Fresh ideas...

Lately I have been doing some flower arrangements for various events and I have found I am particularly enjoying this new pastime. I also find it personally satisfying to create arrangements for as cheap as possible.  The arrangements below both cost less then $7 a vase, my best find - 8 roses for $2.99.  Men, you have no excuse with prices that great!

I have a great little florist up the street from me (Queen E.) whose prices are quite reasonable but I am a sucker for the cluster of flower stores at Avenue Rd. & Davenport, especially Jong Young Flower Market. If you haven't stopped by these stores there is no better time then now, with so many spring flowers in bloom you are sure to have a great selection to choose from.  Maybe I'll see you there, I'm the one who is obviously in the zone, choosing bunch by bunch and repetitively changing my mind, so many choices!  For me it just means I have to go back the next week and pick up more; flowers just make me happy!

Pick of the Weekend

Today we finally got to the Tim Burton exhibit at the Bell Light Box.  I wish we could have gone sooner but thank goodness the installation is in Toronto for a good length of time allowing procrastinating people like me the chance to check it out.  


Now I am a pretty big Burton fan and love the fantasy worlds he creates in their darkness and mystery.  This exhibit lived up to all my expectations with drawings, notes, letters, actual stop motion puppets and costumes, it was Burton heaven!  The exhibit is only on for one more week so check it out if you can.  


For those of you with little ones the Sprockets festival, a film festival for children and youth is also on and I was intrigued by the very neat on-site activities they have going on for families to check out before or after the kid friendly films such as the special effects make-up session.  This festival is happening this week through to the 17th of April.  


Speaking of all things film my favourite film festival is coming to Toronto soon.  Hot Docs begins April 28th and goes through to May 8th. There are so many documentaries I wish I could check out, if only we had a money tree, thankfully we have places like the Film Buff and Queen Video for post festival rentals.

Anyway, back to Tim Burton.  If you are a fan of his style check out one of my favourite shops on etsy, Obsolete World which in my opinion mirrors the fantasy worlds Burton creates. I purchased a bunch of prints a few years ago for friends as I love the simple beauty of the artists work, I also like the titles, like this one - 'The Ever Silent Spaces.'  You can also check out the artists' blog.

Get me to the church on time

I have been out of commission for the past few weeks as I have been busy with a few projects and of course life.  I thought I'd add a quick post of two bridal hairpieces I just finished.  

Feel free to contact me if you are getting married or refer me to friends who are about to tie the knot.  With wedding season on the horizon it also means us guests might want a fun piece for an upcoming soirée, I love doing custom orders so let me know if an event coming up might be the right place to debut some feathery fun.  My hairpieces range in price typically from $15 - $45; these two bridal pieces are $30.

A few other pieces I'm working on - photos to come:

Feather boutonnières for the men – a fun way to do the typical boutonnière with a twist.

Feather shoe clips – a great way to add some jazz to your shoes and a fabulous bridal party gift.

Prom hairpieces - this year we are going with some jewel tones, very fun!

I am also trying to learn how to knit, it has proved to be more difficult then I thought. More to come on that soon.

Spring is in the air

Today the sun was shining and the world just felt a bit brighter.  I know they say it's not spring yet but today gave me a little hope (although the temperature tried to prove me wrong) that indeed spring is on its way.

This week has been busy with a few side projects on the go.  Today after work I went to my favourite flower markets to grab some flowers for a few centerpieces I am making for an event at work.  I was so eager to get in and get home to start creating that I almost looked over my oh so very favourite thing... Peonies!

These beauties surprised me as it still seems early for them to be appearing, although I guess today is March 1st.  I was so excited to see my first peony since last spring, it made my day, so after gathering my purple and yellow array of buds and pointing while winking to my husband who showed up after his class we cashed out, peonies in hand.

Now they sit in my entry way looking so beautiful as they ever so slowly open up.  The way peonies blossom truly encompasses the essence of spring; tiny folds of feathery pink and white leaves pushing the next aside as they reach for warmth.  New life - I love spring!

And you know what spring means - wedding season is upon us which is the reason behind said busyness as I have begun making up some wedding and prom hairpieces.  I'll post some photos of these soon but in the meantime I am enjoying gazing at my peonies as I breeze through my hallway and am thankful for the refreshment they bring in the midst of the busyness of life.

Cupcake wars....

Last week my work had a bake-off of sorts.  Each department had to create an entry of cupcakes and let's just say some people got a bit competitive.  I love things like this, not because I really like to bake (I don't) but because I like the challenge of trying to make something super creative, something I've never done before.  So since I don't work for one specific department I joined up with some great ladies, we put our heads together and the final result got us the winning prize (a small silver trophy) but more so the gratification and glory of winning!  See our entry below.



Red Velvet Apple Cupcakes:
Find the recipe here (Note:  Reduce the amount of cocoa powder and add a small amount of beet juice to really bring out the red colour of the cupcake.)
Add red sugar, a tootsie roll stem and either green taffy or green fondant leaf for the apple effect.

Double Vanilla Apple Pie Cupcakes:
See the recipe - I bought the small cupcake tins at the Dollar Store.  Add smarties and coloured icing to create the pie.