Showing posts with label handmade silk flowers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label handmade silk flowers. Show all posts

Monday, April 22, 2013

Fantasy fabric flowers

Last time I was talking about how realistic silk roses can be. The pictures I shared showed the variety of form and colour one can achieve when making them. In this respect painting silk by hand comes in handy by allowing for the gradation of colour, which mimics flowers in the wild.
But who said that we have to be restricted by any limits and only create realistic flowers? No one.

Depending upon the project I often require a fantasy flower to complete it. For my fantasy flowers I frequently use  precoloured fabrics such as the gorgeous Indian dupioni with its soft sheen, or satin silk, viscose velvet etc. I stiffen the chosen fabrics as I do the white ones (see one of the ways to do it described in my post here) and then use them to create fantasy blooms that can only be limited by the imagination.

Thus,  for making black flowers I believe it is easier and better to simply use black silks rather then dye them by hand as it is almost impossible to achieve a really intense rich black colour. 

Birdcage veil with a black rose


 I use lace, beads, feathers, freshwater pearls and other components to decorate my fantasy flowers and make them look more striking and spectacular.

Black orchid corsage

For this large rose I used soft satin in golden sand colour which makes it a perfect accessory to go with any earthy-toned clothing, such as browns, yellows, oranges, yellowish green and ecru.

Golden satin rose


Unlike the warm golden rose this one is created using silvery coloured silk and is set amidst hand painted double organza leaves in mauve and grey hues. The organza I used is enriched with a silver lame thread.

Bridal rose hairpiece

For wedding floral pieces sometimes it is best to use pure white, cream or ivory silks. By combining fabrics with different textures I add interest and volume to these flowers.

Bridal peony veil on a comb
Natural silks, lace, beads, ivory freshwater pearls... What can be more bridal? :-)

White rose halo
Should you have any questions or suggestions please feel free to share them in the comments below. I really appreciate your feedback.



Tuesday, February 26, 2013

My flower making tools

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 here
If you wish to order a set of flower making tools please click here.



Those of you who admire handmade silk flowers might have thought about making them yourselves and wondered what magical equipment is required to do the job. So today I would like to give you an insight into the tools I am using for making my flowers.

My set consists of tools which belong to both the European and the Japanese flower making schools. They have been acquired over a couple of years through different makers. The best tools are thought to be made of brass as it holds the heat better than stainless steel that is why my tools look yellowish brown in the picture.

A soldering iron is needed to work with these brass heads. There are a number of round heads of different diameter, several knives, a rat-tail tool, a tool for making hollow tubes and another one for making lily-of-the-valley tiny flowers, as well as a number of curved both smooth and grooved Japanese tools.

All of them are used to achieve a certain effect on different sized petals and leaves and the choice usually depends on the particular job to be done. For a more impressive result the tools are used on rubber pads which vary in thickness and density.

Friday, August 17, 2012

Glam and curvy

I have been lucky recently. My freind from Moscow visited us with her boyfriend and I finally had a chance to make some pictures of my flowers and hair accessories in particular on a real model! Despite the lack of time and a pretty crappy camera we are both pleased with the result. I will be sharing some of the selected pictures here, so keep your eyes peeled ☺




My beautiful friend Alevtina is wearing a corset  fantasy black orchid on a string of black pearls. The orchid is made of several kinds of  silk and embellished with ostrich feathers and seed and bugle beeds. This flower can be made in other colours and in white it is perfect for weddings.

Hope you like the little pic and the outfit :-)

Sunday, June 17, 2012

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:

silk bluebells, artificial flowers, faux flowers, handmade flowers


silk bluebells, artificial flowers, faux flowers, handmade flowers
And how do you see these bluebells? Maybe as a little corsage? Or...? Please let me know ☺

Friday, May 18, 2012

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

handmade flower, hand painted flower brooch, red poppy brooch, silk poppy hair clip, exclusive silk flowers, good quality silk flowers

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

LB Fascinator

Here is another headband, or rather a little fascinator to compliment an LBD, or in fact any cocktail dress. It might look gothic at first but beads and lace add a lot of femininity to it let alone fragile peacock feather antennae! ☺

handmade butterflies, butterfly decor, butterfly hat, butterfly fascinator, wedding butterflies, lace butterfly
Had to model myself this time as nobody else was available

Monday, May 7, 2012

Sweet peas

Today I would like you to meet probably the most iconic flower of  the English cottage garden: the sweet peas. They come in endless shades of  pink, red, violet, purple, in fact any shade between white and chocolate brown.
handmade silk flowers, silk sweet peas, hand painted floral brooches, pink sweet peas, purple sweet peas, sweet peas brooch, millinery flowers
Sweet peas corsage is made of 3 types fabric (100% pure silk) and mounted on a brooch base.

Friday, May 4, 2012

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

Monday, April 30, 2012

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 :-)

Tuesday, March 6, 2012


With spring at our doorstep is everybody awaiting wonders or is it just me? To make it happen and bring a bit of magic into our tired-after-the-grey-winter souls I am thinking to organise a contest with one of my silk flower accessories as a prize. But the thing is I can't decide what kind of contest it should be. Nor have I chosen the prize (that's the easiest though). Dear ladies does anyone of you have any ideas regarding this notorious exciting contest-competition-raffle thingy? In this case please let me know, I shall be waiting...

The ideas on what the prize should be are also welcome :-)


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