Archive for the ‘Bloom’ Category
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13
Nov
2009
Christmas is on it’s way
Christmas is sneaking up on me, so is my massive Christmas holiday.
3 weeks of bliss with Mr Bake & Bloom & his parents. I know for some going away with the in laws might seem like hell on earth but mine are like the family I always wanted. We’re spending Christmas & new years eve in Canada & America, (specifically a Whistler Christmas & a Vegas NYE) I’m hoping for my first white Christmas.
I was feeling a little sad that I wouldn’t get to decorate this year but GC floristry management has come to the rescue with my Christmas display project. Our assignment last night was to create a Christmas display such as one might find in a florist window, here is my interpretation:
Proud as punch
My teachers Sue & Krishna, thanks for your support & guidance..I couldn't do any of this without you
Oh yeah, totally camera ready
My classmate Tina & I with our Christmas Displays
Can you feel the Christmas love ladies? Tina was sweet enough to bring along her cherished family Christmas decorations complete with her children’s names, they were just gorgeous. My decorations are vintage American ball-balls from the 60′s, sometimes when Mr Bake & Bloom isn’t home I sit around & sniff their boxes.
I really like the idea of our little orphan Annie Christmas trees (the sticks with the decorations on) there’s something quite charming & overambitious about them that I just love.
I would love to hear about your favorite Christmas decorations, what are they & why do they mean so much to you?
28
Oct
2009
Wiring flowers SUCKS!
Anyone who says making your own corsage is fun is a dirty, filthy liar.
Last night I was put through wiring boot camp. We made a buttonhole, a corsage & a circlet…well half a circlet, we need to finish them at home. We need to keep practicing until our fingers bleed & our souls are broken. Did I mention that wiring sucks? Wiring is stressful, time consuming, fiddly, annoying…utterly painful & above all I think, a little dated.
Ranting aside, I can see that this is a skill that will require many hours grueling labour until I can do this with my eyes closed. I actually concentrated so hard last night I forgot to breathe & made myself ill. Tonight I am going to relax with a glass of wine & a fistful of shrubbery & practice wiring until I die or pass out.
Still I’m pretty proud of what I have achieved in 3 short weeks, my brain is brimming with information, I am developing callouses from wiring..I am going to be a florist next year, it still hasn’t sunk in. If this is the worst floristry has to throw at me I think I can live with that! I have an insane amount of homework to get through this year, including some amusing questions relating to communication & body language such as “how would you convey confusion with your feet?”……HUH?
I think I might give frustrating homework a break tonight & bake something, something chocolatey for a certain man who is turning 50 tomorrow. I just may decorate that something with truffles or chocolate meringues too…stay tuned!
22
Oct
2009
Learning, loving, living
OK, so they’re not flowers I would have chosen. But look how full & round my table arrangement is! We have to make these table arrangements over & over in school apparently, this is my second go & I’m pretty proud of it. My first one was all ragamuffin & patchy.
To anyone considering a career in floristry please know first, it’s hard! Do you know how many kinds of flowers there are? Well there’s heaps, like thousands & you have to learn them all by 2 names, botanical & common. You have tonnes of homework, you stab your fingers with wire & you have to use ugly orange chrysanthemums. BUT to me it’s all worth it. Maybe I am a little weird but I have always enjoyed work this hands on. I always loved working in organics for the same reasons I think I’m going to love floristry.
The ladies at work picked up on the fact I am somewhat of a creative genius (ha!) & one asked me to make her hat for the Melbourne Cup. What an honour, I really feel awesome that someone would place that much trust in me. She gave me the base, some scraps of fabric from her custom made suit, a hot glue gun, some dried flowers & free creative licence.
I know I am proud as punch & Jenni is wrapped with her hat (it looks gorgeous with her outfit) What do you think of my handiwork?
14
Oct
2009
Back to school
My sunny little friends
I am officially a student again, with a pencil case & everything!
Last night was my first in 28 weeks of floral design school. I have a feeling it is going to be a steep learning curve, there’s text books, homework, prac work, assignments…in short a lot of non fun stuff, but I’m pretty sure it is going to be worth it in the end. There’s only 2 students in my class (including me!) so getting the most out of each lesson is going to be quite easy I expect.
Some light reading
Last night we covered preparation of flowers including stripping foliage, additives for water, refrigeration ect & some basic workplace health & safety stuff. We also learned how to wire flowers, we did a couple of gerberas & took them home! I was so exited taking flowers home now I know what to put in the water & that I have to cut them on an angle..OK so I already knew that bit, but it felt so much more important! I also learned that having nice nails is a thing of the past as they’re going to end up covered in hot glue, wire puncture marks & dirt…glamorous I know.
I now have some sunny little friends in my living area brightening up my life.
Those little kinks are called elbows..it gives the flowers room to grow, yes these ones still grow after being cut!
Oops! her little wire is poking out!
21
Sep
2009
Floriade 2009
Snowboarding was a blast but something terrible happened and as it happens when one door shuts, another opened to something better.
On the last day of our mini trip, being Spring it decided to bucket down with rain, then hail, then rain a little more. We decided to cut our losses & spend the day in Canberra instead. We drove around, ate at my favorite Canberrian Pancake place , found the Canberra church of Scientology (creepy!) visited the war memorial and finally when we were driving aimlessly in search of something else to do I noticed the sign for Floriade.
I have dreamed of going to Floriade for years, it is Australia’s biggest flower show & that’s pretty dang exiting to me. Somehow I had never quite made it before. We arrived pretty late in the afternoon so I didn’t get to stay as long as I’d have liked but I completely ditched the tacky carnival end of the show & went straight in for the flowers. There were tulips as far as the eye could see! We simply spent an hour admiring the gardens, walking, talking & smelling. I couldn’t name half of the flowers, obviously I have a lot to learn still but I am more exited than ever to start school on the 15Th of October.
Of course, I managed to forget the memory card for my camera! Luckily Mr Bake and Bloom was kind enough to at least take a few pictures for me on his iPhone.
So long for now Floriade, I hope I can see you again soon!
