Living Succulent Wreath

Succulents are hot items these days. I love the succulent arrangements and wreaths in the stores but they can be so darn expensive! 

I decided to jump into the deep end and try to make a wreath myself. The succulent clippings that you use in the wreath take 6-8 weeks to root so if you want to give one for a holiday gift, now is the time to plant it.

The cost of these, even when you make them, is not cheap. I suppose you can make it less expensive if you are growing your own succulents but I don't have enough varieties right now. I am going to take some of the clippings from the succulents I purchased and plant them. So maybe next year I will have enough to make a wreath from my own clippings. 
 
The items you need to make your wreath are:

• Wreath form. You can make your own, but I purchased mine and they are fantastic!
• Succulent clippings. Get a good variety. I bought mine off of eBay.
• Living Wreath Pins. These help you hold some of the pesky clippings into the wreath form.

Start by soaking your wreath form. Make sure it is good and wet all the way through. I used the bathtub and let it soak in the water. I  purchased my wreath form from Topiary Art Works. This wreath base is fantastic. It comes with "feet" that will keep the finished wreath away from the wall so it hangs straight, and a chain from which to hang the finished wreath. Since this wreath form will we filled with plants, it will be heavy. You can make this yourself but I highly recommend purchasing your form from Topiary Art Works instead. 

Let the wreath form soak for at least a few hours. Let the excess water drain before you pull it out to work on it. The excess water will drain away but the wreath form will be saturated. I put the soaked wreath form into a box lined with a trash bag to move it outside to my work area.

Next you need to take your clippings and sort through them. Mine sat in the box a little too long (okay, a LOT too long) before I used them so some were a little wilted but they were still fine to put in the wreath. Succulents are forgiving that way. I purchased 150 succulent clippings from SharkoftheGRC on eBay. They have various amounts of clippings you could buy. I am able to make2 wreaths from these clipping and plant some of them. You can also create more succulents from the leaves that you break off and I will show more about that in a future post. 

Start with a focal piece. I chose a large flower shaped succulent and put it in the lower left side of the form. Just poke a hole in the wreath form and shove the stem in. If you have let your clippings wilt like I did, you need to be careful because the stems and leaves are weak and bend. I ended up using my finger to make the holes because I found it easier to get around the metal pieces in the wreath form than when I used a tool. 

Next I used a different type of succulent to add interest next to the focal point. I used one with longer thinner leaves so there was a contract in texture.

If you pick up a piece and the stem isn't long enough to insert, break off a few leaves until you have the stem length you need.KEEP THESE LEAVES! You can grow new succulent plants using them. 




Work your way around the wreath form, poking holes and inserting succulent stems. Vary the type and color so you end up with an interesting piece. 

If you run into a stubborn succulent that won't stay in the wreath, use one of the Living Wreath Pins, which you can also get from Topiary Art Works. Just take the pin and add the pin on top of the stem to hold it in place. 

Hold the succulent where you want it to stay and push the pin into the form over the stem. Don't squish the stem, just attach it firmly to the base. The pins slide into the base easily and are very easy to use. 



Save some long succulent pieces to use as filler at the end. In the picture at right you can see longer brown stems with little green leaves that I used as filler. 


The colorful succulents make a nice change from all the greenery. Place different succulents, grouping them with 3 or 5 of the same ones, then change to a different succulent. 

Look at various wreaths online to see what you like and gain inspiration from your favorites. 

When it is complete move the wreath back to the lined box. I left mine outside in partial sun. I use a watering can to water the wreath every week. As the succulents take hold and start to grow I will add in additional clippings if I see spots of the wreath form that aren't being covered. 

Comment below if you have questions or need information. I am happy to help! Remember, plant now if you want to give as a gift. 

Enjoy!
Laureen

Taste of the Season - Pumpkin Bread and Spiced Honey Butter

I love to start baking in the fall. The cooler weather makes turning on the oven palatable, and the smell of fresh baked goods in the house is intoxicating. There is something so homey about coming home to the smell of something baking. YUM 

I also discovered something about pumpkin recipes. Most of them are much too sweet for me. I really like the flavor of squashes and pumpkin but not when they are overloaded with sugar. 

I found a recipe for pumpkin bread that became my base, but instead of glaze (no powdered sugar in the house required me to make other plans) I made a spiced honey butter. This honey butter may be the best thing I have ever tasted. It added so much more to the bread than a glaze!

Pumpkin Bread

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
heaping 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice

8 ounces unsalted butter, softened (for vegan use Earth Balance spread)

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup sucanat (or packed brown sugar)

5 large eggs (for vegan use egg substitute)

1 can (15 ounces) solid pack pumpkin

2 teaspoons vanilla extract



Instructions:

Heat oven to 325F.

Grease 2 loaf pans. I use spray coconut oil

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, soda, salt, and spice; set aside.

Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Keep beating until the sucanat is dissolved and the mixture is really fluffy.

Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. When all eggs have been added, the mixture will be quite fluffy.

Beat in pumpkin and vanilla.

Slowly add dry ingredients, a little at a time, just until combined.

Spoon into the prepared loaf pans and bake for 55 to 60 minutes (but watch and see as every oven is different), or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in center.

Cool for 15 minutes in the pan, then run a knife around the edge of the pan to separate the loaf from the pan. Invert the pan onto a wire rack to cool completely. While it's cooling you can whip up the spiced honey butter.

Spiced Honey Butter 

1/3 - 1/2 cup butter (for vegan, use Earth Balance spread)
1/4 cup raw honey 
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Scant 1/8 teaspoon ginger
Scant 1/8 teaspoon Allspice
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Warm the butter and the honey until they can easily be combined. Add in the spices and mix to combine. Pour into a ramekin and put into the refrigerator to solidify. 

Cut bread and serve with a spread of the honey butter on it. It is really good! 



This butter would make a fantastic gift by itself. Combine it with a small loaf of pumpkin bread and you are ready with a hostess gift for any Autumn event you attend.




I hope you enjoy fall as much as I do! 
Laureen

Fall Table Scapes, covering every celebration!

Happy Autumn! I am celebrating the fall by starting a new project: videos! 

I worked with Wholesale Flowers and Supplies to create a video that shows you an easy way to take your fall decorations from Halloween through Thanksgiving. You can get all you need at Wholesale Flowers and Supplies.

I will be creating more videos in the future showing you tips and tricks to decorate your home, entertain, even throw a wedding. Everything is DIY and you can do it too! 

I hope you enjoy!
Laureen

Halloween DIY - Making your own fake blood

I love the fall and Halloween marks the beginning of the holidays for me. I like the scary version of Halloween rather than the cute. This year I knew I wanted to make a centerpiece where the flowers bleed. I also wanted them floating in fake blood. If you read my previous post you know I made my Halloween dreams come true and used a lot of fake blood in my design. 

Buying that much fake blood can be costly and I like to spend as little as possible. Making fake blood is really super simple. It takes only 3 ingredients and very little time. You will want to use a bowl for mixing that either doesn't stain or that you don't mind getting stained.
 

Fake Blood

• Corn Syrup
• Hershey's Chocolate Syrup
• Red food coloring 

Start with about 2/3 of the bottle of corn syrup in a bowl or container. Do not use all the corn syrup. Mix in 5 tablespoons of chocolate syrup and add about a teaspoon of red food coloring.

Mix and test the color. If it's not red enough, add more red food coloring. If it's too cherry red, add another tablespoon of chocolate syrup. If, in playing with the recipe you need to dilute the color, add more corn syrup. 

I didn't follow a recipe when I made mine; I winged it and discovered a few things you don't want to do. 

• Don't use blue food coloring. I tried to use it to make the color a deeper red and it turned brown. It took me quite a bit of adjustments to make the color right.
• Add a tablespoon of chocolate syrup at a time after the initial batch. Adding more can make the color off. 
• Be sure not to use all the corn syrup at the start. When I added blue and too much chocolate syrup having some left was my only way to save the batch.  

This blood is great for dripping, using as wound blood and making Halloween decor. It worked great to make the centerpiece in my tablescape bleed onto to the flowers in the bowls below. To see the finished design, you can click here.

Halloween can be fun and inexpensive if you use things around the house to make the items you need. In one of my next posts I will show you how to use eye shadow to create zombie makeup, devil makeup, and fake bruising. 

Happy Autumn!

Laureen 

Halloween Entertaining and Wedding Design - Latest Trend...Bleeding Flowers!

I love the holidays. For me, Halloween heralds the start of the Holiday Season. 

This year I decide to do a design that can be used for entertaining friends or as a design for a Halloween-themed reception.

I chose the color scheme of black, dark red or burgundy, gold and white. I didn't want to use the typical orange and yellow. 


I also knew I wanted to incorporate fake blood. I had seen a few fake blood recipes on Pinterest and I knew I could make a lot for really cheap. 

You can see the final design above. White tablecloth, black table runner, gold chargers with black and white square plates, crisp white napkin with a red rose at each place setting. 



The design also includes cut crystal wine glasses, and an Eiffel Tower black vase with hydrangeas, roses, and white alstroemeria. There are two glass bowls with a pure white lisianthus floating in them. The bowls are filled with fake blood and the alstroemeria have blood added to the centers so they bleed into the bowls and onto the lisianthus. 

A wide white satin ribbon was added just under the flowers and it drapes down the stem of the vase. The blood drops are also streaming down the ribbon.

Overall this makes for an elegant Halloween table for entertaining with family, or for a reception table. It would also work with round tables instead of the rectangle that you see in the pictures.

In future posts I will give you my tips for making the fake blood, picking flowers, and how to make the flowers bleed. Comment below if you have any questions. 

Time to celebrate! 
Laureen

Halloween Decor: Feather wreath - DIY Level: Easy!

I love Halloween. I am a big fan of DIY Halloween. It was always a big deal for us when I was a kid. My Dad was an artist and we would always have our faces painted instead of using masks. Our costumes were always original since we made them ourselves. Halloween was the start of the Holiday Season for us and it meant 2+ months of fun, crafts, and happy times. 

I have already started my Halloween crafts for the year and wanted to share them with you. I love the look of the feather wreaths that are on the market, but I don't want to spend what stores are asking for them. 

I found that by using a couple of good boas, a styrofoam wreath, and some U-shaped upholstery pins I could make one in a matter of minutes. 

Here is the tricky part: these items can be costly to buy by themselves so you need to look for really good deals. I found the styrofoam wreath form online for $3. I saw them at some places for up to $9! Do not pay that much. 



My next tip is to get good feather boas. I found mine at JoAnn's Fabrics and Crafts and used a 50% off coupon to get them. Use the JoAnn's app on your smartphone and there is no clipping or looking for coupons required. When you get them with the coupon they are $4. Some of the dollar store boas are thin and will make for a less expensive looking wreath.

I also found U-Shaped Upholstery Pins for $3 at JoAnn's. Do not get the U-Shaped Hair Pins. Make sure you get sharp pins. 

Instructions:

Take one of the boas and the wreath. Use a U-Shaped pin to pin the very end of the boa to the foam. 

Wrap the boa around the wreath, looping it into the center of the wreath and around. Space the boa so that you can't see any of the styrofoam. 

When you get to the end of the boa, pin down the end. For me, the boa covered half of the wreath form. As shown at right. I like how the full boa makes the wreath really puffy.

There were little bumps at the end of the boa that I purchased and it was easy to pin them into the wreath. Use the second boa to cover the second half of the wreath. 

Pin the ends just as you did with the first boa and the wreath is done! You can add bows, skulls, or other accents if you want. Below is the picture of the wreath on my door.    

I love the look of it and how full and fluffy it is. You don't get the same fullness with cheap boas (although it's not like $4 is a lot). 

I will be showing more crafts and designs for fall and Halloween coming up in the next few weeks. 

And I have big news! I am going to be a guest blogger on a local Wholesale flower Store! Details to come! YAY!

I hope you are enjoying your Autumn. Take a few minutes to create your own feather wreath. Happy Haunting!

Laureen

Invitations with life - seed embedded paper and DIY invitations

I love sending invitations. I like printed invitations because they are so fun to receive and are a physical reminder of the upcoming event. Invitations are the first time guests are getting an idea of the type of party you are throwing. They symbolize the look and feel of the event. The best part is, it is easy to DIY your own invitations.




There are so many ways to make your invitations represent your party by using fonts, pictures, designs and even the paper.

Recently I sent invitations and used a seed-embedded paper that the guests could plant. I included a matching envelope that was seeded too. The seeds were small and didn't impact the printing at all. 

I found the paper online by doing a search and immediately loved it. 

I created the design of the invitation in MS Word. Search templates for Invitation and all sorts of fun ones come up. I always play with a few designs before I find the one I want. I ended up using a plain one so the beauty of the paper stood out. 

Use standard printer paper to layout and test print your invitations. This allows you to make sure the design is working before you use the more expensive paper.  When all looks good, add the invitation paper to the printer and print away. 

If your paper is thicker than standard paper be sure to adjust the feeder on your printer before you print. If pages are sticking and not printing straight, this could be the cause. 

Always plan to print a few that won't be sent. There are always a few pages that give me trouble, especially when use specialty papers. 

Since I printed 2 invitations per sheet of paper, I cut them with a paper cutter. This is the easiest method to cut sheets in half, but you can always fold and cut them with scissors or a razor blade. 

I included a slip that described the invitation paper and how to plant it so that guests would know this invitation could live on. I added a little flower design to make it special and match the invitation. 

I printed the instructions on standard paper and printed 4 per page. Again, I used the paper cutter to cut them apart.

The envelopes matched the paper and to seal them, I used a pressed flower sticker that I found on the internet. It's the little details that really make a big difference. People may not notice each one, but the feeling is there and each detail sets a tone.

When I held the party, guests commented on the invitations and how much they enjoyed them. From the invitations they could tell it would be a special day, with natural details and a slight rustic charm. 

The best part? Guest actually planted the invitations. I can't wait to see pictures of the herbs and flowers as they grow.  

Make your parties special by sending invitations. They don't need to be expensive and can set the tone for the whole event. If you take your time and make them special your guests will anticipate the event even more. 

Comment below if you have any questions about how to create your own invitations. 

Laureen