tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28390025346220262632024-03-13T22:38:17.939-05:00Weekly Flower TherapyIntroducing affordable and experimental ideas of living with flowers and plants weekly. I live in the city of Chicago. The long gray brutally cold weather doesn't help my home being lively and cheerful. One solution is to display flowers and plants in the house, however often times they are very pricey. I will purchase flowers and plants weekly under $10 to dress up my house creatively.Ohana Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15675544077316404884noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839002534622026263.post-38866642455583346592011-05-21T12:31:00.000-05:002011-05-21T12:31:18.417-05:00WFT Extra 008: Chicago Balcony GardeningI just thought it would be nice to share my recommendation of perennial plants that you might want to consider growing on your balcony. I am not a professional gardener, so these are just from four years of my limited experience of balcony gardening in the Windy city. <br />
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<br />
<u>GREAT</u><i> </i><br />
- Clematis -> needs leading and trimming but pretty low maintenance. almost impossible to kill it. <br />
- Phlox -> very strong. grows a lot. <br />
- Campanula -> it grows at decent rate. <br />
- Dianthus -> depending on the specie, some gets weaker over the years. <br />
- Blue Salvia -> it pretty much sustains the original size. <br />
- Iris -> very strong. it should not be planted with other plants. <br />
- Lily -> not over powering but very durable. <br />
<br />
<u>OK</u><br />
- Muscari -> it came back every year but got weaker each time. <br />
- Lupine -> it was fine for the first 2 years. do not like humidity. <br />
- Mum -> some looked very weak the second year. <br />
<u><br />
</u><br />
<u>BAD</u><br />
- French Lavender -> totally died after the first winter. <br />
- Any potted tree -> we killed two firs and a plum tree.<br />
- Oswego Tea -> cannot stop growing. it'll take over your entire balcony. it looks like a weed. Ohana Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15675544077316404884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839002534622026263.post-33756517679091735852011-05-17T22:35:00.001-05:002011-05-18T21:53:05.578-05:00015: Flower IslandI was doing spring cleaning this past weekend and found a vase that I got from our friends' wedding that I totally forgot where I placed. So I took the opportunity to used this vase as an inspiration of this week's WFT. It's a shallow bowl that they used for center pieces. We had the original plant (it was Japanese Peace Lily) for a while but it died when we went abroad. We couldn't ask our cat sitter to sit plants as well... <br />
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I went to Fleur de Lis this week for the first time in a while. They had so many handsome flowers and I couldn't decide what to get again! I got a stem of these pink flowers, which I forgot the name of, some purple Anemones and a stem of Dianthus. My idea was to create an island with Dianthus in the center of the vase surrounded by water and the flowers were growing out of it. Since we live in a condo and can't have a pond on our terrace, this is a quick alternative for a little urban oasis;) I used a flower frog in the middle to make the island. The vase was bigger than I thought compared to what I came back from the store, so I cheated a bit again and used my garden flowers. I added Pansies and Phlox and made them floated on the water. This is a trick I learned recently from a TV show to make an arrangement with a tight budget. In the show, they used a mirror to reflect the floating petals. I didn't have a large enough mirror to try it out but I thought it was quite brilliant and would like to try it sometime.<br />
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It was very quick from the start to finish but I am very satisfied with. I think the key to make a quick good arrangement is not to have a very strong idea from the beginning. If you do, then, you get stuck with what you want it to look like so much that you might kill the natural beauty of the flowers. Now, the only concern that I have with this arrangement is my cats might try to drink water out of it! Let's hope not.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-w1OUhVTeVfQ/TdM9IET8API/AAAAAAAAAGc/A6Le8W3GLt0/s1600/2011-05-17_15-42-38_679.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-w1OUhVTeVfQ/TdM9IET8API/AAAAAAAAAGc/A6Le8W3GLt0/s320/2011-05-17_15-42-38_679.jpg" width="179" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q0Ae0xGzius/TdM-NYZKhWI/AAAAAAAAAGs/4iFkxzzWnlY/s1600/2011-05-17_15-58-41_367.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q0Ae0xGzius/TdM-NYZKhWI/AAAAAAAAAGs/4iFkxzzWnlY/s320/2011-05-17_15-58-41_367.jpg" width="179" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HnidlyjJ1yg/TdM9WvW-RyI/AAAAAAAAAGg/myb3_dBPEPk/s1600/2011-05-17_15-58-35_171.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HnidlyjJ1yg/TdM9WvW-RyI/AAAAAAAAAGg/myb3_dBPEPk/s320/2011-05-17_15-58-35_171.jpg" width="179" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--CmoC4p6tlM/TdSF1N93DVI/AAAAAAAAAG0/ivIvKMRNzSs/s1600/2011-05-18_16-40-20_38.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--CmoC4p6tlM/TdSF1N93DVI/AAAAAAAAAG0/ivIvKMRNzSs/s320/2011-05-18_16-40-20_38.jpg" width="179" /></a></div>Ohana Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15675544077316404884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839002534622026263.post-52836446644638768262011-05-14T12:23:00.000-05:002011-05-14T12:23:59.594-05:00014: Fragrant CapsuleI had been looking for English roses to do some experimental arrangements by accentuating it's fragrance. I just happened to be at <a href="http://www.nmh.org/nm/prentice+womens+hospital">Prentice Women's Hospital </a>to see my friends and their new born baby and realized that when I was there to give birth to my son last summer, I always wanted to stop in to the flower shop but never got the chance. Finally I got to check the shop out and it was very nice. They have a good size inventory and the store set up is really interesting. It is in the lobby and basically have no designated "retail space" but they are at one corner of the lobby and have a large exterior iron gate that separates their area and the rest of the lobby. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jwehX5v3LTM/Tc2XrpMi5cI/AAAAAAAAAGE/c_ZUEMgxhbk/s1600/2011-05-07_14-12-18_232.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jwehX5v3LTM/Tc2XrpMi5cI/AAAAAAAAAGE/c_ZUEMgxhbk/s320/2011-05-07_14-12-18_232.jpg" width="179" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qXvjdOPTazY/Tc2Xo84k63I/AAAAAAAAAGA/d1nnhTg8AQ0/s1600/2011-05-07_14-08-55_587.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qXvjdOPTazY/Tc2Xo84k63I/AAAAAAAAAGA/d1nnhTg8AQ0/s320/2011-05-07_14-08-55_587.jpg" width="179" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>I went in not expecting that they would have English roses but they had one! And it's the light pink one that I really wanted get. The shop clerk told me that it smells so good. I was truly lucky:) I got one stem that had a big blossom and a couple of more buds. I also got stems of similar color Alstroemeria and some greens.<br />
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My idea came from a candle display at a flower shop in Paris called <a href="http://www.odorantes-paris.com/">Odorantes</a> that they had each one in separate glass domes and that captures the fragrance. I was wondering if I could capture the fragrance of English roses in a glass capsule. I only had various size glass vases and decided to use them upside down on a teacup saucer. Because of the size of the vases, I was able to make three arrangements. Though it took me about three attempts, I realized that I NEEDED to make more than one and killed some Alstroemerias.<br />
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At the end, I don't know if these were a success or not... In terms of capturing fragrance, I did succeed. It smelled so good. But, I noticed that because they are living thing, it condensates in the glass. Oh well, making unconventional object is not an easy thing to do;P <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gFyBZnYj0OQ/Tc2aEDZdN0I/AAAAAAAAAGM/DdXGkul3QRM/s1600/2011-05-07_19-19-14_643.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gFyBZnYj0OQ/Tc2aEDZdN0I/AAAAAAAAAGM/DdXGkul3QRM/s320/2011-05-07_19-19-14_643.jpg" width="179" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n-zTt227arw/Tc2aG5pGUAI/AAAAAAAAAGQ/EQ7AQ_IrQvU/s1600/2011-05-07_19-21-54_365.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n-zTt227arw/Tc2aG5pGUAI/AAAAAAAAAGQ/EQ7AQ_IrQvU/s320/2011-05-07_19-21-54_365.jpg" width="179" /></a></div>Ohana Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15675544077316404884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839002534622026263.post-65733504676735236742011-05-04T09:36:00.001-05:002011-05-05T20:58:54.339-05:00013: Gardening Season Begins<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>FINALLY!!! The gardening season has arrived after months and months of cold grey winter. This week, I didn't do $10 arrangement but I went to my favorite nursery called <a href="http://www.thegrowingplace.com/">The Growing Place</a> in Aurora, a far west suburb of Chicago, to get some plants to fill up my dead terrace. The weather was wonderful and my son had an awesome time with his grandma walking around a beautiful garden while his mama being busy shopping.<br />
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I had been buying a lot of perennials since we moved into our current place in the city, which has a good size terrace with planters along the edge so that the flowers would come back every year. But after trying this for several years and not being completely successful each year because the winter here is way too brutal for any plants in planters, I basically gave up on adding more perennials and went with all annuals. I was ignorant enough not knowing that even though perennials come back each year, their blooming period is very short and you cannot enjoy them for a long time. On the other hand, annuals are obviously not coming back next season, but they tend to have a longer blooming period and a lot of them bloom all summer long. So this year, I decided to add more annuals to my "garden".<br />
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I wanted to get Rananculas every season but never got one because it's an annual flower, so I grabbed a yellow one first even though it is a spring flower and won't last incredibly long. The reason why I chose yellow was that my mom told me that yellow flowers bring you wealth according to Feng shui;P And I was going crazy going back and forth in the annual section and got about eight various flowers. Of course I color-coordinated them imagining what goes where. In addition to the planters on the edge of our terrace, I had several pots available this year that contained dead plants, and choosing the flowers for them was basically the same procedure as making bouquets. <br />
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The last item that I got was a bush of roses. For a long time, I wanted to try growing roses but was hesitant to do it because it seemed like so much work and didn't think it would grow in a pot or a planter. But I re-read an old magazine I got a long time ago that had some articles about growing different types of roses and they encouraged me to get one. I was going to get a pot of English roses because one of the articles said it can be grown in a pot fairly easily. As I was about to get it, I decided to ask a shop clerk there for her opinion. She told me that English roses are very fragrant but only bloom once during the season, whereas spray roses bloom all season long. She actually grew one herself once in a pot and was very easy and enjoyed it a lot. So I went with spray roses.<br />
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I planted everything and now I can't wait to see everything settles and grows bigger. I love cut flowers a lot but I also LOVE planted flowers. They have a different kind of enjoyment. They change everyday and grow more beautiful over time. Also, you can enjoy some of them as cut flowers as well. I am hoping that I can add them to my WFT arrangement sometime! If you are hesitant to grow flowers or plants in your garden, please try it. I love to garden because it makes me forget everything that's bothering me while I'm touching the plants and it works as a true therapy for me.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sd0LHl87t4Y/TcFj4STAE4I/AAAAAAAAAFs/bcYvdfhEk68/s1600/2011-05-01_07-34-46_186.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sd0LHl87t4Y/TcFj4STAE4I/AAAAAAAAAFs/bcYvdfhEk68/s320/2011-05-01_07-34-46_186.jpg" width="179" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CVoXz2qX-fk/TcFj8bZ7R7I/AAAAAAAAAFw/YS2k4EFuhI4/s1600/2011-05-02_10-14-09_856.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CVoXz2qX-fk/TcFj8bZ7R7I/AAAAAAAAAFw/YS2k4EFuhI4/s320/2011-05-02_10-14-09_856.jpg" width="179" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uKS-rSbWATM/TcFkAs9ZIZI/AAAAAAAAAF0/z2Jgkkl8T5Y/s1600/2011-05-02_10-14-51_633.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uKS-rSbWATM/TcFkAs9ZIZI/AAAAAAAAAF0/z2Jgkkl8T5Y/s320/2011-05-02_10-14-51_633.jpg" width="179" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WRlnY5QI-TE/TcFkE6hFnFI/AAAAAAAAAF4/EeNMbZn0yf4/s1600/2011-05-02_10-15-11_532.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WRlnY5QI-TE/TcFkE6hFnFI/AAAAAAAAAF4/EeNMbZn0yf4/s320/2011-05-02_10-15-11_532.jpg" width="179" /></a></div>Ohana Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15675544077316404884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839002534622026263.post-64258220664513881632011-04-25T13:12:00.000-05:002011-04-25T13:12:09.892-05:00012: Easter EggsHappy Easter!!! This week's WFT is something that I haven't done yet; Making my own vase. It's not that I made a pottery or glassware. I just used some usual object to make a temporary vase for the arrangement. Because it was Easter weekend, I made some brownies and reused egg shells for the vase. It was fairly easy to make. You just need to know what to cook with the inside because you don't want to throw all of the edible stuff away. <br />
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Here's how you make it. Prepare half a dozen raw eggs. Hammer the top gently with a spoon to crack just enough to take egg white and yolk out of the shell. Wash and dry them thoroughly. Put them together with a hot glue gun however you like, but the tip is to have three points hitting on the table so that it will balance by itself. Now you can poor water into each egg and put some flowers in them. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vyFDl_B2F6c/TbWQ4YZdiMI/AAAAAAAAAFI/VEvIB1hRSjU/s1600/2011-04-22_14-04-30_634.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vyFDl_B2F6c/TbWQ4YZdiMI/AAAAAAAAAFI/VEvIB1hRSjU/s320/2011-04-22_14-04-30_634.jpg" width="179" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NNGxCOVqUW4/TbWQ67Z6XnI/AAAAAAAAAFM/u8mdLMlbTnQ/s1600/2011-04-22_14-05-59_600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NNGxCOVqUW4/TbWQ67Z6XnI/AAAAAAAAAFM/u8mdLMlbTnQ/s320/2011-04-22_14-05-59_600.jpg" width="179" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pf3G1G-Wrd0/TbWQ9BINWzI/AAAAAAAAAFQ/YT_Dz_E5mdo/s1600/2011-04-22_15-11-52_864.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pf3G1G-Wrd0/TbWQ9BINWzI/AAAAAAAAAFQ/YT_Dz_E5mdo/s400/2011-04-22_15-11-52_864.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Since this "vase" is pretty small, I didn't need too many flowers. I found a flower called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scabiosa">Scabiosa</a> (aka Pincushion Flower) at the florist. It's a light purple flower with a lot of petals that are placed radially. It is native in Europe and Asia. I purchased two stems of it and a stem of green Hypericum berries. Even though the vase is very small, I needed a few more materials, so I decided to add some leftover Ivy from last week and some Pansies from my "garden" that are blooming right now. Having some flowers or greens in your yard is very handy when you make a small arrangement like this. Since the main flower this time looks very wild, the supporting flowers don't need to be very "commercial" like store bought flowers. So I put Scabiosas in the middle to make a highest point and Pansies on both sides that were lower than the center. Then I added greens pretty much in each egg to create smooth transition between these two types of flowers. I made this arrangement on a long ceramic saucer with some Spanish moss under the eggs to give them extra sturdiness. <br />
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I started to like this type of "wild" garden type arrangement. It's very challenging to make it look real and effortless but I now respect the natural forms that living objects take on much more than I did before.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-47hkQTbIm1Y/TbWahXGMydI/AAAAAAAAAFY/4Jgu9MQCYEE/s1600/2011-04-24_11-16-46_109.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-47hkQTbIm1Y/TbWahXGMydI/AAAAAAAAAFY/4Jgu9MQCYEE/s320/2011-04-24_11-16-46_109.jpg" width="179" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cI5OnLj9TnU/TbWalBUBTWI/AAAAAAAAAFc/Kj5JJs4bt7I/s1600/2011-04-24_11-36-04_763.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cI5OnLj9TnU/TbWalBUBTWI/AAAAAAAAAFc/Kj5JJs4bt7I/s320/2011-04-24_11-36-04_763.jpg" width="179" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6dM0RfsTbpc/TbWbFX4qj4I/AAAAAAAAAFg/FKuMXKEHOVs/s1600/2011-04-24_11-35-51_452.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6dM0RfsTbpc/TbWbFX4qj4I/AAAAAAAAAFg/FKuMXKEHOVs/s400/2011-04-24_11-35-51_452.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Ohana Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15675544077316404884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839002534622026263.post-33724363850318299972011-04-18T23:06:00.003-05:002011-04-19T09:58:01.468-05:00011: Baby ShowerI need to apologize that this week's WFT is waaaaay over budget... That's because I had the privilege to be a co-host of my dear friend's baby shower. There were four of us hosting this shower and I got to take the decoration part of it:) My idea was to bring spring elements with an earthy feel into the decor for the new arrival. I made three major pieces; Crane Chandelier, Ivy Wreath and Landscape Centerpiece.<br />
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The Crane Chandelier idea was created with a series accidents. I knew that I wanted to use Cherry branches that I saw at <a href="http://www.christinenoelledesign.com/">Cristine Noelle Design</a> when I went in for the first time. One of the co-hosts mentioned that her mom made a garland of baby t-shirts and socks for her baby shower and I was going to incorporate that into my branch chandelier. When I went to the florist to pick up some of the branches, I realized that they weren't structurally sound enough to hang clothes, so that idea went down the drain. Then my husband came up with an idea of hanging some origami cranes, which are super light. That was brilliant! That's something that I can create with my eyes closed (literally) and super airy looking as I was envisioning. So here are some pics of the final product and additional branches with one crane that I put in a vase at the entry. The straw-looking ribbon that I purchased for the last week's WFT came in handy to hang the entire chandelier from the ceiling to accentuate the natural look that I was going for.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CJJdw3gkkQQ/TaynMDE1dXI/AAAAAAAAAEs/obeDL3RWXz8/s1600/DSC_5223.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CJJdw3gkkQQ/TaynMDE1dXI/AAAAAAAAAEs/obeDL3RWXz8/s400/DSC_5223.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FxA8R8E6gOQ/TaynciiXOnI/AAAAAAAAAEw/EXU5D5xQkmQ/s1600/DSC_5225.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FxA8R8E6gOQ/TaynciiXOnI/AAAAAAAAAEw/EXU5D5xQkmQ/s400/DSC_5225.JPG" width="400" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xpzhNgL0GQg/TaynodHvVUI/AAAAAAAAAE0/fwg_KEVi0Wg/s1600/DSC_5234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xpzhNgL0GQg/TaynodHvVUI/AAAAAAAAAE0/fwg_KEVi0Wg/s400/DSC_5234.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>The wreath and the centerpiece were sort of twins. They needed to be cohesive to tie the entire decor together. I don't know why I wanted ivy so much for the wreath from the beginning but I wanted them to look like a scene from Hansel and Gretel, so that was my inspiration for both of these pieces. Since the baby is going to be a boy, I thought Muscari is appropriate for the main flower for the centerpiece. I had been looking all over the city for potted Muscari for the past week but couldn't find one anywhere. So while I was at the florist to pick up the branches, I asked if they could get me two pots of Muscari along with a pot of white Ranunculus, freshly cut Ivy vines for the wreath and some "sheet moss". I was so happy that I could order everything at one place and didn't need to worry about running all over the city. But things don't usually go as you planned, right? They couldn't get the white Rananculus but got me Muscari, Ivy and "sheet moss". When I went to pick them up the day before the party, I found out that the Muscari that they got me was way too young and I couldn't see its blue color at all. I felt really bad but I needed to ask them to take them back as well and grabbed the rest of the items. My mind went blank when I realized that I pretty much didn't have anything at this point. So I basically ran around the city trying to find something I could use and luckily I found a white Rananculus and a blue Hyacinth for a substitute to Muscari at a hardware store. I went back home and was going to start making the centerpiece. Then I realized that the "sheet moss" was literally moss that was adhered to a sheet. What I thought "sheet moss" was natural moss that I got for my "Moss Ball" project that comes "like" a sheet, not literally on a sheet... Great. Now I had to bring that back as well. I felt really sorry for the florist, who tried their hardest to satisfy my request but I only kept the Ivy from the whole bunch. Trust me, if it was for myself, I would have worked around with what I got but it's totally different when you make something for someone else. Anyhow, long story short, I got all the materials I need including live moss from the florist when I returned the "sheet moss". And this was about 4 hours until the party. Then I put everything together super fast. For both of the pieces, I added natural moss with some edible mushrooms from a grocery store. They made them very earthy! The good thing was that I had a vision of what these two pieces should look like, so it went very smoothly except that my son picked up some dirt off the floor and ate it!! I had to shove a wet paper towel into his mouth and clean it. It was a very memorable moment to realize that I am truly the mother of a boy. <br />
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The party went very well. I'm happy that the mother-to-be seemed to like everything. Other hosts did an awesome job cooking yummy food and baking a delicious desert. It was a great learning experience for how to decorate a party with flowers. I was exhausted afterwords but it's so worth seeing my friend enjoying it:) <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IiuhLNxrCOQ/Ta0AA7sbweI/AAAAAAAAAE4/EVLu71wABR4/s1600/04162011+shower+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IiuhLNxrCOQ/Ta0AA7sbweI/AAAAAAAAAE4/EVLu71wABR4/s320/04162011+shower+4.JPG" width="214" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CRMN7O2e-G4/Ta0AJm0DLAI/AAAAAAAAAE8/vjyw0YffrwU/s1600/DSC_5227.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CRMN7O2e-G4/Ta0AJm0DLAI/AAAAAAAAAE8/vjyw0YffrwU/s320/DSC_5227.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P9hnFVwD1Ws/Ta0AgZ-gPQI/AAAAAAAAAFA/KdrCalkcIqM/s1600/DSC_5237.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P9hnFVwD1Ws/Ta0AgZ-gPQI/AAAAAAAAAFA/KdrCalkcIqM/s320/DSC_5237.jpg" width="214" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hdig2ITjPx0/Ta0AoMYUgxI/AAAAAAAAAFE/1Iukd-OBthM/s1600/DSC_5246.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hdig2ITjPx0/Ta0AoMYUgxI/AAAAAAAAAFE/1Iukd-OBthM/s320/DSC_5246.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>Ohana Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15675544077316404884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839002534622026263.post-72171646798332418352011-04-13T13:03:00.000-05:002011-04-13T13:03:46.910-05:00010: NaturalismSince I went to see cherry blossoms this past weekend, I planned to do something with branches for this week's WFT. It was quite interesting how this idea popped up because the TV show that I started watching last week, "Super Flower Lesson", was about a bouquet with branches this week. I didn't know about it at all and I even was going to do WFT before the show, but I decided to watch it just in case I might be able to learn more technical tips or to get other ideas from it. But what an odd coincidence!! It just happened to show how to arrange a garden style bouquet and the main thing about it was to add some branches in the bouquet to make it look more natural. Apparently, naturalism is now a popular thing in the Paris flower scene. Adding branches and other natural elements like berries are the key. Also keeping the stems long and tying them with natural materials like vines or straw is very hip. So I decided to give this a shot. <br />
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When I went to the flower shop, the person recommended me to try some large Tulips that are a very gentle pinkish orange color. So I was all for them. Then there was a gorgeous red Garden Rose in the cooler and I was going to get it but the color was a bit too bold next to the Tulips. So I took that back and instead, I got two Calla Leaves that had an orange tint in the middle. And of course, I got a couple of Willow branches. I was quite happy with what I got so far but after I left the florist, I thought that more "natural" elements could be added. So while I was at the grocery store, I looked for some more natural looking greens. Man, their flowers are so pricey... Well, that's because they don't sell them individually. Anyhow, I quickly gave up on getting additional items at their flower section. In stead, I found a bunch of Dills and some orange Habanero Peppers in the produce section and decided to use them. Dills look pretty much like Cosmos leaves and I knew they'd fit in the "garden" bouquet theme. Peppers might have been a little bit of a stretch, but I needed some more pop in the bouquet. So I took a risk and got them. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wU2_8sK3ncQ/TaXjgXK429I/AAAAAAAAAEY/UPhusg1vHNU/s1600/2011-04-12_16-32-30_663.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wU2_8sK3ncQ/TaXjgXK429I/AAAAAAAAAEY/UPhusg1vHNU/s320/2011-04-12_16-32-30_663.jpg" width="179" /></a></div> It was a bit harder to arrange because Dills are not flowers and are very flimsy. But I managed to put them together after 5 attempts! From the TV show I learned what's called the "Spiral Technique" that you put flowers diagonally and making them a spiral. If you are right handed, you hold the flowers on your left hand and put flower closer to you and stem away from you. This was much harder than I thought. In the middle of doing it, I was confused if I was right handed or left handed... Because I realized that I always used to changed hands when I made a bouquet. Also, I sometimes do things left handed like snow boarding or backwards skating. So I tried both and still don't know which one I'm good at! Finally I became satisfied with how it looked and was able to tie the stems with straw ribbons I got from <a href="http://www.paper-source.com/">Paper Source</a>, another great store down the street from my home. To make it a Parisian bouquet is to wrap the ribbon wide and cut it very short to minimize distraction to keep the main attraction still be the flowers, not the ribbon. <br />
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When my husband came home and saw the new bouquet on the dining table, he LOVED it! He totally got the theme right away, and that means this was a huge success!!!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XHtNFaVo6T8/TaXkMUG-QQI/AAAAAAAAAEc/7ShQsJDSJUk/s1600/2011-04-12_17-41-54_134.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XHtNFaVo6T8/TaXkMUG-QQI/AAAAAAAAAEc/7ShQsJDSJUk/s320/2011-04-12_17-41-54_134.jpg" width="179" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yA7QpvuuWPI/TaXkPS5p9cI/AAAAAAAAAEg/wlf0EqxImoU/s1600/2011-04-12_17-43-01_37.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yA7QpvuuWPI/TaXkPS5p9cI/AAAAAAAAAEg/wlf0EqxImoU/s320/2011-04-12_17-43-01_37.jpg" width="179" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7lyjPLTzMB0/TaXkgyX2QRI/AAAAAAAAAEo/Ycfpa_dk1gM/s1600/DSC_5187.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7lyjPLTzMB0/TaXkgyX2QRI/AAAAAAAAAEo/Ycfpa_dk1gM/s400/DSC_5187.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Ohana Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15675544077316404884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839002534622026263.post-88753585619989163702011-04-10T11:17:00.000-05:002011-04-10T12:13:46.013-05:00WFT Extra 007: Cherry BlossomsFor people in Japan, April is one of the most important months of the year. It's the celebration of a new period. Our fiscal year, school year and even employment start in April with the addition of mother nature: Cherry blossoms. <br />
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It has been quite hard missing this season for almost 10 years by being in the US. My husband and I used to go to <a href="http://www.bbg.org/">Brooklyn Botanic Garden</a> every year for their cherry festival when we lived in NY. It was very fun and the blossoms were beautiful there. But their cherry trees are mostly "Yae-zakura", which blooms a bit later than "Yoshino" (spicy); the most common one in Japan. "Yae-zakura" actually looks a lot bigger with more layers of petals than "Yoshino". So for me, the blossoms in Brooklyn weren't quite the same as what I used to enjoy seeing in Japan. But this year, we were lucky enough to enjoy them here in the States! This weekend, we went visit Washington DC, the most famous cherry blossom site outside of Japan. <br />
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We got a piece of last minute information from my husband's uncle who lives in Virginia as to where to see the blossoms. The place is a subdivision called Kenwood in Bethesda, MD by Kenwood Country Club. It's not so big of a subdivision but it's very historical. The developer focused on landscaping of the area and planted trees way before the first house was built (<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/10/AR2010041002612.html">click here for the detail story about the area</a>). <br />
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The weather was not as nice as the day before but at lease it wasn't raining yet. When we got there, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Each street was like a tunnel made of beautiful cherry blossoms and this was EXACTLY how I remembered one street by my grammar school. And the timing was so perfect that the blossoms were almost toward the end and when the wind blew, there was a phenomenon similar to a snow of petals coming down from all of the trees. It reminded me of my favorite line from the beginning of <i>The Tales of Heike</i>, "The proud do not endure, they are like a dream on a spring night; the mighty fall at last, they are as dust before the wind." This scenery was literally dream-like, as my husband said, and we enjoyed every second of it. We both envy people who are able to live in this area. The important thing to remember, though, is that it doesn't last forever. This short period of time of the year makes it so special. If you have a chance, I highly recommend everybody go see it next year (but please remember to be respectful to the residences)! <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CYrygYnBzlk/TaHVlECGfDI/AAAAAAAAAEU/rU-bX25XLMQ/s1600/2011-04-08_11-31-33_16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CYrygYnBzlk/TaHVlECGfDI/AAAAAAAAAEU/rU-bX25XLMQ/s320/2011-04-08_11-31-33_16.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zOfKtgfWMPM/TaHVZWXBGOI/AAAAAAAAAEM/elGGiioRSh8/s1600/2011-04-08_11-30-03_820.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zOfKtgfWMPM/TaHVZWXBGOI/AAAAAAAAAEM/elGGiioRSh8/s320/2011-04-08_11-30-03_820.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EyqyQ0mrfH4/TaHVffAIGRI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/xhHALFRqEYY/s1600/2011-04-08_11-31-12_948.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="177" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EyqyQ0mrfH4/TaHVffAIGRI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/xhHALFRqEYY/s320/2011-04-08_11-31-12_948.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e7dvovMILFg/TaHVOFhkTJI/AAAAAAAAAEE/E5mFoF_vz7o/s1600/2011-04-08_11-28-23_439.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="177" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e7dvovMILFg/TaHVOFhkTJI/AAAAAAAAAEE/E5mFoF_vz7o/s320/2011-04-08_11-28-23_439.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Ohana Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15675544077316404884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839002534622026263.post-56542195508765486892011-04-06T15:20:00.000-05:002011-04-06T15:20:56.179-05:00009: Mini Bouquet Haute CoutureI was watching the Japanese TV channel at home on Monday afternoon playing with my son not knowing there was a new show starting. It was called <a href="http://www.nhk.or.jp/sflower/">"Super Flower Lesson"</a>. I could not believe what I was watching. It's a show about flower arrangement taught by a famous French floral designer, <a href="http://www.catherine-muller.fr/index/catherine-muller.php">Catherine Muller</a>!!! I kind of ignored my son and was staring at the TV for 25 minutes... This was exactly what I was looking for. Anyhow, it showed who she was, her short bio, how she showcased her design in the grand lobby of The Paris Opera House for a charity event, etc. It was so inspiring. Then, the program showed a lesson of how to create her signature piece "Bouquet Haute Couture". It's a bouquet that she presented 10 years ago that made her famous. It is a spherical bouquet of Calla Lilies, Christmas Roses and Anemone that keeps a long stem with some green Orchid cascading down even onto the bottom of the stem. It was so nice to see an real floral designer showing how to do certain techniques, which I never knew.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-caKSfYKYrDI/TZykBJxniOI/AAAAAAAAADs/UigTJRcUC6s/s1600/31203618.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-caKSfYKYrDI/TZykBJxniOI/AAAAAAAAADs/UigTJRcUC6s/s200/31203618.jpg" width="181" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2DmSlAlcFXw/TZykDWc2ExI/AAAAAAAAADw/jB7lLY8b2ug/s1600/pic_110402_03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="134" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2DmSlAlcFXw/TZykDWc2ExI/AAAAAAAAADw/jB7lLY8b2ug/s200/pic_110402_03.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
So this week, I decided to make my own take of "Bouquet Haute Couture" with my $10 budget. That was a real challenge. I went to Fleur de Lis to see what they had this week. They showed me hot pink Carnations first. They were quite beautiful but I wanted to stick with materials that Catherine used in the show, so I asked how much the Callas were, which turned out to be a mistake... They were $9 a stem! I'm used to the grocery store price and didn't know how drastically the price can change. So the whole Calla based bouquet idea was gone. They showed me other interesting flowers that I was interested in but it was getting farther and farther away from what I was originally intending on doing. So I started over again and decided to get the Carnations they recommended. They were $1 a stem. I got seven of those, a Tea Leaf and some Lily Grass. I got a Tea Leaf so that I could wrap it on the stem to thicken it and Lily Leaves were the substitute of Ivy vines that Catherine used to tie the stems. <br />
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Luckily (;p) when I came back from the shop, my son was sleeping like a champ in the stroller, so I left him in it and started working on the bouquet. I think with the small amount of flowers, I did pretty well on making them round and puffy. The problems came after that. Obviously, the Tea Leaf was way too big compared to the size of my bouquet, so I needed to split into two pieces to be able to wrap it around the stem. Then I added the last flower at the bottom of the stem. Then, the last thing was the Lily Grass... I tried and tried to fasten the stem with them like the original one was with Ivy. But I failed so badly. Well, sometimes it just won't work. I felt difficulties of working with live objects so much. But I managed to put the grass in a glass vase and made them look like ballet shoes ribbons like she mentioned in the show. <br />
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It's probably better to have a bit higher budget to make a bouquet, but I really enjoyed it. And most importantly, I learned a lot!!! <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mWGa6wElVI0/TZzAtneCHrI/AAAAAAAAAD0/QYBPx0uQYVQ/s1600/2011-04-05_11-31-01_951.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mWGa6wElVI0/TZzAtneCHrI/AAAAAAAAAD0/QYBPx0uQYVQ/s320/2011-04-05_11-31-01_951.jpg" width="179" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uKtKjuBJgk4/TZzAxbfJWZI/AAAAAAAAAD4/guiZBewaUKY/s1600/2011-04-05_14-08-42_71.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uKtKjuBJgk4/TZzAxbfJWZI/AAAAAAAAAD4/guiZBewaUKY/s320/2011-04-05_14-08-42_71.jpg" width="179" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-15F1oRCGlbk/TZzA2CEn5TI/AAAAAAAAAD8/_5LUqW_MseM/s1600/2011-04-05_14-08-52_910.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-15F1oRCGlbk/TZzA2CEn5TI/AAAAAAAAAD8/_5LUqW_MseM/s320/2011-04-05_14-08-52_910.jpg" width="179" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-62NX8kqVPEY/TZzA5iVKQLI/AAAAAAAAAEA/WAZ0NY0iyZQ/s1600/2011-04-05_14-10-15_485.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-62NX8kqVPEY/TZzA5iVKQLI/AAAAAAAAAEA/WAZ0NY0iyZQ/s320/2011-04-05_14-10-15_485.jpg" width="179" /></a></div>Ohana Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15675544077316404884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839002534622026263.post-89619211934191513482011-03-30T13:33:00.000-05:002011-03-30T22:44:13.782-05:00WFT Extra 006: Christine Noelle DesignHere is another great neighborhood flower shop that I would like to share with you. <a href="http://www.christinenoelledesign.com/">Christine Noelle Design</a> is located on 106 West Oak Street in Chicago (Oak St. & Clark St.).<br />
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It's on the first floor of a 6-story historical brick building. They have a nice tall storefront facing Oak Street with modern arrangements in the show-window and full of bright colored flowers in the background. When you get into the store the bright white walls capture the colors of flowers which they display on a large farm table. The super high ceiling at the top of the walls, have old crown mouldings that were originally in a theater in Paris, one of the shop persons told us. They have two custom suspended light fixtures that look like wire hoops of a petticoat. The whole store interior is a modern French country style, I would say, and I can see the owner's meticulous design vision throughout.<br />
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They even offer classes on a variety of topics, from floral arrangement to bath bomb making, which sounded like a lot of fun. I would love to try them sometime. There were two people at the store getting ready for a class that afternoon, and they were so nice to take their time to chat with me and my husband. I haven't purchased any flowers from them yet, but I will try to go there soon, when it's nice out, to take a long walk with my son. I'll be sure to write about the beautiful flowers from this beautiful store!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JkkM61iEAI4/TZM9Oh-Yp4I/AAAAAAAAADc/ss_UpoJ56bU/s1600/2011-03-19_11-58-56_47.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JkkM61iEAI4/TZM9Oh-Yp4I/AAAAAAAAADc/ss_UpoJ56bU/s320/2011-03-19_11-58-56_47.jpg" width="179" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GUgQR7quoS8/TZM9TJcsE6I/AAAAAAAAADg/JB-nW5Wl-44/s1600/2011-03-19_11-59-25_523.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GUgQR7quoS8/TZM9TJcsE6I/AAAAAAAAADg/JB-nW5Wl-44/s320/2011-03-19_11-59-25_523.jpg" width="179" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OIoWVng-YTs/TZM9W1mMYcI/AAAAAAAAADk/DH0eBhI57gc/s1600/2011-03-19_12-09-58_499.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OIoWVng-YTs/TZM9W1mMYcI/AAAAAAAAADk/DH0eBhI57gc/s320/2011-03-19_12-09-58_499.jpg" width="179" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AS7PuVhPfzQ/TZM9ay-3q0I/AAAAAAAAADo/xw9tZnfIG18/s1600/2011-03-19_12-10-13_616.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AS7PuVhPfzQ/TZM9ay-3q0I/AAAAAAAAADo/xw9tZnfIG18/s320/2011-03-19_12-10-13_616.jpg" width="179" /></a></div>Ohana Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15675544077316404884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839002534622026263.post-72610762375863399942011-03-28T23:13:00.000-05:002011-03-28T23:16:00.782-05:00008: March Sadness / Orange CrashIt's the season of NCAA, March Madness. This year, I was doing great up until Ohio State totally screwed me up followed by Florida and Kansas. I even called out Illinois going through the first round. I picked U Conn to go to the final four and I am still proud of that. However, I am extra sad this time. Every year, I was way off from the beginning and it never bothered me all that much, but when you do pretty well and lose it after a while, you get extra depressed, don't you? That's how I feel right now. I was in a pool with 180+ people and I was in 6th place at the beginning of the weekend and now I don't even know where I am... Who would have ever thought that Butler and VCU would make it to the final four? Well, enough with the basketball crap, I presume. Let's talk about the flowers. <br />
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So the theme of this week's WFT is "March Sadness" or "Orange Crash". Obviously, "March Sadness" is my feeling right now knowing that I am so out of the pool. And "Orange Crash" is a parody of my dear team, U of I's "Orange Crush". The Orange is Crashed out of the brackets.<br />
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So I didn't go to a florist this time. Instead, I went to a grocery store and bought a stem of green Hydrangea and a bunch of white Snapdragons (Antirrhinum) and some oranges. I kept the whole color scheme white and serene to emphasize a empathetical appearance and add bold orange items; mandarin and kumquats, for the "crash". It actually looks pretty nice. It's a nice volumetric technique to use fruits and veggies when you have a tight budget. It's ironic how sometimes sadness can make such a beautiful creation. After the therapy, I feel a bit better:)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KjWg5w6mJgI/TZFc8OGciDI/AAAAAAAAADY/GRPpwmM6WSg/s1600/2011-03-28_13-32-56_865.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KjWg5w6mJgI/TZFc8OGciDI/AAAAAAAAADY/GRPpwmM6WSg/s320/2011-03-28_13-32-56_865.jpg" width="179" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D09PrB3Ph-4/TZFbYgVFb5I/AAAAAAAAADM/7KKEwJq1UTw/s1600/2011-03-28_14-01-14_961.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D09PrB3Ph-4/TZFbYgVFb5I/AAAAAAAAADM/7KKEwJq1UTw/s320/2011-03-28_14-01-14_961.jpg" width="179" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qAMHRDbCGUM/TZFbdKr73XI/AAAAAAAAADQ/XpiTMHIfZdc/s1600/2011-03-28_14-01-41_397.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qAMHRDbCGUM/TZFbdKr73XI/AAAAAAAAADQ/XpiTMHIfZdc/s320/2011-03-28_14-01-41_397.jpg" width="178" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GTP2seJAt3Q/TZFbyoO2xPI/AAAAAAAAADU/WH39lgCAenQ/s1600/2011-03-28_14-01-27_288.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GTP2seJAt3Q/TZFbyoO2xPI/AAAAAAAAADU/WH39lgCAenQ/s320/2011-03-28_14-01-27_288.jpg" width="179" /></a></div>Ohana Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15675544077316404884noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839002534622026263.post-63757456325715347892011-03-24T22:53:00.000-05:002011-03-24T22:53:08.075-05:00WFT EXTRA 005: Eco Friendly SpoutHere's an eco friendly spout which you can attach to any regular plastic bottle. It is designed by a Swiss product designer <a href="http://www.nicolaslemoigne.ch/">Nicolas Le Moigne</a>. I got it from my sister in Japan as a Christmas gift last year and I love it so much! It's actually perfect for watering my moss ball. It's small and easy to store. <br />
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It was introduced a while ago (in 2005, I believe) but unfortunately, I don't think it made its way out to the US yet. I hope somebody will carry it soon because it is a very nice product. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/--zTd1QiPPek/TYwQiXfSo0I/AAAAAAAAADE/Oszi-E87VMw/s1600/2011-03-04_11-47-01_566.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/--zTd1QiPPek/TYwQiXfSo0I/AAAAAAAAADE/Oszi-E87VMw/s320/2011-03-04_11-47-01_566.jpg" width="179" /></a></div>Ohana Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15675544077316404884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839002534622026263.post-55172194458488501262011-03-21T21:35:00.000-05:002011-03-21T21:35:10.225-05:00007: Spring WeddingThis weeks WFT is dedicated to my little brother and his wife. They got married this weekend in Japan. Since I couldn't be there for them to celebrate together, I decided to use this perfect opportunity to arrange the flowers for them. <br />
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Of course I got the most popular flower for wedding, roses. I got perfect spray roses that are royal pink. It was $3 a stem and had four blossoms on it. Since I went a bit over budget last week, I tried my hardest to be under this week. The challenge was that a wedding arrangement had to have a large volume to accentuate joy and happiness. So I got a stem of Mountain Heather and some white flowers that cascade down like Willow (I don't know the name of it, sorry). The total this week was only $8!! I also had some leftover Lilly Grass from last week that I could incorporate in. I used a simple cereal bowl for a vase for the arrangement. I started with the backdrop, which was the heather flowers, then made a trail with the willow-like flowers and Lilly Grass off to one side. The main items, roses, were placed at the center where the two supplemental volumes met. I originally had four roses placed but my husband reminded me that four is not a good number in Japanese culture since it sounds like "death" ("<i>shi</i>" in Japanese) especially for a celebratory occasions like a wedding. So, I took one out and made another small arrangement with it for our bathroom:) <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-W6V3d4wDCL4/TYgHiBRHjuI/AAAAAAAAAC0/uvq-pQNRA80/s1600/2011-03-21_08-42-15_158.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-W6V3d4wDCL4/TYgHiBRHjuI/AAAAAAAAAC0/uvq-pQNRA80/s400/2011-03-21_08-42-15_158.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-jgOCGqpPUEA/TYgIIASilnI/AAAAAAAAADA/ZTB2Pl_E2Z0/s1600/2011-03-21_08-42-55_773.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-jgOCGqpPUEA/TYgIIASilnI/AAAAAAAAADA/ZTB2Pl_E2Z0/s320/2011-03-21_08-42-55_773.jpg" width="179" /></a><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kDlN8Xyci6U/TYgHsBUWe-I/AAAAAAAAAC8/4VRE3hrgfLw/s1600/2011-03-21_08-51-57_887.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kDlN8Xyci6U/TYgHsBUWe-I/AAAAAAAAAC8/4VRE3hrgfLw/s320/2011-03-21_08-51-57_887.jpg" width="179" /></a></div><br />
We were supposed to attend the wedding that was held in Yamaguchi, Japan (south west of Tokyo). Unfortunately, we decided not to travel there because of the disaster that happened about 10 days ago, especially with our young son. It really hurt all of the family's feelings but they totally understood our concerns and supported our decision. But it turned out to be the most memorable wedding I've ever attended except for my own. We got a live feed of the wedding via Skype and felt like we were there. There was one problem though - that it started at 12:30 AM CST and lasted until 2:30 AM when we hung up because we started passing out in front of the camera. Anyhow, it was really fun. Modern technology rules!!!Ohana Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15675544077316404884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839002534622026263.post-13336690845755508012011-03-15T22:07:00.000-05:002011-03-15T22:07:01.921-05:00006: Happy St. Pat's Day!St. Patrick's day is almost here! This week's WFT is all about green.<br />
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My husband's father's family has an Irish heritage and we celebrated an early St. Pat's day on Sunday - of course with corned beef and cabbage! I thought it would be nice to bring some gifts for my loyal WFT readers (my in-laws) to thank and celebrate their holiday. I needed to make two arrangements, so I went a bit over budget this time with extra stuff like boxes. But I managed to do two under $15.<br />
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I got two stems of light green Rose and one stem of green Mum for the main flowers. Because I had a tight budget, I needed to get something that fills up the boxes, so I got a green Dianthus. It is a type of Carnation and the one I got is all green, which makes it look similar to moss. I also got Lily Grass for an accent. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-QbmrMxTTTDk/TYAkEXm7s7I/AAAAAAAAACY/Bw93s_LAYHg/s1600/2011-03-13_09-51-54_967.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-QbmrMxTTTDk/TYAkEXm7s7I/AAAAAAAAACY/Bw93s_LAYHg/s320/2011-03-13_09-51-54_967.jpg" width="179" /></a></div>First, I placed floral foam wrapped with tin foil in the boxes and started placing the Dianthus. I got two stems of those assuming not being able to separate the leaves into smaller pieces, but I could. So, I spread them in the parameter of the boxes. Then moved onto the main flowers: roses and mums. I added those in pretty much the center of the arrangements. Then at the end, I sculpted Lily Grass crossing over them to make an illusion of a "dome" or "basket". My inspiration was flowers in lawn. I made them exactly how they wanted to look like, but the Lilly Grass accent totally made them look more sophisticated. I hope the recipients enjoy them as much as I enjoyed arranging them:) <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-DX59ZbD0Mes/TYAksOptwcI/AAAAAAAAACk/GN5P0uvgkx4/s1600/2011-03-13_10-24-58_351.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-DX59ZbD0Mes/TYAksOptwcI/AAAAAAAAACk/GN5P0uvgkx4/s320/2011-03-13_10-24-58_351.jpg" width="179" /></a><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-e6J5YNYMcqg/TYAkoxZHUDI/AAAAAAAAACg/TrDO3gm5isQ/s1600/2011-03-13_10-24-33_66.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-e6J5YNYMcqg/TYAkoxZHUDI/AAAAAAAAACg/TrDO3gm5isQ/s320/2011-03-13_10-24-33_66.jpg" width="179" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-ect1zrju-rY/TYAkv1z-wOI/AAAAAAAAACo/Q_wbMXq7Qlg/s1600/2011-03-13_10-25-21_756.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-ect1zrju-rY/TYAkv1z-wOI/AAAAAAAAACo/Q_wbMXq7Qlg/s320/2011-03-13_10-25-21_756.jpg" width="179" /></a><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-aZnuJDf0XI4/TYAklf2OtpI/AAAAAAAAACc/J3DkCnxPsOE/s1600/2011-03-13_10-24-19_4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-aZnuJDf0XI4/TYAklf2OtpI/AAAAAAAAACc/J3DkCnxPsOE/s320/2011-03-13_10-24-19_4.jpg" width="179" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-uxeCIvfiEpU/TYAkzJDI5RI/AAAAAAAAACs/-6IyeyAlKfQ/s1600/2011-03-13_10-25-57_428.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-uxeCIvfiEpU/TYAkzJDI5RI/AAAAAAAAACs/-6IyeyAlKfQ/s400/2011-03-13_10-25-57_428.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-8qE-nkh4Okg/TYAk16pI-DI/AAAAAAAAACw/liZYX3T4-ak/s1600/2011-03-13_14-08-04_20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-8qE-nkh4Okg/TYAk16pI-DI/AAAAAAAAACw/liZYX3T4-ak/s400/2011-03-13_14-08-04_20.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Ohana Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15675544077316404884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839002534622026263.post-14023186868005096332011-03-07T14:02:00.000-06:002011-04-06T17:14:12.866-05:00005: Moss BallI've been wanting to make a moss ball for quite a while. It has been booming in Japan as a "calming" object, as it looks like a Bonsai but is really easy to make and maintain. Here is how you do it.<br />
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You only need...<br />
- Peat Moss<br />
- Live Moss<br />
- Black String<br />
- Whatever Plants You Like<br />
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Take out the plants from the pots and carefully mould the soil into a ball shape. Use moist peat moss to shape a perfect sphere. Then, wrap the ball with live moss and put black string around tightly to fasten the live moss. That's it! I placed it on a ceramic saucer that my husband made in Japan. To water the ball, just pour water into the saucer so that the moss absorbs it to keep it moist. Also, I elevated it with pebbles so that any excess water will drain. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-vyfj_4B0EZ4/TXU5DZcZlhI/AAAAAAAAACM/0FYeb2OdGHk/s1600/2011-03-06_15-51-25_394.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-vyfj_4B0EZ4/TXU5DZcZlhI/AAAAAAAAACM/0FYeb2OdGHk/s320/2011-03-06_15-51-25_394.jpg" width="179" /></a><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-tSIn280eEuc/TXU5HcUZjFI/AAAAAAAAACQ/iYeT_1xL3ho/s1600/2011-03-06_16-08-55_749.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-tSIn280eEuc/TXU5HcUZjFI/AAAAAAAAACQ/iYeT_1xL3ho/s320/2011-03-06_16-08-55_749.jpg" width="179" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>I went to a nursery in Andersonville to get some potted plants. They have a big green house and have a large variety of tropical and desert plants. I was intending to make it have more of a Bonsai look originally, so I wanted to get something like Japanese Maple or Pine. They did have a good amount of small trees in their Bonsai section but they were totally out of my reach in terms of budget. So, I got a 3" Foliage. Then I realized that this is for Weekly "Flower" Therapy, so I needed to add flowers. Luckily, I found a teeny tiny African Violet pot. It was so cute. People don't include flowers in their moss balls that often, but it totally worked fine. It added a splash of color and made it look more cheerful and joyous. My moss ball may not to be a "calming" object, but that's OK. That's the beauty of a moss ball. You can choose whatever plant you like and make your own. Please try it!<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-TTM9zw-09eQ/TXU5K303RLI/AAAAAAAAACU/73zkDzBqaH0/s1600/2011-03-06_16-10-57_848.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-TTM9zw-09eQ/TXU5K303RLI/AAAAAAAAACU/73zkDzBqaH0/s400/2011-03-06_16-10-57_848.jpg" width="223" /></a></div>Ohana Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15675544077316404884noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839002534622026263.post-77707566162651243602011-03-03T16:09:00.000-06:002011-03-03T16:09:17.801-06:00004: Wild Flower BoatThis week's WFT, I went back to my favorite neighborhood flower shop, Fleur de Lis again. I had some idea for an arrangement w/ roses prior to going in since I loved the roses they had last time I was there, but I came home with a whole bunch of different flowers. It is just like cooking. I usually have some ideas of what to cook for dinner before going to the grocery store. But often times, I see what's fresh and appetizing at the store and change the entire menu. So this time, that's what happened. They had wonderful Daffodils for only 50 cents a stem! I got three to use as a backdrop, then I got a stem of chic purple Lenten Rose and lighter purple Anemone. So the whole scheme all the sudden became more wild-looking arrangement than I originally planned. I also got a stem of green that is apparently a family of Orchid, which has tiny cute flowers on the tips.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qsXyX_jd6r0/TW_SIOWfDNI/AAAAAAAAAB0/84cpEfSypYA/s1600/2011-03-02_16-45-13_891.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qsXyX_jd6r0/TW_SIOWfDNI/AAAAAAAAAB0/84cpEfSypYA/s320/2011-03-02_16-45-13_891.jpg" width="177" /></a><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-riT2vJ7la8A/TW_SSPbfnqI/AAAAAAAAAB4/zW5L3N103DE/s1600/2011-03-02_16-46-36_348.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-riT2vJ7la8A/TW_SSPbfnqI/AAAAAAAAAB4/zW5L3N103DE/s320/2011-03-02_16-46-36_348.jpg" width="177" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1ynekoVkBgs/TW_SXFhztDI/AAAAAAAAAB8/RC__jIA4B5U/s1600/2011-03-02_16-47-31_238.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1ynekoVkBgs/TW_SXFhztDI/AAAAAAAAAB8/RC__jIA4B5U/s320/2011-03-02_16-47-31_238.jpg" width="179" /></a><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-sSW86uNC3ds/TW_UPyxaR_I/AAAAAAAAACA/0yxXlPYyKEk/s1600/2011-03-02_16-48-03_808.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-sSW86uNC3ds/TW_UPyxaR_I/AAAAAAAAACA/0yxXlPYyKEk/s320/2011-03-02_16-48-03_808.jpg" width="179" /></a></div><br />
I wasn't sure which vase I should have used at that time when I was picking these flowers but I was sure I could find something. It turned out it was pretty hard to find one. I spent a good 30 minutes searching for the best vase and I ended up using <a href="http://www.crateandbarrel.com/dining-and-entertaining/specialty-serveware/classic-century-sauce-boat/s408581">a sauce boat by Eva Zeisel</a> that we had potpourri in. I love the shape of this bowl. However, because it has a "handle" in the middle, it was quite challenging how to balance the front and the back. I eventually managed to put everything in after a couple of attempts. After the struggle, the Lenten Roses started to bend over. Apparently, they are not very good with absorbing water... I looked it up online and found a very easy fix. Just wrap the flowers with newspaper and cut the stems in warm water (about 120F) and let it sit until the water gets cool off. And it worked!! I love the color of the Lenten Roses that I got. It's very "mature" color. They come in different colors like green and white as well. My mother grow them in her garden and told me it's very easy to handle. I would like to try planting in my terrace for the next season.<br />
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The finish piece really looks like a boat of freshly cut garden flowers. I enjoy a small "garden" in my living room a lot:)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-UFup4i-da1A/TW_U95pz60I/AAAAAAAAACE/1sjiwCAkCEI/s1600/2011-03-03_08-23-28_14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-UFup4i-da1A/TW_U95pz60I/AAAAAAAAACE/1sjiwCAkCEI/s400/2011-03-03_08-23-28_14.jpg" width="223" /></a><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-NNHfcqk4rIw/TW_VCCjlaoI/AAAAAAAAACI/npmApcqFKyo/s1600/2011-03-03_08-23-37_131.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>Ohana Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15675544077316404884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839002534622026263.post-25485369332978195182011-02-28T16:18:00.000-06:002011-02-28T16:18:02.072-06:00WFT Extra 004: Jaime Hayon + KutaniAwesome vases by Jaime Hayon collaborating with a Japanese traditional Kutani potter (<a href="http://www.hayonstudio.com/project.php?id=65">official website here</a>). Recently, a lot of designers have been introducing new ways of using traditional craft techniques. They keep the same high quality as the original artifacts yet create completely different aspects and become very avant-garde objects with a simple twist in shapes, patterns, colors, etc. <br />
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The traditional characteristics of Kutani pottery is to draw lines with blue/navy color called "GOSU" first and add thick paint called "GOSAI" (5 colors) over it. The 5 colors are red, yellow, green, purple, and navy. This Hayon's series don't have the traditional colorfulness of Kutani but have very bold contrast of red, blue and white that is a very traditional Japanese color scheme. With striking forms and modified traditional patterns, he truly created the right balance of "west meets east" style. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-CC9msjPwlhU/TWvKNAMCExI/AAAAAAAAABo/x1hN7v64OTs/s1600/Jaime-Hayon_Kutani.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-CC9msjPwlhU/TWvKNAMCExI/AAAAAAAAABo/x1hN7v64OTs/s320/Jaime-Hayon_Kutani.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JnVok0T7cos/TWvKOjLNZfI/AAAAAAAAABs/A17IjbZx-28/s1600/Jaime-Hayon_Kutani_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JnVok0T7cos/TWvKOjLNZfI/AAAAAAAAABs/A17IjbZx-28/s320/Jaime-Hayon_Kutani_2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Ohana Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15675544077316404884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839002534622026263.post-1886842600451708472011-02-25T11:17:00.000-06:002011-02-25T11:17:30.752-06:00WFT Extra 003: Japanese Botanical ArtI collected these Japanese wood cut prints over the years. Unfortunately, I haven't found the perfect place to show them off yet and they are still sleeping in my closet:( I bought these from "Tessai-do" (sorry, no website) by Kodai-ji Temple in Kyoto Japan (<a href="http://www.kodaiji.com/e_index.html">http://www.kodaiji.com/e_index.html</a>). I try to go to this teeny tiny store every time I go to Kyoto to collect botanical prints that are mostly done in early 1900's. They also have different wood cut prints other than botanical ones. If you have a chance to go to Kyoto, you should stop by to do some treasure hunting! <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pGoN6r2XnMc/TWfgkxSCEUI/AAAAAAAAABU/ns6ZnlKn56A/s1600/2011-02-24_15-36-26_857.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pGoN6r2XnMc/TWfgkxSCEUI/AAAAAAAAABU/ns6ZnlKn56A/s320/2011-02-24_15-36-26_857.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Ohana Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15675544077316404884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839002534622026263.post-62368020624188774212011-02-23T09:42:00.000-06:002011-02-23T11:32:04.247-06:00WFT Extra 002: Fleur de LisA brand new florist in River North!<br />
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It's called "Fleur de Lis" (<a href="http://www.fleurdelischicago.com/">www.fleurdelischicago.com</a>). It literally means "flower of lilly" in French. It's also the name of a graphic symbol that is used in many European coats of arms that are associated with the House of Bourbon. It's located at 715 N. Franklin Street along the Brown line where used to be a small art gallery. The gallery closed last year (if my memory is correct) and I was wondering what it would be. I never thought that someone would take the space so quickly. Ever since the economy crashed in 2008, a lot of the stores and restaurants in this area closed down and haven't been occupied by new tenants since, including Pearl, a huge art supply store that I used to go to every so often. This is very good for the neighborhood to be revitalized. <br />
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It's in a small brick building. There's a french door leading into the store with black and white striped awning above. The interior is in calm gray tone with black and white accessories. I was astonished when I found out that they had vases by Fringe Studio (<a href="http://www.fringestudio.com/">http://www.fringestudio.com/</a>) that my mother collects and she asked me again recently to buy more. The flower case and working table is in the back room overlooked by the second floor balcony, which is a bridal salon (!) and a skylight and a chandelier. On the center of the working table, there was a very modern minimal Calla lily arrangement in a big vase. I later realized that they had a Calla lily motif in their logo. They wrapped the flowers with black and white stripe wrapping paper with black ribbon. It is very chic. <br />
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There were thee women working there when I went in. They were all very nice chatty people. Overall, my experience at this store was EXCELLENT. I love the cohesiveness of the whole package from the interior of the store to their logo. I would 100% recommend you to check out the store if you would like beautiful flowers or to give someone a gift. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-33gpBE9X2nk/TWUlZNqfnCI/AAAAAAAAAA8/X6ucPaAyWTY/s1600/2011-02-22_11-24-59_311.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-33gpBE9X2nk/TWUlZNqfnCI/AAAAAAAAAA8/X6ucPaAyWTY/s320/2011-02-22_11-24-59_311.jpg" width="179" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yal-OgmmkHI/TWUlhdPVBOI/AAAAAAAAABE/QUHyJO02xM8/s1600/2011-02-22_11-39-50_237.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yal-OgmmkHI/TWUlhdPVBOI/AAAAAAAAABE/QUHyJO02xM8/s320/2011-02-22_11-39-50_237.jpg" width="179" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gatCww0obvM/TWUleXkby_I/AAAAAAAAABA/1gE8-flL03c/s1600/2011-02-22_11-24-50_811.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gatCww0obvM/TWUleXkby_I/AAAAAAAAABA/1gE8-flL03c/s320/2011-02-22_11-24-50_811.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Ohana Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15675544077316404884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839002534622026263.post-4805644021133691392011-02-22T22:39:00.000-06:002011-02-23T09:34:14.878-06:00003: Spring Is Almost HereFor this week's therapy, I wanted to make something very spring like. Maybe using tulips or daffodils or hyacinths. I imagined it to look like a birds' nest. I purchased 8 red tulips (w/ one extra - more on this later) this morning. My plan was to cover a floral foam with blossoms and leaves. I was going to bend the leaves to make them puffy, and place the flowers to look like they are coming out between the leaves. Then place it on the center of circular Pyrex plate and wrap the center piece with shredded magazine pages to add a "nest" effect. I ended up not using the foam but used a simple clear vase instead, and still managed to do what I wanted to do by using the leaves. I placed the largest four leaves bended and made sort of like a clover shape around the outer edge, which is the "nest" part, then added 9 tulip blossoms in the middle like "eggs". It wasn't quite as I planned, although, I am very satisfied with the outcome. In a strange way, this might have been more "nest-like" than plan A. They also smell so good!!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k98NyphO54A/TWUoTo3TjmI/AAAAAAAAABM/8MabQ-XGcAE/s1600/2011-02-23_08-21-07_769.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k98NyphO54A/TWUoTo3TjmI/AAAAAAAAABM/8MabQ-XGcAE/s320/2011-02-23_08-21-07_769.jpg" width="179" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fObRQFbDZzs/TWUoc0dwZrI/AAAAAAAAABQ/OaEmLlaEHpI/s1600/2011-02-23_08-25-36_107.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fObRQFbDZzs/TWUoc0dwZrI/AAAAAAAAABQ/OaEmLlaEHpI/s320/2011-02-23_08-25-36_107.jpg" width="179" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>So, here's what happened. This morning I was so excited to do WFT and was thinking a lot about what kind of flower I would get this week. It was very nasty in the morning though, I almost didn't want to go out and get flowers. But luckily (:P) my son seemed that he wanted to take a nap around the time he usually eats breakfast/lunch but couldn't quite fall asleep. So I figured that it would be nice to have him fall asleep sooner rather than later, and I know just the trick for that... a baby carrier. He falls asleep very quickly whenever I put him in it. I haven't done it for quite a while since he's gotten pretty heavy. But I put him in it and voila! He was sleeping even before I got to the brand new flower shop down the street from us, which just opened last week. I will talk more about this store exclusively in tomorrow's WFT Extra:) Anyways, it worked out perfectly because I knew there were stairs leading to the front door of the shop and there's no way that I can lift our stroller up the steps.<br />
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I went in, and the flower case (is it called refrigerator?) was sort of tucked in the back. I immediately fell in love with the white tulips in it. They looked so pure and innocent and perfect for the first spring arrangement. Unfortunately, they were somebody's who ordered specifically and weren't unavailable. I was also drawn to these gorgeous golden color roses, but I wanted to make this arrangement to be a seasonal one, so instead, I got 8 red tulips. The person who helped me was generous to give me an extra stem and I got 9 tulips for this week's therapy! They were only $1 each.<br />
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I was also especially excited about today's therapy because I finally went to a craft store to buy floral foam yesterday. Well, it turned out that the one I got was a desert foam, not oasis... and I got 5 pc pack:( I saw all the desert foam at the store and there was darker color foam next to it, so I just grabbed one assuming it was oasis and didn't really read what the label said. To make things worse, when I came home from the flower shop, I was too excited and didn't double check the label and opened it. I started soaking one in the water and I soon realized that it's not absorbing water at all. I thought something was wrong, then I FINALLY checked the label and there it was. It said "DESERT FOAM FOR FLOWER CRAFT". Oh, no... I had this grand idea of making it more like an "arrangement" piece by using foam, however I needed to come up with plan B. Today, I learned a important lesson, though. "Always check the label."Ohana Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15675544077316404884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839002534622026263.post-42099493382908192592011-02-19T09:23:00.000-06:002011-02-19T19:51:06.041-06:00WFT Extra 001: Seeds!!I have been collecting plant seeds for this season. Every spring I go to a nursery to get potted annuals and perennials for my planters because I'm not good at planning ahead. I always wanted to grow plants from their seeds but by the time I realized that it's pretty warm outside, it's too late to do that. So I tend to rush to nurseries and get potted ones...<br />
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I got some regular flower seeds and some Japanese veggie/herb seeds that are hard to get here. Most of them are from a local Japanese grocery store in a north west suburb of Chicago. I've got very good selections of seeds and have already scheduled when to plant them. I wanted to post it here so that I remember... just in case;) <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-457E30nvkcQ/TV_dHQPke6I/AAAAAAAAAAo/sMcpmehWvV4/s1600/2011-02-19_07-56-51_125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-457E30nvkcQ/TV_dHQPke6I/AAAAAAAAAAo/sMcpmehWvV4/s320/2011-02-19_07-56-51_125.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Ohana Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15675544077316404884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839002534622026263.post-76014508283986403162011-02-15T16:25:00.001-06:002011-02-22T22:44:39.623-06:00002: Cute As A ButtonFor the second week of Weekly Flower Therapy, I decided to do something very small. Or I should say, it ended up being that way... <br />
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This week I was really hoping that I had time to go to a craft shop to get some floral foam. However, again with the tight schedule with my son, work and the "hallmark holiday" that is Valentine's, etc., I just went to a local grocery store yesterday and picked up 5 stems of Gerbera Daisies. I also wanted to purchase some greens to go along with it, but since I was at the place known as "Whole Paycheck", that would have gone way over my budget of $10. So, I stuck with just the Gerberas. I was looking for alternatives for the greens at their produce section, but I didn't have any luck finding anything I wanted to use. By the way, it was interesting to see all those gentlemen occupying the whole store yesterday buying a bouquet and grocery for valentine's dinner (I assumed). I wondered if they took the entire afternoon off... <br />
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When I came home, I was quite busy cooking a romantic dinner for my lovely husband who works so hard for us every day. Because I didn't have time to arrange the flowers as I wanted, they were just thrown into one of my favorite vases. The vase itself is very unique, and I was actually lucky enough to help design it at one of my previous jobs. For a second this morning, I thought it might be ok to post this arrangement as is, but my gut said "no". I had a fear of this "therapy" becoming just buying grocery store flowers and putting them in a weirdly shaped vase. So I looked around our living room and found these shot glasses and hand towel holders made of lacquered bamboo. And I made a small arrangement with one of the Gerberas.<br />
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Ok, so it could be "throwing some grocery store flower in a weird vases", but at lease I tried. I think it's cute as a button. So I made two of them, put them on a wall self by the front door either side of a key tray. Do you think I found an easy way out???<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Azzgw7RIugI/TVwyCsQLGqI/AAAAAAAAAAk/eP-64shIVLM/s1600/2011-02-15_16-14-59_58.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Azzgw7RIugI/TVwyCsQLGqI/AAAAAAAAAAk/eP-64shIVLM/s320/2011-02-15_16-14-59_58.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Ohana Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15675544077316404884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839002534622026263.post-45138671533286825782011-02-08T16:00:00.000-06:002011-02-22T22:44:12.907-06:00001: Faux BonsaiHere it is. The very first weekly flower therapy. <br />
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I went to Crate and Barrel in Lincoln Park the other day. I always love their flower section but never had the gut to buy anything from there because their flowers are REALLY expensive. But that day, I was there holding my son, and an elder gentleman walked up to me and commented that my son is very cute. We chatted a bit, then he started to pick up some flowers from the buckets. So I guess in a way, he encouraged me to pick up something for myself as well. However, I didn't want to spend $50 for a bouquet of flowers, which happens all the time if you want really nice ones. Instead, I just started picking one stem of whatever I liked and kind of made an instant arrangement there in the store. I started with a tall element, which was a plum branch. I then added some greens like Hypericum buds. Then I figured that it definitely needed more blossoms and I found these super chic dark purple Spray Mums. And that was just under $10 before tax (that means it went over $10 after crazy Chicago sales tax but since this is my first time, I think this still fits my concept...). While I was picking those flowers, I already had an idea which "vase" I should use. It is a small piece of Japanese pottery that my mother gave me, whose outside surface is deep red and inside surface has an abstract pattern in very soft pastel colors. I also remembered I had a pin frog that I bought from Japan and barely used it, so I was pretty psyched about using it. And voila. The idea was to create an illusion of "bonsai" with cut plants, and I think it worked pretty well for my first attempt. <br />
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I hope you enjoyed the first installment of my weekly flower therapy and I hope to hear from you!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Gs5U7t72SSU/TVr2hBInXqI/AAAAAAAAAAM/8-MuOwj6dD0/s1600/2011-02-07_09-39-58_255.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Gs5U7t72SSU/TVr2hBInXqI/AAAAAAAAAAM/8-MuOwj6dD0/s320/2011-02-07_09-39-58_255.jpg" width="179" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J5ZBVaqwdQI/TVr3F1jo2eI/AAAAAAAAAAQ/lvmvZR6jN5M/s1600/2011-02-07_09-40-34_606.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J5ZBVaqwdQI/TVr3F1jo2eI/AAAAAAAAAAQ/lvmvZR6jN5M/s320/2011-02-07_09-40-34_606.jpg" width="179" /></a></div>Ohana Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15675544077316404884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839002534622026263.post-51928855157090820042011-02-07T11:50:00.000-06:002011-02-07T12:50:00.428-06:00000: ConceptI love flowers. I want to live with flowers everyday. But there are some difficulties to keep them in my house continuously throughout the year. Because... <br />
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A. too expensive<br />
B. too cold outside<br />
C. no yard <br />
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One day I was by the flower section at a store and realized how much I love them. I can't wait for the weather to get better and be able to garden on my tiny terrace. So, I decided to pick whatever I can buy under $10 and make an arrangement every week. That's how I started.Ohana Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15675544077316404884noreply@blogger.com0