Fresh flowers are gorgeous. You can't beat the smells, textures, and colors of beautiful blooms. Sure we'd love to have them in our homes all the time, but lets face it, they can be expensive and of course they only last so long. I've worked with Afloral on a few projects before, like this colorful table setting I styled, and wedding arch, and if you want to be surrounded by flowers all the time faux should be considered as a great alternative. Today I'm going to show you how to create a beautiful modern moody floral arrangement using faux blooms.
Valentine's Day, you either love it, or you hate it? Personally I enjoy the holiday, whether people think it's silly and made up or not. I take it as a day to celebrate the ones I love by making fun little gifts, or treats for them, and you guys know how I love a good craft project! Plus for some reason, more than most other holidays, I'm always able to come up with Valentine's Day projects. Today I'm rounding up some of my favorite posts for the holiday celebrating love. I hope that maybe you'll be inspired to create something special for one of your favorite people!
The first project, pictured above, is my glitter heart pin/hair clip DIY. Just a few simple steps add up to this adorable accessory, and you can even attach it to a card for easy gifting.
I was contacted in 2014 (just after Eleanor was born) by BuzzFeed to create a simple DIY craft project for Valentine's Day. I wanted to make something that was super easy for anyone, and also could be a unisex gift. I came up with these I Love You Tea Towels, because who doesn't love a little seasonal charm in their kitchen?
Next up, baked goods, duh! These rich, chocolate espresso lava cakes are one of my go to desserts. They're so yummy, and decadent, but way easier to make than you might think! Check out the recipe and give it a try yourself this year!
This guy, the Heart String Art Decor DIY, is still one of my most popular blog posts to date, and it's not really hard to see why. String art and weaving have been all the rage for awhile now, and with a few nails, hammer, a wood board, and string, you can create a decor piece that makes a statement in your space. And it's not just for Valentine's Day either!
Who needs an excuse to party? Not me, but Valentine's Day certainly a good reason to decorate the house, bake a cake, and eat lots of candy (or drink cocktails). I loved creating this fun Modern Black and White Valentine's Day decor. This theme is fun because it's whimsical enough to work for kids, or classic enough for adults.
And last, but certainly not least, one of my first attempts at You Tube. Ugh, I hate watching, and hearing myself on film, but this felt jewelry DIY is a fun little gift idea for anyone in your life who loves jewelry.
That's it guys. I hope that you'll check out, and try a few of these fun Valentine's Day ideas, and if you do, be sure to tag them with #emmyraydesignstudio so I can see what you've created. I've got a few new ones coming in the next two weeks too.
I'm a more is more kind of girl. Meaning I can definitely appreciate simple, un-cluttered design, but for the most part I thrive when I'm surrounded by color, texture, patterns, and lots of layers. I partnered up with afloral.com to create this lovely head table decor, along with some of my favorite local Kansas City wedding vendors. And for this post I'm not just sharing the finishing shots, but also some behind the scenes images of how the table came together.
If you're hosting Thanksgiving this year, your decor may be the last thing on your mind. Or maybe you really want to create beautiful centerpieces but you aren't sure how? Have no fear friends, I'm here to share the step by step of how to create this colorful, textural, modern Thanksgiving Harvest Arrangement for your table. Using elements that can all be purchased at the grocery store will save you time, and veggies and fruits make great, inexpensive fillers for an arrangement!
Much like everyone else in the midwest, I love fall. It's those few months of the year that we get a break from the blazing heat of summer, and bitter cold of winter. So obviously I absolutely had to plan a fall/halloween themed floral workshop. And what says fall more than making floral arrangements in pumpkins? Nothing that I can think of!
I've been having such a great time coming up with fun floral DIY's to share, and much like the framed flowers I shared recently, this one is crazy easy, but makes a beautiful statement for an event. I used the blooms from September's collaboration with Nickel and Suede, rich fall colors and lots of texture, so gorgeous.
It's no secret, fresh flowers are the easiest way to make any event special, but when you're running around like a crazy person getting ready to host a party, sometimes they're the last thing on your mind. Even as a floral designer I've bought flowers for events that never end up getting arranged (sad to say). Today I wanted to share what I think is one of the simplest floral DIY's ever. It makes a gorgeous visual impact, and you can even do it before your event to help save time.
Here's what you'll need:
An empty frame.
Foam board cut to go inside your frame.
Packing or duck tape.
Large corsage pins. I like to use these because they're extra long.
Flowers: The number of blooms you'll need will vary greatly depending on your frame size, flower size, etc. I used an oval frame, about 8x10 in size, and about 20 blooms. Larger blooms like roses, or carnations will fill in quicker.
Floral sheers or heavy scissors.
You'll need to prep by backing your frames with foam board. Cut the foam board to the correct size to fit inside the frame and then tape it to secure it. You can also cover your foam board with scrap book paper or fabric, as I've done here, for an additional decorative touch.
Taking your sheers cut your flower heads off the stems. Cut as close as possible to the head of the flower.
Push one of your pins through the center of the flower from the front to the back, until it pokes through the bottom. These pins are great because not only are they super long, but also pretty, and you can get them at any craft store in the floral section.
Push the pins into your foam board, and layer your flowers alternating colors, and sizes. You'll find that some flowers sit lower to the board and others are taller, so play around, the blooms are easily removed and re-positioned.
**Take note, the pins pierce through the back of the foam board, so don't poke yourself in the process.
You can do this project the night before your event too, and keep your finished frames in your fridge overnight (I'd suggest doing a fridge test first). Using hardier flowers like carnations, roses, and mums will also get you a longer lasting display. You could also easily replicate this project with fake flowers, just use hot glue instead of pins, as I did in this floral letters DIY.
And that's it, so easy, right? Style your frame however you please. You can use it on a tabletop with a stand-up easel as I've done here, or hand it on the wall. Can't you just picture a gallery wall covered with frames full of flowers? This would make a perfect DIY wedding ceremony backdrop too, don't you think?
I hope you'll try doing your own framed flower DIY for your next event to create a gorgeous display. If you do, be sure to share and tag your post #handmakerofthings. I always love to see what you create!
I absolutely love a good collaboration, in fact it's what I'm all about, so I was thrilled when the lovely Caitlin, stylist and blogger extraordinaire, invited me to take part in the Fall Into Confidence workshop, coming up September 19th. I'll be presenting with four other women, and we'll be talking all about style and confidence building!
(images above by Becca Blake Photography)
I first met Caitlin in 2014 at the Pepperologie Brunch, put on by Style and Pepper. Jessie had asked me to speak about how to take a grocery store bouquet from boring to beautiful, and I was happy to oblige. It's one of my favorite topics! Caitlin also attended my Flowers 101 workshop this spring with The Bloom Academy. Needless to say she's now got some awesome floral knowledge under her belt., and she wanted me to share it with you all. The Fall Into Confidence workshop is an event where women could learn how to feel their best everyday, and do it all in once by learning about a six different topics related to style.
(image by Cornerstone Photography)
So how does floral design fit in with a workshop about style and confidence? Good question, and it's really the reason why I started The Bloom Academy. People would often say to me "I could never do what you do" or "When I arrange flowers they look awful". But here's the thing, everyone can create beautiful flowers, it's really not that hard. What people don't have is knowledge about floral design, and that's where I come in. I think that, much like anything in this world, armed with information and a little bit of practice anyone can have the confidence and style to create amazing things with blooms. Flowers are such an easy way to make any occasion special, give as a gift, or just to add a touch of lovely to everyday life. It's absolutely an essential tool that anyone should have in their style arsenal.
(photo by Cornerstone Photography)
I hope that you guys will join me, Caitlin, and a bevy of other awesome women for this beautiful workshop opportunity. Purchase your tickets here, or you can enter to win a free ticket to the workshop. How you ask? Pop on over to my Instagram @emmy-ray for more details. Good luck!*
I love collaborations, they're pretty much my jam. When Gwen from one of my favorite local blogs, The Makerista, contacted me about creating some florals for her sweet girls Swan Lake birthday party, of course I said yes. Gwen wanted lush, romantic florals, in pastel and ivory, but with a touch of moodiness to them. We added in dark plum and maroon, with some textural elements to accomplish just that, and kept things classic with silver mercury glass containers.
She's got such a beautiful eye, and curated all the other details of the decor so perfectly to match the parties theme. I'm sharing just a few of the florals here, but you absolutely have to head on over to her blog to see the rest of the gorgeousness from the event. (all photos shared in this post were taken by Gwen).
And here's a few pics of how she styled them post party. Swoon right? Her house is pretty much amazing.
Thank you so much Gwen for letting me take part in your little girls special day. I can't wait to collaborate again!
Holy cow guys, it's freakin' hotter than hot here in the midwest. I think that with the weather extremes we have in this region, we tend to forget just how crazy hot (or cold) it gets during the respective seasons. So today I'm sharing a cocktail recipe that contains two of my favorite summer beverages to help you cool off, lemonade and beer. I'll admit, I had help with this mix. The awesome Alex Potts created it, and I just got to mix up my own batch and enjoy. It's refreshing, light, and perfect for a hot summer party.
You can make this recipe a few different ways. If you're lazy like me, you'll just buy the lemonade and add the muddled blackberries. If you're industrious and love making cocktails, then you can make your own blackberry lemonade. Here's what you'll need:
20 ea Ripe Blackberries
10 oz Granulated Sugar
10 fl oz Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
10 fl oz Sparkling water
Muddle the blackberries in a pitcher with a muddler or the back of a wooden spoon until broken apart. Add the sugar and stir until the mixture becomes a nice purple color. Pour in your lemon juice and stir until the sugar dissolves (this could take some time since the mixture is still at room temperature, just keep stirring or if you have some time to spare, let it sit on the counter for about 20 minutes, the sugar will dissolve into the juice over time).
Top off with the sparkling water and gently stir the mixture together. Taste! If it is too tart , add more sugar or water and if it is too sweet add more lemon juice. Also if you don't like blackberry or lemon pulp in your juice you can strain it out, or leave it in, whatever you prefer.
Now it's time to get boozy. We're keeping it local with this one, using Boulevard Wheat, but you can also choose any other citrusy wheat type beer or a hoegaarden style beer yields a nice cocktail too. Here's what else you'll need to complete the cocktail:
4 fl oz Sparkling Blackberry Lemonade
1 fl oz Decent Brandy
3 fl oz Wheat Beer
Optional: 1 fl oz Sparkling wine, Champagne or Prosecco (optional, but I like the extra bubbles that the Champagne brings to the party.
Optional: 2 dash angostura bitters (optional, but brings a complex flavor to the cocktail, if you have some around, try it!)
2 ea Blackberries and lemon rind for garnish
Create your cocktail base with the lemonade and add in the shot of Brandy. Top that off with the beer and some of the sparkling wine if so inclined. Dash in the bitters if you have it and stir gently just to incorporate, we don’t want to lose any bubbles.
Garnish with your blackberries and lemon rind and enjoy on a hot summer day! I hope that you'll try out the Boulevard blackberry shandy, and tag your pics #handmakerofthings. Come on back for more cocktails in the future too, I'm making Happy Hour a regular feature. Good stuff is in the works.
