A bridal halo with double cherry blossom

Well, you have probably noticed that recently I have created quite a number of wedding designs. Although, I love to create bridal accessories as much as flowers for other occasions and even for every day, the reason I am concentrating on the wedding theme is because in a month (exactly a month from today!) I am taking part in a large Wedding fair in this new for me area. The Drayton Old Lodge Wedding Fair is held on 17 March at this elegant Edwardian manor house just 10 minutes drive from central Norwich. I have been placed in the Vintage room, which is another reason to concentrate on bridal floral accessories with a vintage feel to them.

Here is the creation of the last week: an open bridal wreath with double cherry blossom in soft pinks and mellow yellows. I used habotai for flowers and pongee for twigs (all 100% pure silk). As always I hand painted all the elements using colours for silk. The size of the wreath can be regulated with a silk ribbon at the back which is useful because you can wear it higher or lower depending on how you like it.

A similar wreath can be made with just white flowers or maybe only pink depending on the colour scheme of a wedding. The bridal wreath can be purchased from my Etsy shop.

I do find this floral garland very romantic i must say. And what is your opinion?

Bridal hat with a gorgeous silk rose and a birdcage veil

Please be kindly informed that we have moved! To read new blog posts, purchase our floral pieces and learn more about how to make flowers you are welcome to visit out new website.

When I finished assembling this rose I immediately thought of it as a millinery flower. Called Bride it is a gorgeous large silk rose of nearly 70 petals and is indeed meant for weddings.
I had the hat idea in my mind as well, I just needed some time to get hold of all the necessary supplies to start creating. And the supply list is rather extensive: sinamay base, viscose velvet, hat elastic, crin, coque feathers, dupioni leaves, birdcage veil with spots and of course the silk rose.
Here is  the picture of the finished hat:

And to give you an idea of how it looks on a head I acted as a model :-D in these pictures:

The bridal hat is available for purchase at at my store on Etsy

Preparing for Christmas. Not long to go

Now only lazy can ignore all the preparations for the coming Christmas: decorated shops, Chrtistmas cards everywhere, butchers taking order for Christmas turkeys etc.
Despite Remembrance poppies,a couple of craft fairs and some orders I need to work on Christmas designs have not been forgotten. So far I have tried two iconic Christmas plants which are holly and poinsettia. And yes there is a way of making fur trees out of velvet but I am not just sure I will have time to try it ☺ It looks a very time-consuming adventure!
I created poinsettia out of pure silk satin which I hand painted in rich reds and hot pinks. The flower is rather big (about 15 cm across) and is finished with a brooch base.

For the holly corsage I used cotton poplin in dark green and some hand painted pure silk satin for the little berries. The brooch looks very sweet and immediately reminds you of Christmas!

I am thinking about making other fantasy flowers which can decorate festive outfits at parties and corporate celebrations. Should stock on beads and feathers then! :-)

Bridal collection: floral head wreath

Please be kindly informed that we have moved! To read new blog posts, purchase our floral pieces and learn more about how to make flowers you are welcome to visit out new website.

For the last few weeks I have been working on some bridal pieces getting them ready for the coming Wedding fair which is actually happening this Sunday. I have created several pieces including some boutonnieres, flowers for hair, a fascinator, bridal shoe clips and a couple of wreaths. Now I would like to show one of them which was rather time consuming taking into consideration that it consists of 120 little gypsophila flowers, 8 open daisies and 4 daisy buds.  Traditionally the whole piece is made completely from scratch by me.
I am pleased with the result as the floral wreath looks full of flowers and pretty. It is ideal for a countryside or a woodland wedding and will please any romantic bride who is into head wreaths :-) Besides, it is a great keepsake too!

The daisy and gypsophila wreath can be made to order and purchased here at my Etsy shop.
P.S My Mummy had a similar daisy wreath for her own wedding 34 years ago. If I find a picture, I will share it with you! )))

'Blue Bleuet' Treasury

'Blue Bleuet' - a fresh summer Treasury by idejukrelles on Etsy featuring our blue cornflower corsage :-)

Enjoy the sunshine!

'Blue Bleuet' by idejukrelles

Cornflower - 8x10 Fine Art P... UnaPhoto $19.00	Cornflower earrings ioulia $15.00	ON SALE Cornflower blue brac... WoodlandHoney $39.00	Leaf Pod Polymer Clay Neckla... KateTractonDes... $40.00
FREE SHIPPING, Blueberry ear... suza $22.00	Blue cornflowers on a white ... MyMonography $15.00	1950s Cornflower Blue Lace W... NESTdesignstud... $86.00	Super Sparklers - Swarovski ... MASHUGANA $16.50
Vintage Corning Ware Cassero... HenriettaFetch $10.00	Cornflowers in the Sun, Flow... GoodFloristDes... $50.00	Silk blue cornflower corsage... PresentPerfect... $45.00	Handmade Recycled Paper Corn... mamacateyes $6.00
Bleuet, Hand Dyed Certified ... SpinSpanSpun $16.00	Real Touch Bridal Bouquet - ... alexisgracedes... $431.00	Cornflower Rosette Hairpins EmergingEm $10.00	Fancy Fleece Quilted Foot Hu... greatquiltatio... $30.00

Treasury tool supported by the dog house

Bluebells

Please be kindly informed that we have moved! To read new blog posts, purchase our floral pieces and learn more about how to make flowers you are welcome to visit out new website.

Another inspiration from one the Japanese flower making tutorials is this stem of fantasy bluebells. I made them in intense blue, but would like to recreate in white and soft pink later on. I think they will look very nice in a bridal or a flower girl's head wreath when made in white (or even pink!). Here is the original piece I made:

And how do you see these bluebells? Maybe as a little corsage? Or...? Please let me know ☺

Tiny silk roses on a stem

I have completed my first creation inspired by Japanese books, and although I am a strong believer that there is always room for perfection, the small roses do look rather cute. I was meaning to use them to decorate girls' headband especially that I need to create one for my little niece. Meanwhile here are some photos of the tiny roses:

What's new?

After having received 3 books on silk flower making by world famous Japanese masters in the post I was thinking with what to start. Well, I must admit, the lack of Japanese does not help when I try to understand sophisticated instructions having just a couple of photos at my disposal. So I decided to start from a stem of tiny little roses or even rosebuds. They seem to be OK to make, and besides i have been approached before by my friends who were interested in very small roses.
So far the petals are ready and they are tiny! Here is a photo of a pile of silk petals featuring Fimbriata our new garden rose as well ☺

VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!

My dear friends, here I am participationg in another competition and in need of your votes ☺
My project is taking part in FUNDIT! V2.0 Funding Fair.  You can see my video pitch HERE, I start talking within 2 and a half minutes from the beginning of the video. In a few words, I'm trying my best to win the £500 for the camera I need to create a quality portfolio with to be able to merchandise my silk flowers better and wider.
Please vote for me on this LINK
According to Facebook rules you need to belong to the group to be able to vote. Please let me know and I can add you to the group for the time of the voting. Look for voting on the group page (usually one of the top posts). You can vote till 7 June 2012
My project is called Svetlana Faulkner - Developing a Professional Portfolio.
Thanks for all your support!!! ♥♥♥

Poppy field

Here is another Treasury on Etsy featuring a red poppy hair clip this time. To view the whole FIELD OF RED POPPIES Treasury, please click here

Butterfly morning

Good morning to everyone! What type of morning is it for you? Well, for some it is a Butterfly type of a morning ☺ And our hand painted silk butterflies have been featured again, now in this turqouise treasury full of these fascinating creatures!
Have a peek at my other butterflies here

First ever Craft Fair to take part

Craft Fairs season was officially opened last Saturday when we took part in our first ever Craft Fair in a small village of Methwold, Norfolk. Having read a number of articles in both English and Russian on how to prepare oneself for the first fair I can say that we have done a very good job! The Fair took place in the Village Hall which turned out to be a pleasant and well-lit building. Tables were laid out in a circle letting potential craft hunters flow freely around the Hall making several rounds. Here is the picture of our display:

We also used a laptop slide show to demonstrate stages of flower making process and more flowers.
I have to admit that despite a decent footfall the public was not ready for hand made from scratch and hand painted silk flowers. We did give out some business cards, but people who stopped and got interested in the silk flowers were mainly thinking weddings and occasions. It is a pity because most of my creations were perfect for everyday wear and one does not need a special occasion or a wedding invitation to wear a silk flower brooch. I guess a lot of work needs to be done to make people see silk flowers as a very nice and stylish, extremely feminine accessory, be it a brooch, a hair clip or a headband

Friends&flowers

Woo hoo! This week I  have got my first picture of a model wearing one of my creations and they both look lovely! Now you have a look:

Model: Yana Zile
Accessories: Scarlet poppy hair clip by PresentPerfect Creations

Dust off your summer hats

Despite all that rain that has been pouring down on us for the last what? 4 weeks I have not stopped waiting for summer sunshine and warm days. Thinking of which it is time I dug out my summer wardrobe to see what needs some refreshing. As you might have guessed summer is THE season for silk flowers lovers as you can wear them every day and combine literally with anything from a smart dress to a white vest and jeans combination. Believe me, there is a flower for any outfit imaginable ☺

But for now I wanted to share some ideas of how one can decorate a summer hat with silk flowers. In my case it is a simple crushabale natural looking hat but straw hats would look even nicer!

One day I am planning to create a whole bunch of wild flowers to decorate my hat combining chamomiles, clover, wild poppies, blue cornflowers... I just need to find time :-)