Peter Beales: classic English roses

Last Saturday in between the showers we set off to visit Peter Beales nursery, which so happens to be only 20 minutes drive from our place. Peter Beales, sadly deceased earlier this year, was very well known as a rosarian, author and lecturer. Beales was considered one of the leading experts on roses, especially species and classic roses, preserving many old varieties and introducing 70 new cultivars during his lifetime.

Our humble collection has one of Peter Beales' roses and we've got our eyes on another one for next year.

To read more please click here

Summer: sun, fun and flowers

What do you associate summer with?

 Warm weather, bright sun, blue-blue sky. Summer storms. Walks in the woods. Or, perhaps, in the meadows where amongst the sea of bright flowers you definitely spot a clover. Usually it comes in purple pink colour

Pink clover brooch

but sometimes you come across a white, slightly lime green variety. This summer flower, so tiny and humble, is one of the symbols of summer to me.

White clover oval brooch

 Designer white clover brooch is an intricate accessory for those who appreciate unusual understated one of a kind hand made pieces. It will look equally good pinned to a white office shirt (as in the picture) or to a summer linen jacket, light cotton dress or, perhaps, a hat.

The piece is created entirely by hand from scratch  using different types of pure silk fabrics (hand cut, hand painted, hand shaped and assembled). And I have not forgotten to include a lucky four leaf ☺

The brooch is finished with a brooch base.

Has this brooch made you think better of a simple clover flower? :-)

Trooping the colour ceremony and silk flowers

As you have probably heard, last Saturday Britain celebrated the Queen's official birthday with Trooping the Colour, a fabulous military parade.

Although the Queen was born on 21 April, it has long been the tradition to celebrate the Sovereign's birthday publicly on a day in the summer, when good weather is more likely. This military ceremony dates back to the early eighteenth century or earlier, when the colours (flags) of the battalion were carried (or 'trooped') down the ranks so that they could be seen and recognised by the soldiers.

Trooping the Colour is carried out by fully trained and operational troops, watched by members of the Royal Family, invited guests and members of the public. 

Naturally I was drawn to the celebration in order to observe what headwear members of the Royal family have chosen for the event.

A lot of attention has been drawn to the Duchess of Cambridge especially that it was her last  public appearance before the birth of her first child. In this nice picture we can see her pale pink Alexander McQueen coat and matching hat in more detail. 

Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall wore the Philip Treacy designed picture hat in a sparkly oyster coloured straw with a large upturned brim.

But most of all I was pleased when I saw the Duchess of Kent's hat. She wore a white pillbox hat trimmed with purple roses and a white tulle veil.

Interestingly the day before I painted one of my roses in a very similar colour.

For me silk flowers and hats is a marriage made in heaven and it is a pity we did not see many silk flowers on Royal hats at the parade. 

Here is one of my pillbox hats decorated with an open English rose:

Silk rose pillbox

Silk flower fascinators look equally stunning. Sometimes it takes just a flower to make a fascinator, like in this black rose fascinator

Black rose fascinator

or the oversized camellia headband

Oversized blush pink camellia hat

Do you use silk flowers to decorate your hats? If not, with what do you decorate them? Please share your opinions.

New tutorial out! Lace butterfly: a stunning accessory you can make yourself without special 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.

I think I have not met anyone who did not like butterflies. They are fascinating and delicate creatures full of beauty. No wonder we want to capture it and embody in our designs to enjoy their perfection and elegance as and when we want it.

I love creating butterflies made of delicate lace and pure silk. Such designs look appropriate in wedding themes, they are perfect for special occasions, as little girls’ hair accessories, etc. They make a nice gift too.

I have developed this tutorial in a way that you can make your own stunning lace butterfly accessory without having to use any specialised tools.

By varying the size of the butterfly and by using coloured laces you can create an accessory to match any outfit. This lace butterfly can be attached to a headband, a hair clip, a brooch base or just sewn onto a garment, such as a wedding dress.  It can be used in millinery too to decorate hats and fasciantors. The applications are endless. Once you have mastered the art of making lace butterflies you can easily create different accessories in sizes and colours that are required.

You will learn how to

• make beautifully light feather antennae
• create a stunning body of seed beads
• wire the wings so they hold their shape
• attach the butterfly to a headband / hair clip

For those of you who have a set of millinery tools I am preparing a FREE bonus tutorial on how to shape the velvet butterfly wings using a set of millinery tools for silk flower making as shown in the picture below. For this butterfly I have used a different template which I have included as well! 

To be able to receive the bonus tutorial you will need to be a subscriber to my blog. You can find the subscription form in the top right corner of this blog.

At the moment the lace butterfly tutorial is available for instant download now from my website here http://presentperfectcreations.com/product/lace-silk-butterfly-tutorial-pdf/

Should you have any questions regarding materials or tools prior to purchasing the tutorial please feel free to contact me via this blog (comments) 

Silk and Lace Butterfly tutorial

Mademoiselle and camellias

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

I am currently enjoying reading Chanel,  a book by Danielle Bott devoted to this famous fashion house, its founder, Mademoiselle Chanel and those revolutionary changes she brought into the world of fashion. The book covers five central themes  - the signature suit, the camellia, jewellery, fragrances and make-up.

As you may have guessed I was naturally drawn to the chapter which talks about the camellia, the favourite flower of Coco Chanel. Very much inspired by masculine clothes, she borrowed the flower from a new generation of dandies, who casually pinned a camellia on their jackets. She was enchanted by its perfect, almost geometric roundness. Besides, the camellia possessed the added advantage of not competing with her favourite perfume, as camellias are scentless.

Coco Chanel believed that beauty is nearly always born from radical simplicity. The camellia with its minimalist lines, well-defined curves and almost Art Nouveau  design was destined to appeal to her. The camellia became Coco's symbol, her icon, one of the recurring elements of her style, using it as an accessory in its natural form as well as interpreting it in unexpected ways in her designs.

An essential element in Mademoiselle's collections, the camellia is now reworked and reinterpreted by Karl Lagerfeld. The camellia stars in every catwalk show, always present, always surprising. Lagerfeld remodels the camellia in every imaginable way for every season in all sizes and fabrics in every one of his collections. In couture, accessories and fine jewellery, in every material - satin, velvet, leather, canvas, tulle, chiffon and tweed - the camellia is a spirit of fashion. Suffice it to say that every year more than twenty thousand camellias are handcrafted in Lemarie's flower and feather atellier, one of rue Cambon's satellite ateliers.

Camellia was one of the first flowers I created in silk. Since then I have experimented with other fabrics  (denim), genuine leather  as well as patterns, sizes, types of accessories and ways of shaping its petals.

Genuine leather camellias

Its almost perfect form is best shown when dense material like genuine leather or denim are used.

Distressed camellia hair clip

However, silk satin with its noble sheen and smooth surface remains a good choice. How about an oversized camellia made into a bridal fascinator? 

Oversized camellia fascinator in powder colour

For the above shown camellias I used a pattern which is very similar to the one of Chanel - geometrically round and very regular in shape. The other pattern I use is closer to the camellia flower in its natural form like these bridal camellias:

Bridal silk camellias

As I am planning my next collection, I have some new fabrics to experiment with, and camellia will be high on my list of flowers to experiment with, as its simple symmetrical from and clean lines appeal to me a lot. Do they to you?

Reduction on fascinators and headbands

With the end of the month fast approaching it is time to announce the last promotion week. So, till the end of May I am happy to offer a 10% discount on my line of fascinators, veils and headbands decorated with handmade flowers and butterflies.

Purple silk and lace butterfly headband

Fascinator is something we wear on our head but it is not exactly a hat. However, fascinators can have as much visual impact as hats. Chosen well they complete your look and make the wearer feel more confident.

Black rose fascinator with a birdcage veil

Fascinator is a perfect choice for little princesses and young ladies when they need to dress up for a wedding or any other special occasion which requires an impressive hairpiece to match an outfit and complete the look.

Girls' floral headband, hand painted silk

Pink lace and silk butterfly hairpiece for a little princess

 I create fasciantors using a wide range of materials from sinamay to silks, velvets etc. and decorate them with bead embroidery, wonderful feathers, veils, crin, lace etc.

Silk headpiece decorated with a golden pheasant feather

Such choice of textures and colours allows me to create pieces which perfectly match an outfit and suit an occasion (or a photoshoot maybe?). The fascinators can be attached to a headband, a hair comb, a hair clip,  a hat elastic depending on the design and your preferences.

Velvet orchid headdress

For more ideas of what I can offer please visit my Etsy shop. I will be pleased to see you on my Facebook page as well.

Discount on WEDDING ACCESSORIES AND FABRIC FLOWERS

As the May promotion continues I am happy to offer a 10% discount on my line of wedding and bridal accessories and fabric flowers. The offer is valid till 23 May 2013. To redeem your discount please use 13WEDDING10 coupon code on check out at my ETSY store.

Double cherry blossom wreath

Handmade fabric flowers are ideal to decorate bridal hairdos, wedding dresses and shoes. They add finishing touches to bridal hats and fascinators, which are the modern alternatives to a classic bridal veil.

Pearl silk peony fascinator with a veil

You may choose fabric flowers if you wish to have a keepsake of this very important day in your life. For example, a groom's buttonhole, a mother of the bride's corsage, a maid of honour's wrist corsage etc.

Calla lily boutonniere

Whilst I would suggest you get your bridal bouquet from a florist, I would recommend the accessories (especially those used for hair and clothing) be handmade from fabric. In this case the choice of  attachments (comb, headband, hair clip, shoe clip, brooch pin etc.), colour options (blue rose, golden peony etc.), types of flowers (lily-of-the-valley, cornflower and similar are not found at florists) is almost endless.

Large assymmtrical rose in golden silk

If you opt for a themed wedding, for example, a sunflower theme, you could not do without handmade miniature fabric flowers. Imagine trying to decorate your hairdo with these huge blooms!

Silk and velvet sunflower for hair

Gone are the days when the wedding was only associated with whites, ivories, creams. Nowadays weddings have a colour scheme or a theme to them and these options are endless. They create opportunities for new ideas and interesting interpretations.
Whether you love the idea of a traditional white wedding or would rather go for some brigther unusual schemes,  handmade fabric flowers will work in both cases. The choice of colour, size, type of bloom can be customized according to your preferences. Remember, if you can see what you want in my portfolio of designs please contact me to discuss your ideas either via this blog or my Etsy shop.

Promotion on brooches and corsages

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

Continuing with my May promotion I am offering a 10% discount on brooches and corsages till 16 May. 

The brooches and corsages can be made of silk or other fabric as well as real leather. Gone are the days when we used brooches to decorate a jacket lapel or a dress. Now they are embellishing belts, handbags, clutches, hats and all sorts.

Leather and suede brooches do work really well with leather handbags and belts, like these fantasy camellias:

To read more please click here

Special offer on hair accessories this week.

To give my customers an opportunity to get ready for the summer season and purchase new floral accessories with a discount in May I am running a series of promotions on 4 lines of accessories. Each promotion will run from Friday to Thursday. The following lines are taking part:

• brooches
• hair accessories
• bridal accessories
• hats and fascinators

The choice of a line is random and will be announced each week on Friday on my Facebook page . 

So we'll start with the hair accessories.

Till 9 May I am happy to offer a 10% DISCOUT on my hair accessories range. To get it please use HAIRMAY10 coupon code on check out at my Etsy shop

During last week I have added some new pieces to the line. One of them is this purple butterfly headband    

made of lace and naturals silks in shades or purple and mauve. This purple headdress will complement an outfit in similar hues for a special occasion or a romantic night out. It is perfect for purple themed weddings as well.

Another romantic headpiece to my range is the turquoise and chocolate brown silk and velvet headband with a fantasy dahlia flower. This original bright piece is ideal to complete a summer look. 

Of course we should not forget roses as popular summer favourites like this English multipetal rose hair clip.

In most cases I am able to offer these designs in other colours to suit your preferences. You can coontact me via my blog or my Etsy shop to discuss a custom order.

For the full range of hair accessories please head to my Etsy shop at https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/PresentPerfectStudio

For hot news and announcements feel free to join my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/PresentPerfectCreations

keep your eyes peeled to this page for the new announcements.

And...

happy shopping! :-)

Little princess' teasure box

As well as their Mummies little girls love to get dressed in new pretty outfits for special occasions. And what can be the best compliment to that outfit if not a cute designer custom-made hair accessory? 

I have made floral accessories in silk and other fabrics as well as fascinators in sinamay for young ladies.

One of my long-standing favourites is this original silk and lace butterfly headband in sugar pink. I painted all the fabrics by hand  using colours for silk. This allows me to create the accessory in an array of colours to perfectly match a little girl's dress. The butterfly is decorated with ostrich feathers and Japanese seed beads.

 This is an example of a delicate floral headpiece accented with pearl beads in a matching colour. I used pure silk fabrics of several types and painted them by hand. A headdress like this one is ideal for little bridesmaids at weddings.  Other colours are available to order.

 This alice headband decorated with a distressed denim camellia flower is a versatile hair accessory for the coming summer. Not only will it complete little princess' denim outfits, but it will also complement her light romantic dresses and skirts with floral prints. I would recommend it for everyday wear. To get  your own complete set of denim accessories you can order a brooch and hair clips made with the same fabric.

My latest creation for young ladies is this elegant triple bow of sinamay and birdcage veil on a headband. I embroidered the centre of the bow with Japanese seed beads and covered the headband in Indian dupioni sik in a matching colour. 

 This fascinator is perfect for special occasions and can be made to order in other colours to complement an chosen outfit and to complete the look.

I have more ideas to add to the collection of little princess' accessories so keep your eyes peeled for them :-)))