look of innocence and purity and this little girl just looks so adorable.

Anyway, this dress is just screaming for some ribena to be poured down it so I better get some good wash powder in!