Silk rose buds

At a recent class we created pretty tight rose buds of silk satin. Apparently this bud is the essence of most of rose flowers so in order to practice it a bit more I decided to make another one as a birthday gift for one of my friends. The rose bud is surrounded with leaves and is finished with a brooch base.
I am sure that if I make 15 rose buds and put them in a nice vase they will look so fresh and beautiful. These delicate closed roses are also perfect in bridal accessories.

Here is the corsage I made and a close-up of it

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! )))

Anna Karenina by Joe Wright

Решила воспользоваться своим положением и немного рассказать вам о новой экранизации романа Льва Николаевича Толстого "Анна Каренина". Положение мое - проживание в Великобритании - делает это возможным, поскольку у нас фильм уже в прокате, а в России это случится в январе 2013.

Хочу сразу оговориться: у меня нет желания обсуждать актеров и их "подходящесть" на ту или иную роль, оставим это кинокритикам. В кино я, собственно, хотела повести своего мужа, чтобы немного ознакомить его с этим классическим произведением. Из этого, скажу сразу, мало что получилось, поскольку от романа осталась только основная сюжетная линия, без растеканий мыслию по древу. Как написано в брошюрке с аннотациями: "Анна Каренина" - история, экранизированная уже не раз, поэтому любая новая версия требует чего-то особенного. "Каренина" Джо Райта не только выглядит красиво, но и имеет поддержку в прекрасном актерском составе, чтобы отдать должное этому классическому произведению".

А к чему я вообще пишу обо всем этом? Ответ прост: меня очень впечатлили костюмы в фильме, а в особенности ШЛЯПЫ! Очень и очень красивые головные уборы и декор причесок. К сожалению, в сети сложно найти качественные фото именно нужных шляп, но то, что мне удалось найти, я хотела бы показать и вам.

Вот одна из моих любимых фотографий, шляпка, в которой Анна едет в Москву, чтоб помирить Стиву и Долли. Тут мне очень нравится вуаль!

Еще одна интересная вуаль!

Дамы на скачках - все в шляпках! Не очень хорошее фото, но лучше найти не смогла. 

И еще раз скачки!

 Декор прически с перьями для бала.

 Здесь Кира Найтли вместе с режиссером Джо Райтом. Но посмотрите какая роскошная таблетка! А ведь Анна всего лишь чашечку кофе пришла выпить в кафе в таком виде

Шелковые цветы "живут" в прическах и на платьях!

Еще одна шляпка.

Ну и напоследок, другой ракурс моей любимой :-) И МЕХА!

Для тех, кто скажет, что костюмы в 80-х годах 19 века были абсолютно не такими, хочу процитировать Жаклин Дюрран, дизайнера по костюмам этой картины: "Это совершенно новая версия Анны Карениной. Передо мной была поставлена задача внедрить в стиль костюмов элементы диоровского «нью-лука» пятидесятых. Мне выпал шанс применить мою страсть к историческим костюмам к коллекции, которая соответствует современной моде". Так что, может, просто посмотреть кино и полюбоваться на красоту без исторического препарирования?

"Анна Каренина" вдохновила дизайнеров Banana Republic на создание капсульной коллекции совместно с Жаклин Дюрран. В духе романтики Российской империи предметы одежды коллекции украсят воротники с искусственным мехом и дополнят шляпки. А используемые в них ткани со сложной текстурой были навеяны модой Dior. По словам Дюрран, создание и стилизация капсульной коллекции для Banana Republic были «незабываемым опытом».

Надеюсь, я не очень утомила вас. Хотелось бы верить, что смогла развлечь и вдохновить на создание чего-то красивого и очень женственного. Ээээх, иногда я жалею, что не родилась в 19 веке...

Aqua Treasury on Etsy

Our turquoise and mint butterflies headband has been featured in AquaLove Seafoam September Treasury by Penny Birch-Williams on Etsy!

'AquaLove Seafoam September' by PennyBirchWilliams

A collection of Aqua-Seafoam lovelies from SEOTeam sellers in September.

Lampwork glass bead set teal... AnneLondezGlas... $39.00	Oriental Floral Pattern Imag... PrintablesShop $4.75	Genuine Turquoise Drop Earri... SeventhWillow $32.00	Boho Headband Crochet Knit H... CatalinaInspir... $15.00
Lace butterfly fascinator, t... PresentPerfect... $70.00	Retro Womens Gathered Full S... Eclectasie $50.00	Love Birds Original ACEO Art... LizzesBeautifu... $7.95	Altered Wooden Clothespins o... PaperPilePrinc... $3.95
Crossbody bag blue fabric, l... TsetsiLaMode $30.00	Christmas Gift Card Holder-S... TerrysCards $2.75	Peanut zippered pouch small Coonstuff $12.00	Hanging Jewelry Organizer in... sharonmooradia... $65.00
Mosaic Jar - Salvaged Glass ... happygomiller $30.00	Fresh Water Pearls and Silk ... CatalinaInspir... $32.00	Blue Hair Barrettes, Beaded ... BeadsByDawn $8.00	Modern Enamel Necklace, Art ... OxArtJewelry $39.00

Treasury tool supported by the dog house

Mastering the French veil

I have always found head pieces with veiling very feminine, mysterious and oh-so-romantic. No wonder that for quite some I wanted to try and create one myself. Eventually I got my hands on a piece of birdcage (or French or Russian) veil and a piece of silk satin of ripe aubergine colour and decided to try.
Most of the veils these days are made for weddings which is another area I am going to explore (white and ivory veils have already been ordered). But this first time I wanted to make an evening version of a head piece which can be worn to the theatre or to an appropriate reception. The flower had to be dramatic and big so I opted for a tree peony flower which reached 13 cm in diameter once finished. To add more romance to my head piece I used some lace for the leaves and thin silk organza for lining. As planned the flower and the veil were to be mounted onto a headband, so I wrapped it in black habotai silk. It took me some time to cut and gather the right amount of veiling as I wanted the veil to sit snugly around the forehead and not look like a little cloud above the head.
For this time I did not go for the full face veil option as there might be less occasions to wear that kind of head piece. The one I have created has everything to make it a hair accessory that will not leave the person wearing it unnoticed: a bold dramatic flower in rich colour, a short but impressive birdcage veil in black and a comfortable silk wrapped headband to hold all this together.
The peony head piece with a veil will easily dress up a little black dress.

What about you? Would you wear a head piece with veil?

Simple rose wedding headband

I must post more often I know but it is ever so difficult to balance between posting on all these social network websites, marketing my silk creations , taking part in craft fairs and actually making silk flowers!
But as promised I continue to share pictures of my friend Alevtina Kireycheva wearing my handmade silk flowers. This time let me present a bridal headdress embellished with simple roses (or dog roses) and finished with golden leaves. It has a pure and innocent look to it and as always can be made in different colours to match the theme of  a wedding party. Other ways of using are as a headband for a flower girl or just a ice head piece for a little girl invited to a christening party.
Now here is the picture of the said floral headband ☺

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 :-)

Fantasy poppy

Here is an experimental poppy in grey and turquoise hues. The petals are made of very thin printed habotai silk, the leaves are made of 2 layers of grey silk satin and for the little seedbox I have used some bright turquoise dupioni silk.

The fantasy poppy is finished with a brooch base.

NEW! Double organza wedding butterflies

Although lace butterflies (cream and coloured) have proven successful, today I wanted to introduce their cousins which are for some reason being a bit neglected. I am talking about double organza butterflies. In the picture you can see the option with a silver thread between the layers of organza. However I also have a copper thread version of this fabric. Here the butterflies are made in white as a wedding decor but organza being pure silk can of course be coloured in any necessary colour to match a chosen wedding theme. Which, to my mind, is a great advantage.
But even in pure white this set of a brooch and a hair clip looks very elegant and attractive. I have not forgotten to use ostrich feathers and Japanese seed beads as usual ☺

The range of butterflies I offer can be checked out here

Mint and turquoise butterfly headband

It is time to present one of my last creations here which I am rather proud about. First, I like the colours, very summery brights and at the same time cooling mint and turquoise shades. Second,  virtually nobody is indifferent to butterflies! And we have 3 mounted onto this headband, all of them in different colours, textures and shapes. I have used lace, 3 kinds of silk fabrics (satin, pongee, organza), seed beads in a lovely mix of colours and, of course, my paints for silk. What not to love about them? Me thinks it is an ideal hair accessory to wear with a dress in similar colours. It would look elegant at a wedding party, prom or in fact for any occasion when you want to add a splash of colour :-)

The mint and turquoise butterfly headband is a unnique creation of myself.