KeepsakeBlossoms

Tiffany's Wedding - Red Roses and Stephanotis

2012-01-31T23:38:00.000-08:00

Tiffany, I met via Etsy. I was looking for writeups for my flowers and I came across her. She offered to write for me and did a great job of it. Then, after a couple of months, she wrote to me saying she loved my flowers and wanted me to create her wedding flowers.

Tiffany's wedding colors were Red, Black and White. She wanted a small, simple red rose and stephanotis bouquet with black Swarovski inserts. We also added black leaves (thanks to clay, that's possible!) with gloss, to go with the flowers. The wrap was a simple black satin ribbon. I also created the groom's bout and Tiffany's hair flowers - loose stephanotis flowers with Swarovski centers.

Here are Tiffany's thoughts about her Wedding Day and her Wedding Flowers, in her own words:

Hours seemed to turn into minutes, minutes into milliseconds, as we
waited for the sun to set. The second hand on the clock was nearly as
loud as the bumping of my heart, and all I could do was stare at the
aisle through the window of my bridal suite.

Finally, our daughter, the flower girl, was called out. It was almost

time. In just a few more minutes, I would be walking down the
aisle toward my best friend. Growing up, my family was never very
functional, and my brother and I were often left to raise ourselves. He
escorted me to the aisle, where he kissed my cheek, cried, and let me
go.

I took a deep breath, made a mental note not to drop my flowers or
trip on my flip flops (and yes, I so wore flip flops under my gown!
), and began my walk down the aisle to Nine Inch Nails‘ La Mer. The
sun had finally begun to set, and the sky was phenomenally clear. We
lit a unity candle, said our vows, exchanged rings, and handfasted,
a perfect blending of our personal beliefs and the traditions of our
families.

Matt, my new husband, and I had decided to take our first pictures
together before the ceremony. We wanted that special time together
unrushed. Plus, I refused to wear glasses or contacts on my wedding
day, and I wanted to see his face up close the first time he saw me.
The pictures before the ceremony were full of nervous energy and
laughter. After the ceremony, all we could think about was each other,
and in our pictures, you can see all of that.

As we approach our 9 months as a married couple, I can still
remember the day as vividly as if it happened yesterday. My favorite
part? I have more than just pictures to hang and memories to cherish.
My wedding bouquet, hair flowers, and the boutonniere my husband

wore are all as beautiful today as they were on our wedding day.

Instead of dried, fragile, and brown flowers kept away in a box, my
wedding flowers sit vibrantly on my shelf, as elegant and gorgeous

today as they were when I carried them down the aisle.

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'A Silver Lining' - Bridal Veils and Accessories :Local Wedding Professional Shout Out

2012-01-20T17:19:00.000-08:00

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I am rushing to finish one wedding order after another and then I have some very interesting arrangements coming up - something I've never done before. In between all this, I am also having to deal with family crisis. I hate it when one of my loved ones falls sick. In this case, one after the other have been really sick. I hope things only get better from here. It has been emotionally exhausting.

Anyway, so while I come up with more photos here's a shout out for a friend and fellow wedding professional: Leah Janes of 'A Silver Lining: Bridal Veils and Accessories'

Veil: A Silver Lining, Photography: Crescendo Photography, Flowers: KeepsakeBlossoms

I have known Leah for a while now and she keeps amazing me with her creativity. These beautiful , classy veils and fascinators were all created by her.

Leah also creates wedding jewelry. She is a loving mom to a cute-as-a-button 4 year old. And yet she finds time to run this successful business and has been attending college part-time to learn silver smithery. I can only stand back and applaud my friend for being the superwoman that she is.

Aren't these veils and accessories just to go with your wedding dress?

If you are wondering who's taken these pictures, it is Marnie McCown of Crescendo Photography. Shall be doing a piece on her soon.

If you love what you see here, please share this with your friends and family :). And yes, like us on Facebook :).

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Wedding Photos - Gardenia Bouquet

2011-12-29T23:12:00.000-08:00

Sometime back I had posted pictures of a beautiful Gardenia bouquet that I had created for a client. She sent me some pictures from her wedding day.

Melissa was very nice to work with. No hassles at all. I have to say though, that when I hear stories of bridezillas I realize how lucky I have been! Most of my brides have been exceptionally nice.

You know what I saw when I saw this photo of hers? The lovely necklace she's wearing. Though I am not a person who wears jewelry, I fell in love with this piece!

See that blue ribbon? You'd better! :) The shade is called Cobalt Blue. I made trips to a lot of Michaels Craft Stores in the Phoenix-Tempe-Chandler area (since Michaels was where Melissa had bought her other Cobalt Blue ribbons from and I wanted to match hers exactly) before a kind customer service rep told me that she could look up in the system and tell me which store had it in stock. Finally, I found it. And what a beautiful color it is! Totally worth all the running around. Complemented the off-white of the Gardenias beautifully.

I can't put a finger on what it is about groom holding his bride's bouquet, but I always love these shots. I hope you liked the photos :). So much better than what I click, right? :)
Please keep coming back to the KeepsakeBlossoms Blog because more photos from other weddings will be up soon. Also, please take a moment to 'Like' us on Facebook or 'Follow' us on Twitter

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Happy New Year !

2011-12-28T20:02:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone!

I have been notoriously out of touch blog-wise. Sorry about that. Just so many things to do. And it just seems that either me or my husband is falling sick by turns. Hopefully, we are over it by now :).
I hope you had a great Christmas! I am so looking forward to the New Year. I have been working and working to get some things in order. Hopefully, they will all fall into place soon.
This year, in January and June I participated in the Bridal Fashion Debut Show in Phoenix. It is the biggest bridal show in the country with thousands and thousands of brides attending it every year. It was such a pleasant surprise for me when Shannon from the Bridal Show contacted me first to do a custom arrangement for her newborn daughter's room and then for a photoshoot for the purpose of advertising the Wedding MBA which she also organizes. Of course, I said yes! :) And guess where I was when I got that call in a remote location in the Glacier National Park, Montana driving through the beautiful fall foliage of the Rockies. Lucky I had phone reception! :)

So anyway.... Shannon said she wanted a couple of bouquets and it could be anything I wanted. The design was upto me and it would be nice if one of the bouquets had fall colors - but didn't too autumn-y.

For that I created a Modern, Pageant Style Bouquet with Orange Dahlias, Succulents (for the Southwest Feel) and Off-White Chrysanthemums. The dried branches accentuated the modern feel and the brooch on the handle gave it a little bling and complemented it beautifully.

The second bouquet I made was a more traditional all-white bouquet with Lily of the Valley, Ranunculus and Peonies. I gave it a platinum colored ribbon and again, added a brooch :). I so love this shot where it appears that the beautiful model can't resist smelling the flowers :).

The photos were shot by the fantastic Roy Bracamonte of Roy Bracamonte Photography. He was so easy to work with.... Not that I had much to contribute in the photography part of the photoshoot :), but he made us feel so much at ease with his effervescent personality! He even visited us at home and showed me a few tricks to get better photos. You can visit Roy's website here to look at some more shots that he took of my flowers.

Photo Credit: Roy Bracamonte Photography

Photoshoot for Wedding MBA, Bridal Fashion Debut

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Guest Blog by 'Inspired Occasions' : Trends in Wedding Cakes

2011-11-08T22:16:00.000-08:00

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I love cake! I should because I create them for a living, (it would just be weird if I didn’t, right?). It’s a lot of fun to see the trends in cakes from year to year too. I am always excited to see the new styles each season brings.

The cupcake tower is still going strong. They are kind of non-traditional and different, if that’s important. They are also less messy as far as having someone cut the cake and serve it. It also often saves the couple the cutting fee they would be charged by their venue, which is sometimes the same cost as the cake itself. Plus they are just so cute! You can do so much with those little bits of sweetness! Usually the bride and groom chose a 6 inch cake to place on the top tier of the stand as well. This way they still have an actual cake to use for the cutting ceremony.

Some trends have to do with colors. Color trends often follow home décor’ and fashion trends. Shades of purple seem to be making a comeback, black and white is always popular and the all-white cake is a classic. I personally love the vintage feel that I am seeing lately. You can find cream with black, muted yellows and garden pinks. So pretty! Speaking of fashion, have you noticed its influence in the cake world in more than just colors? Ruffles are huge right now as are flowers that resemble wrapped fabric. You can also find many the damask patterns on wedding cakes among other fabric inspired designs. An entire cake can be designed just by picking elements from the brides wedding dress.

Now let’s talk about frosting. I have seen a huge push back to buttercream iced cakes in the last year. Six or so years ago everyone was really into fondant and there are those that still want the look that fondant gives. There are others though that are going simpler with their designs and definitely want buttercream iced cakes. For most of them the texture of fondant is a turn off. There is something about a buttercream cake too that makes folks reminisce and think of times gone by. Sometimes we just need a little old fashion, yummy frosting! Buttercream can be iced smooth and it can be more rustic and rough. If you are copying a cake that was your parents or grandparents then chances are its buttercream and has all kinds of wonderful piping. Even if the design you choose requires fondant for some of the decorations you can usually still have the cake iced in buttercream.

Cake flavors are something fun to play with. Yes you might like the traditional white cake and that is completely fine, (my most popular flavor is white almond), but many couples are choosing things out of the ordinary. Yes you can serve chocolate cake at your wedding. You could also choose a red velvet, peanut butter/chocolate combo or lemon. Couples often choose to have a different flavor for each tier also. If you do that though you might want a little extra cake, some people may want to try all the flavors.

I would love to hear about and see pictures of your favorite wedding cakes. Please share!

God Bless!

Bonnie owns Inspired Occasions Designer Cakes in Arizona. She has been decorating professionally for almost 9 years and loves her job. When’s not elbow deep in icing she is taking cake or her three munchkins and hubby of 13 years. You can call Bonnie and order her delicious cakes (the keylime flavor is my personal favorite!) at 480-251-9880.

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New Website

2011-09-28T10:30:00.000-07:00

Landing Page

I had been working on a new Website for a long time. However, it took a long time and the right person to get the designs on track :). While I am still working on the improvements, and there is some way to go, I like the general feel of it all. The design is crisp and clean :).

Portfolio Page

Let me know what you think of the new design and what can I change to make it even better :).

KeepsakeBlossoms : Handcrafted Clay Flowers' Wedding MBA Experience

2011-09-19T16:04:00.000-07:00


Photo Credit:Krystal Muellenberg Photography

I spent the past week absorbing all the knowledge I could absorb, at the Wedding MBA convention that was being held in Las Vegas. I have been in the wedding business for over 3 years now, with my alternative to fresh flowers - my CLAY flowers - but there's a lot of things I could learn about the business. My experience so far, had been try, miss, try, succeed :). The Wedding MBA convention gave me a lot of useful stuff to ponder and act upon. There were a lot of industry leaders as speakers. There were Timothy Chi and Sonny Ganguly - the CEO and CMO respectively of 'WeddingWire', there Carley Roney - the Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of 'The Knot', Shannon Underwood and Will Hegarty (both of the 'Bridal Fashion Debut'), Erin Brukhard (of 'Be in Love Designs'), Kathy Ireland (Kathy Ireland Worldwide), Susan Southerland, Sasha Souza, Julia Markel (Association of Wedding Professionals International), Andy Ebon (of the Wedding Marketing Network), Laura Cave (Director of Marketing Intelligence of 'The Knot') among a host of other wonderful and knowledgeable people.

My New Clay Hair Flowers : Soon to be offered on my ETSY store (sorry for the bad pic. Blame my iPhone 3GS)

Being who I am - a very reticent person who wants to go hide somewhere when she sees a lot of people - I was planning on spending a lot of time by myself. But thanks to my friend Jo Ann Grant of Apropos Creations, that was not to be :). She made sure that I spoke with people and I was glad I did. I met so many wonderful wedding vendors - all experts in their fields. I hope to share their work with all of you on this platform. Coming back to Jo Ann, I have never met anyone like her. If you need something, she will most likely have it in her purse :). She is friendly, resourceful and extremely organized. No wonder she's a wedding planner! Here she is, with Kathy Ireland.

Photo: Jo Ann Grant and Kathy Ireland

(I wish I had a chance to show her my clay flowers :), that would have been fun right?) We had a fun time driving to Vegas together. At one point, we were so busy talking and laughing that we missed the exit and had to keep going for more than 20 miles before we could turn back :). If you are in the Phoenix area and looking for someone to take care of your Wedding Day, do check out Apropos Creations. I truly believe (and I don't say this because she's my friend) she will take all the stress out of your Wedding Day and put you at ease so you can enjoy your Wedding the way you are supposed to.

The simple floral arrangement that I made for Jo Ann's association's booth at the Wedding MBA Convention

Coming back to the Wedding MBA experience, it was wonderful. I cannot wait to do it again :). People who saw my flowers there, could not believe that they were made out of clay. Clay Flowers, I realize is a still a very new concept for most people and I am glad that I am able to introduce people to the beautiful world of realistic, lightweight and longlasting DECO Clay Flowers :).

Gardenia Bouquet

2011-08-30T22:30:00.000-07:00

I have been missing in action - again :). Sorry about that. But the good news is, that I am doing a lot of interesting things and you will see the results soon. There are so many things that I am doing right now, that posting photos sometimes becomes difficult. But this bouquet I totally fell in love with. So, I am taking time to post these pics for you :).

Most of you folks know by now, that I am not a great photographer :), so please forgive the badly focused pics..... and please wait for the next post which only has pics by professionals. It was supposed to be before this, but then I got busy with the wedding season that 'apparently' ended in April! :) I am not complaining though... I am loving every bit of it.

Enjoy these photos and I'll see you soon :).

KeepsakeBlossoms featured in the 'Bridal Buzz' Blog of 'Bridal Guide Magazine'

2011-07-20T18:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I was going through my emails when I found one from the Bridal Guide Magazine. They said they would love to feature my work - my DECO Clay Flowers - on their 'Bridal Buzz' blog :). They had conducted a poll to see if brides thought that faux flowers were a 'DO' or 'DON'T'. One of my Facebook Fans told them about my clay wedding flowers (Thanks Becca! You rock!) :).
I sent in some photos and some information that they asked for and here's the blog :). I have been working at this DECO Clay flower art so hard for all these years. Finally, it seems, that recognition is trickling in. I am so honored and grateful (and may I also say, totally elated!Yippee!). This is the first time a National level major bridal publication has featured my work.

Click on the photos or click here to read what the blog says about the flowers that I handcraft from Claycraft by DECO. I must thank the photographers who helped me get here. I was always doing good work, but my photos sucked and people maybe thought my flowers sucked too. LOL! Well, I was lucky to find these ladies who took lovely shots of my flowers and made them look as pretty as they are in real-life: Angela Simpson of Angelina Rose Photography, Amanda Fales of Amanda Fales Photography, Wendy Loped of Abstract Mind by WLo and Marnie McCown of Crescendo Photography. Thanks Ladies!

PS: While you take this in, also look out for my next post. Tons of EYE CANDY, I promise! :)

Krystal Muellenberg Photography

2011-06-28T17:00:00.000-07:00

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In my line of business, I get to work with amazing photographers. Krystal Muellenberg is one of my absolute favourites. Her photos are beyond gorgeous! Just a few examples of her work..... The photos below are photos she took of my KeepsakeBlossoms Bouquets created out of clay.

Everyone that I have shown her photos to, was awestruck by her work. I am not exaggerating one bit when I say that. Krystal is based out of La Crosse, Wisconsin but loves to travel the world. So no matter where you are having your wedding, Krystal Muellenberg Photography will be one of the best options you will ever have. I am not just saying this because she photographed my bouquets beautifully. Just take a look at her website and come back and tell me if those aren't some of the most gorgeous photos you've ever seen in your life!

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Favourite Wedding Blogs: The Perfect Palette Blog

2011-06-27T08:34:00.000-07:00

I stumbled upon this blog once, when I was looking for a color scheme for one of my rooms :). The Perfect Palette Blog is designed to help you choose a color palette for your wedding. You know how you want a particular shade of teal and don't know what else will go with it? Or how you fell in love with a particular color and no one else understands what you are trying to describe to them? :) This blog will help you!

Personally, I love colors. But sometimes, I do get stuck on - 'grey and pink' or 'grey and yellow'? Or 'turquoise', 'teal' or 'aqua'? I always find my answers here :). You will find not only colors that go together fabulously well, but also inspiration boards to go with those color palettes, like the ones shown here.

You can search by color and you also have a palette library, that gives you a kind of visual index.

So go ahead, give this blog a try and tell me if you don't totally love it! :)

James Bond gets hitched

2011-06-26T12:30:00.001-07:00

Wedding News makes me really happy! :) No matter who's getting married, I am always happy to know that two people have made a commitment to spend their lives together. I was a bit surprised though, when I read today that Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz had a hush-hush wedding recently. I had no idea they were dating!

Rachel Weisz and Daniel Craig: Jeff Vespa/WireImage, Fitzroy Barrett /Landov

Photo courtesy of People.Com

Here's wishing the gorgeous couple a lifetime of wedded bliss!

New Blog

2011-06-23T23:10:00.000-07:00

This is going to be my new blog - solely for weddings. I am still in the process of designing it. So please bear with the basic design for the time being :).
This blog will have not just my DECO Clay Wedding Florals, but also writeups from wedding professionals, cool ideas and great finds for weddings and .... my favourite... Inspiration Boards :). I can't wait to give you all of that to read and enjoy... but it will take some time to fall in place properly. But... soon enough :).
So, do keep coming back to check what's new. And I shall make sure that you have lots and lots of wonderful, wedding related information and tons of eye candy.

Bridal Fashion Debut - June 2011

2011-06-23T17:12:00.000-07:00

I have been promising photos for long now :). Well, here are some from my recent participation at the Bridal Fashion Debut in Phoenix.

Am I allowed to have favourites amongst my own creations? LOL! Because these two above qualify. The left has peonies in three different shaped vases. The vases weren't sold as a set.... I literally had to hunt for matching vases. But they go so well together and give the arrangement such elegance. I love the simplicity of the design. It is so modern and striking.

The yellow ranunculus and freesia arrangement on the right took a long time to make. I was experimenting with colors and textures. Eventually, I decided on different shades of yellow, with hints of green as accent. The vase is actually a very very pretty candle holder, with a teal and light-gold print on it. I keep buying containers that catch my eye, to use in future arrangements. Sometimes they work out, sometimes they don't :). This one did. Big time.

This is how my booth looked this time :). A big change from how it looked in January :). I even hung photographs that I received from photographers who were kind enough to take pictures of my flowers. I credited them on the frames. The photos generate a lot of interest in my booth and people even asked for information on the photographers who clicked the pics. So glad the idea worked out well.

Here's some more eye candy :).

The pics came out nice, eh? Just goes to show how professionally taken photos can make a big difference and make my flowers look as beautiful as they are in-person. For these pics, I have to thank my friend Angela Simpson of Angelina Rose Photography. She not just did a great job of taking photos of my flowers, she also helped me design the booth and even came down to help me set it up.

Another person was a big help (and has been, since I first met her at the Bridal Fashion Debut in January this year): Jo Ann Grant of Apropos Creations . Jo Ann is immensely encouraging and helpful. She not just advised me on where I could get my tables and linens from, she also shared some of her own decorations with me :). Now I know why she is such a fantastic wedding planner. She really goes out of her way to make people happy. Thank you you Jo Ann :).

Andrea Jeckering of Dolli Bee.Com designed my new and improved Business Card. (Just email me if you want one.) What a difference she made! She delivered exactly what I wanted and in record time! My new business card is SO beautiful, I am going a little silly over it. I keep looking at it all the time :). Andrea is a wedding and event stationery designer (she is also on ETSY!) whom I met very recently. And I am so thankful that I did :).

This little arrangement that you see in this picture was designed by my husband. It turned out amazingly pretty! :) I didn't know there was a hidden designer in my engineer husband.

All the arrangements that you see here are already available in my ETSY store for purchase, or are in the process of being available there :). I am also working on exciting new products to be made available on ETSY soon. And yes, as always more beautiful photos to share. So .... keep reading.

Bridal Fashion Debut - June 2011

2011-06-21T12:45:00.000-07:00

I have been promising photos for long now :). Well, here are some from my recent participation at the Bridal Fashion Debut in Phoenix.

Here's some more eye candy :).

This little arrangement that you see in this picture was designed by my husband. It turned out amazingly pretty! :) I didn't know there was a hidden designer in my engineer husband.

Bridal Bouquet - Subtle Elegance

2011-05-15T23:18:00.000-07:00

Heather has been a breeze to work with. To start with she sent me a detailed email with all her wishes. That helps a lot! :) She also showed me some pictures that served as her inspiration.

Well, this is what we came up with - Ivory Peonies, White Ranunculus, Stephanotis, Pink Roses, White Hydrangeas with Blue highlights. I then added a little foliage to it, and embellished it using Swarovski Pearls (They are expensive.... but I L-O-V-E them!).

Finally, I put on a hot pink sheer ribbon with pearls, over an ivory ribbon with a fine silver lining. So pretty! :) I am so shamelessly in love with this creation of mine. I hope Heather enjoys her wedding bouquet. Here's wishing her a blissful wedded life.

PS: These lovely photos are again, by Wendy Lopez of Abstract Mind by WLo . Stay tunes for some more great pictures we took the day she shot these pics for me. I feel so lucky to have found her in my little town :).

Blue Rose Bouquet with Peacock Feathers

2011-05-02T23:41:00.000-07:00

Our move to Arizona has blessed me with not just good business, but also good people :). Wendy - of Abstract Mind by WLo - and I became 'Facebook Friends' sometime back, when I saw her beautiful portrait photography and 'liked' her page. We had been 'talking' on FB for sometime, when I asked her if she'd have some time to photograph my flowers. And I am so glad she agreed :).

This blue roses with peacock feathers bouquet, I have made for Suhanya from Canada. Suhanya is my first ever South Asian client. Interestingly, though she and I come from different countries (I come from India and she comes from Sri Lanka), my husband speaks the same language as she does - Tamil. I have a different mother tongue (India has about 5000 languages and dialects!) - Bengali. Anyway.... so I was pretty happy to finally have a bride from the same geographical area as me :).

Suhanya had seen my first roses and peacock feather bouquet and wanted something like that, in blue. It has turned out so vibrant! And the peacock feathers add a lot of charisma to these pieces -just in case you missed it the first time, there is a bout too, for the groom-to-be.

Alrighty! I've got to go now. I have lots more to share..... soon enough :). By the way, for those who are not on my Facebook Page, here's what I am working on for my next project - Kate Middleton's Wedding Bouquet - in CLAY. I am totally obsessed with it :). That has sometime to go though, with the million tiny flowers in it :).

Brilliant Bridal Grand Opening

2011-04-15T06:34:00.000-07:00

Brilliant Bridal is having their Grand Opening this weekend (April 16 and 17, 2011). And it is going to be the most happening place to be for Phoenix area brides. There are many many giveaways - including jewelry, gift certificates, wedding invitations, veils, tiaras, an HDTV and even a vacation :). And yes, my flowers too. I am giving away a 50 Dollars worth gift certificate towards a custom order and a hair flower.

There are raffle draws every half an hour! :) And food. And cake. Really, this is the place you want to be tomorrow and the day after. You can read more about the grand opening and the giveaways on Brilliant Bridals' blog.

Pictures from a PhotoShoot

2011-03-24T22:45:00.000-07:00

I just got these photos in from Marnie of Crescendo Photography and I just had to share them with you rightaway, though I am nodding off even as I type :).

The photoshoot was organized by Jo Ann of Apropos Creations. She is a fantastic wedding planner with exceptional organizing and networking qualities. I really owe a lot to Jo Ann. I met her at the Bridal Show and since then, she has guided me and helped me in several ways. Thanks Jo!

So anyway... I got an email from Jo Ann one day asking if I could lend some bouquets for a photoshoot. Of course I could, I said :). Given my photography talents, I am always happy and grateful to have my flowers professionally photographed.

My flowers show their true potential when photographed well. Don't you think so? :)

So these two bouquets were used for the photoshoot. And the results are better than anything that I could have imagined. :) The day was overcast. Yet, the flowers came out looking so so beautiful :). I am just amazed at Crescendo Photography's work!

The first bouquet is all peonies and has been photographed by me before with terrible results. LOL! :) I love it so! It is a petite bouquet and has a lot of character. And the colors too, are oh-so-beautiful. I have had many people look at this bouquet and ask if the peonies are real. When I tell them that they aren't, they don't believe me :). That is a huge compliment for my work :).

The second bouquet is a more brightly colored bouquet made of hydrangeas, shrub roses, roses and calla lilies. I love how vibrant it turned out. I saw this color inspiration in The Knot Wedding Look Book and gave the design my own twist.

Special Mention: The veils in the photos are made by Leah of 'A Silver Lining - Bridal Veils and Accessories'

Great News!

2011-02-21T07:55:00.000-08:00

When we moved to Arizona back again, last August, one of the things that I really wanted to do was to make Arizona the base for my business. Seems like I am taking at least baby steps in that direction :). My flowers will now be stocked at Brilliant Bridal - a beautiful new bridal boutique in Mesa, AZ. I went to meet their owner Melanie Little recently, to discuss the details and I can attest to the fact that it is indeed a great place to shop at for your wedding!

Brilliant Bridal has beautiful wedding dresses, rooms to try out those dresses in, tons of accessories (including my flowers too!).... the first thing that struck me about the place was that it is really BIG. There is so much space to move around. The flow of light is really nice too. I love it already and wish I had a place like that of my own. LOL! :) Oh! And you know what else is nice? Brides will be able to hold a bouquet in front of them to see what the 'complete' look is like. And guess who's making that bouquet! :) I can't share more details about it yet (That is a surprise) But you can bet it is going to be a super gorgeous one!

You can read more about them on their website by clicking here.

I am on Arizona Weddings' Blog

2011-02-11T10:40:00.000-08:00

arizonaweddings.com/blogMy previous post was about Jenn's Wisconsin Wedding. The same post has now been published by Arizona Weddings on their blog. :) Arizona Weddings is the oldest and most prestigious Wedding Magazine in Arizona. And this is blog post is really a great thing for KeepsakeBlossoms. I have been working hard to establish a base in my home state and slowly it is falling into place - after all those travels of 2009-10. I have been getting a lot of interest from people who want to learn this art and also brides who want my flowers for their weddings. It is indeed an exciting time for me and I am super happy to share it with you.

First I got the Bride's Choice Award from WeddingWire and now the blog post. Things seem to be moving in a great direction for me :).

I have to really rush now, and I am sure I am forgetting a whole lot of things that I wanted to say, but I shall be back soon. Keep Reading! :)

Bridal Fashion Debut 2011

2011-01-12T08:20:00.000-08:00

So, do you want to know what I did over the weekend? The title of the blog post should give you an idea :). I participated as a 'vendor' at the Bridal Fashion Debut 2011. The Bridal Fashion Debut held in Phoenix every year is said to be the biggest bridal show in the country. This year there were 4600 registered brides who attended the event looking to choose their wedding gowns, accessories, venues, menus, photographers, planners, coordinators, photo booths, you name it!

How I decided to do this and when, is an interesting story :). A couple of days before the show, I went to the bank to open a business account. The lady who was helping me with it - Shelley - told me about the event and said I MUST participate in it, but maybe it was a little late for the January show. I said there was no way I could have products ready in just a couple of days. After I came home and told my husband about it, he too said that I absolutely must participate in the show and that he'd help me with it. So, I called up the event organizers and asked what the booth cost and if anything was available at all. Well, I got lucky! :) And that started my frenetic adventure of making something worthy of a Bridal Show that big! I had never participated in anything like that before and did not even know where to start. (That explains the bare look of my booth! No decor, nothing... just a solitary banner... LOL!)

I decided to do a bit of everything.... and did what I could. I did some petite bouquets, small table arrangements, bouts, hair pieces, and even a ring pillow. I burnt the midnight oil, so to say :), but eventually turned out enough stuff to fill the table that we were allotted.

The beginning was quite disappointing, but with the first person who came to our booth, the people started coming in...and we didn't even have time for a breather. They couldn't believe that the flowers weren't real. That was a real compliment to my work, especially since I had worked day and night to make that show happen. To everybody, except 2 persons, it was their introduction to DECO Clay. So now, if nothing else, at least a few thousand people know about the magical clay that gives the flowers the real feel! (There is a similar clay in the market - Hearty Clay - but the finish is no where close to DECO Clay) It was really a terrific experience talking to so many people about the flowers and the clay.

A lot of people just love my rose and peacock feathers bouquet. It's been a hit from the day I made it for a client of mine 2 years back. Even at the show, a lot of people even took pictures of it, to get it done in real flowers :). While that doesn't get me business, it does say something about my design :) :). That's not bad! :) I can live with it for now.... LOL!

On the second day, we had a lot of people who said, 'we've heard about your work from others at the show'. We were actually generating 'word-of-mouth' publicity. How cool is that! We heard a lot of things said about my flowers - 'That is the coolest thing', 'That is the smartest thing', 'That is the prettiest thing in the show' .... but I found one comment very entertaining. One guy said that my flowers were so good, they were seriously 'Bada**' :). I would never have thought to use that word for my flowers, LOL!, but it was so fun to hear that.

Towards the end of the show, we actually ran out of the postcards that we were handing out to people....wehad to resort to 'rationing' them on the second day!

I met a lot of cool people at the bridal show. More about them later.... but for now, I would like to thank some people who made this happen:

Shelley - from my bank :)

Ashley - a fellow etsian who designed my new logo on time on a very very short notice!

Rob at Impressive Imaging - Our local printers here in Maricopa. Rob helped me out so much with designing the postcards and the business cards in addition to printing everything!

Nayana and Arup - Nayana is my best friend from childhood. She helped me pick out the right logo design, when I was not sure which one to pick. Arup is her wonderful husband. They are like family to me, always encouraging me to move on with my little endeavors :).

Sarang - My husband, who always helps out with everything! He encouraged me to participate, he helped me finish the products, pack them, transport them. He was there by my side all the time at the show. Can't get any better than that!

I took in raffle entries for 2 hair pieces - a gardenia hair comb and a single gardenia hair flower. Now it is time for me to put it all on the computer and pick out some winners :).

PS: Sorry for the bad pics folks! Shall post better ones soon. These are from my iPhone

New Wedding Bouquet for an Army Wedding

2011-01-01T17:29:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year 2011! I hope you had/are having a great Holiday Season :). So, have you been wondering where I have been? :) I was finishing up this beautiful bouquet for a very special bride.

Not that other brides aren't special, but this one was for an active duty soldier. She and her husband are both in the armed forces. On my website www.keepsakeblossoms.com, I have mentioned about a special discount for members of the armed forces. (Considering what they do for us, the discount is nothing. But, I do what I can) Thais came through me through my website. I hadn't been very active on Etsy for a while and I am always surprised to know how my clients find me through my website.... since I haven't advertised at all :). So anyway, she found me and said that she wanted a bouquet with green, white and a little black. She also mentioned a wildflower-ish look, but also elegant. Once I knew what her style and her favourite flowers were, we decided on Peonies, Anemones and Ranunculus as the main flowers. For the smaller flowers we chose Stephanotis, Freesia, Hyacinth and Viburnum.

I think the bouquet turned out extremely pretty, even if I am the one who's saying so.... LOL! I fell so completely in love with it, that I am now creating similar-looking arrangements for our home (which incidentally doesn't have any of my work as part of the decor!)

I have some more interesting developments on the horizon and I shall share them with you, as they materialize. With your best wishes and encouragement, I am sure I shall succeed.

Thanks for reading! Keep coming back for more news, and more flowers :).

P.S.: I know my photos aren't all that great. Any tips on photographing the flowers, especially on creating a background would be really welcome.

Wedding Photos - Hair Piece

2010-02-11T07:54:00.000-08:00

I am guilty of not having posted this earlier. I got these photos months back. Somehow, I totally forgot to show them to you. I made these flowers for Veronica's veil.... She wanted a long-ish cluster of phalaenopsis orchids, with some pearls in it, to give it some movement. Also, her husband's bout is a clay phalaenopsis made by me :).
My finger is still healing and I realized, that not just did I manage to rip a thumbnail off, I also hurt my other fingers of my left hand (and that makes all the difference, because I am left-handed!). So, working is really, literally... a pain :(. So is typing on the laptop.
I shall therefore, leave you now, with these photos. Hopefully, I shall be back on the blog soon, because despite the injury, I have been working and have some cute arrangements to show you :).

Cover photo on 'Veils and Vows'

2009-09-15T16:31:00.000-07:00

I had been dying to share this with you.... and its finally here :). Please go through the pages 9, 18, 28, 29, 30, 44 of the 'Veils and Vows' magazine.

This is all thanks to my friend, Amanda, of Amanda Fales Photography. I am sure most of you have been to her website and experienced her mindblowing talent. Those of you who haven't, are seriously missing something. Veils and Vows - an Indiana based Wedding periodical, did this Big Dream Makeover for a lucky bride-to-be. Amanda, who works for the magazine asked me if I would make a fall colored bouquet for the Makeover. Of course, I said yes! :). The bouquet has orange roses, white peonies, monkeytail ferns, stephanotis and some berries and foliage. I loved the photos so much, that my new website pretty much revolves around them :). This is my first magazine mention and I am super excited :).
Betty and I were away the whole day, shopping and sight-seeing..... when I logged on to my facebook, after I came back home, I found that the magazine had been published :). I was happy as it is, and then I even saw the ad that was put in there for me :). That was a big surprise!So, do let me know how you like the feature, the photos and my flowers .... :).

KeepsakeBlossoms

Tiffany's Wedding - Red Roses and Stephanotis

'A Silver Lining' - Bridal Veils and Accessories :Local Wedding Professional Shout Out

Wedding Photos - Gardenia Bouquet

Happy New Year !

Guest Blog by 'Inspired Occasions' : Trends in Wedding Cakes

New Website

KeepsakeBlossoms : Handcrafted Clay Flowers' Wedding MBA Experience

Gardenia Bouquet

KeepsakeBlossoms featured in the 'Bridal Buzz' Blog of 'Bridal Guide Magazine'

Krystal Muellenberg Photography

Favourite Wedding Blogs: The Perfect Palette Blog

James Bond gets hitched

New Blog

Bridal Fashion Debut - June 2011

Bridal Fashion Debut - June 2011

Bridal Bouquet - Subtle Elegance

Blue Rose Bouquet with Peacock Feathers

Brilliant Bridal Grand Opening

Pictures from a PhotoShoot

Great News!

I am on Arizona Weddings' Blog

Bridal Fashion Debut 2011

New Wedding Bouquet for an Army Wedding

Wedding Photos - Hair Piece

Cover photo on 'Veils and Vows'

P.S.: All photos are courtesy Amanda Fales Photography