Busy Fall!!!

 Has it seriously been 2 months since my last blog post?!  Yikes!  Well, I haven't been slacking off, I was knee deep in flowers!!  A Fresh Flower had an incredibly busy fall and we are beyond grateful for that!  Between IU events and beautiful fall weddings, we kept ourselves pretty darn busy!!

I won't bore you with the details of my schedule!  I will just show you some pretty pictures from an IU event I did back in September. (WOW!  It's almost November??!!  How did that happen?)  I LOVE the events at IU and especially the events I do with the IU foundation.  What a great group of people to work with!!  They make my already amazing job even better!

Rustic Barn Centerpieces

 

I absolutely LOVED this wedding!!  The bride was so fun and picked such bright cheerful colors and the reception centerpieces were perfect for the rustic barn setting.  

I did a mix of ball jars and small vases and the tables.  The bride provided the wooden trivets to sit the arrangements on which made the colors pop even more.  The juxtaposition of  the wood trivets and the delicate flowers is a great look and I am seeing this a lot at weddings.  

The bride wanted to incorporate lemons into the centerpieces.  I stuck lemons into the large jars and then placed lemons on the trivets as well.  Mixing fruit into the centerpieces is a great way to add color and texture.  Laying texture is such an easy way to add richness and dimension to simple arrangements.  

Ladies Night Design Class

A few months back I was asked to teach a class.  I was a bit taken aback as I am not a teacher, nor do I desire to be one!  But none-the-less, I jumped at the chance to take part as I was told there would be wine served!  HA HA!!!  

The group of women I had the pleasure to work with are all great friends who get together once a month to go to dinner, get drinks or learn something new.  They wanted to try their hand at floral design and I was happy to oblige!

I decided to teach the ladies how to design a centerpiece using flowers you could pick up at the grocery store.  I used alstromeria, green mini hydrangeas, orange spray roses, green buttons, gerber daisies, tulips and wax flower.  A traditional mix of spring flowers in bright vibrant colors.  I chose a clear cylinder vase for the container because I loved how sleek and clean it looks.

While I am not sure that I actually "taught" these fun ladies anything about flower arranging, I think they all had a great time!!  But how could you not with great food, good wine and wonderful friends!?

If you are interested in learning more about doing a design class, let me know. These are great for girls nights, Church groups, mom groups or anyone with an interest in learning more about floral design.  You can email me at meechols9@yahoo.com for more information.

It's rare that I have a chance to make anything for myself.  I was thrilled to bring home my design from the flower class!!

Easter Wedding

 While everyone was out hunting eggs for Easter, we were creating and delivering a beautiful wedding!!!  Hydrangeas, ranunculus, seeded eucalyptus, roses and carnations.  Lush and full was the request and I believe we achieved that!

The wedding ceremony was in Beck Chapel and the reception was in the Presidents room.  Both are located on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington Indiana.

It was a perfect sunny day, just right for a spring wedding!

Working From a Home Based Studio

A Fresh Flower is a home based floral design studio.  I receive many questions about what this means.  Simply, I work from a studio located in my home.  Our flowers are brought in fresh for each order since we are a studio instead of a traditional retail flower shop.

 I typically order my event flowers about a week prior to the event and they are delivered 1-2 days before the event date.  When I order flowers for a wedding, I place the order 3-4 weeks before the wedding.  I order them that far in advance to insure that what I have specified to the bride is available and if not, it gives us time to select  new options.

 I have all the flowers brought directly to my home studio from floral wholesalers.  I use various wholesalers, local and in Indianapolis, depending on what flowers I need and how many I need.  I don't really have a favorite, I use whomever can guarantee the best price for the best quality.  I do a lot of research before I make my orders so that each client gets the very best options.  Quality is the number one priority and so far, all of my wholesalers have been amazing in that department!

My decision to make my business home based was a no brainer for me.  My priority is my family and working from home allows me to be with my kiddos and also have a job that I love!  Working from home allows me to keep my prices lower, helping brides and corporate clients stay on budget without sacrificing style and quality.  There may come a day when I need to work outside of my home, but for now, it works well for me and my family. I hope this gives you a little bit of an insight into what a home based studio is like!  

I'm So Thankful

 Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. The food, family and a chance to reflect on the past year and give thanks for all of my blessings.  This year has been especially sweet and so good to my family.

We moved into a beautiful new home in February.  We sold our home without listing it, and bought our real estate agents home, that was not listed.  Such a blessing for us!

My twins started preschool this year two days a week.  They are learning and growing so much.  They are healthy and thriving and making me laugh so much these days.  My heart just about bursts when I think about the past 3 years. I cannot believe they will be 3 in just a few short weeks!

My husband got a promotion at work.  I am so proud of him, how hard he works and how well he provides for our family. He loves us and takes such good care of us.  He is such an amazing husband and father.

The biggest blessing this year was the birth of our third child.  He is such a sweet baby and so full of love.  He always has a smile waiting for anyone he sees.  Having 3 under 3 has been challenging, but also rewarding and fun.  Don't get me wrong, we have had a few rough days here and there, but overall, these 3 little people are the biggest blessings in my life. (Well, 4 people counting my hubby!)

So, as you gather around your tables this week with family and friends, take a moment to really think about all the things you are blessed with.  And of course, be sure to include some flowers on your table!!!  Here are a few pretty pictures I am loving right now!  From simple and elegant to floral and fun, these inspiration pictures are sure to give you a few ideas this Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Indiana University Distinguished Alumni Banquet

Recently I was asked to create arrangements for an awards banquet.  The request was for an elegant arrangement in white flowers that was not too large.  I decided to use a glass cube vase with hydrangeas, stock, roses and spray roses and a variety of greenery.  I really like the way white flowers pop on the deep wine colored table linens.  I kept things pretty simple as the table tends to get pretty crowded with plates, glasses and various other dinner items.

I also created an arrangement for the podium using the same flowers along with larkspur, snap dragons and stattice.  The hydrangeas were really full and lush and the roses opened just as I delivered them!  Perfect timing!!

  Podium

 Centerpiece

Luncheon at the Foundation

 Here are a few pictures of my recent corporate work.  Centerpieces for a luncheon held at the Indiana University Foundation and a large arrangement that was placed in front of the podium.  I love the vases wrapped in rope!! 

The linens for the event were a dark chocolate brown and a rich avocado green.  Perfect for a crisp fall day! 

Enjoy!!

Fall Textures and Colors

 

I have been really lucky to work with some great ladies on my corporate work.  They give me linen colors and let me have a chance to use basically whatever I want to.  It allows me to experiment with flowers I don't use very often.  It also allows me to use my interior design experience exploring textures and colors.  

Last week was busy in the design studio making fall creations for 2 events at Indiana University.  I used some traditional fall flowers and added in a few unusual pops of texture for fun.  I used trachilieum for the first time.  (Its the purple puff-ball looking flower below.) It is rough and a little prickly to the touch.  It was the perfect pop of eggplant color that the client requested.  I also used lavender mum, green button mum, alstromeria, green hypericum berries and seeded eucalyptus.  

I was so pleased with how the centerpieces turned out, and more importantly, the client loved them!

Fall LOVE!!!!

Anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE FALL!!!!I love every little thing about it.  Cool temps, falling leaves, boots, sweaters and pumpkin flavored EVERYTHING!  (I may or may not have at least 5 pumpkin flavored food/drink items in my house right now.  And maybe a candle or 2!)  I just love how warm and cozy this time of year is.  I love it SO much, that my hubby and I picked the month of October to get married, 9 years ago!!  WOW!

Fall is such a romantic time of year to get married.  While I LOVE love my spring and summer weddings, I have a special place in my heart for fall weddings. 

I have been working on a few quotes this week that will take place on Halloween, so the colors are rich and deep and the textures just jump out at you.  The best part is, the arrangements involve pumpkins!  I can't wait to show you the final products next week!

Until then, here are a few pictures to drool over that I found on Pinterest.  (Duh, where else would I be spending my free time!!??)

Enjoy!!

A Little Pinterest Love

  Anyone else feel a slight obsession with Pinterest??  I almost feel a little guilty for the amount of time I spend searching bouquet and centerpiece ideas!  (And, I'll admit it, I am usually looking at the food section as well!!  But that is a story for another time!) 

Pinterest has become a brides best friend!  When I got married, (back in the old days) we had nothing in the way of social media, let alone a place on the Internet to find inspiration and ideas.  I mean, there was no Facebook!  I'm not really sure what I did with all that free time:)  Maybe I read a book or 2, talked to someone on the phone or even face to face!!  My how things have changed!

I typically use Pinterest to find inspiration photos that I can use to illustrate ideas to brides. (Although,  I am so school, I still really like to show brides pictures from books and magazine!) I typically ask brides to send me the link to their Pinterest page so I can see all of the ideas they are cooking up!  I also share mine page because I am pinning like crazy these days!! 

For most of my brides, I will offer to create a board just for them.  That way we can share ideas anytime, anywhere!  This is great for my out of town brides! 

With a 5 month old, sometimes I am up in the middle of the night.  Usually I am  pinning while I feed the baby!  The worst part about my late night pinning is my mind starts to race and even after he is back to sleep, I am wide awake!!  Oh my mind!

 Feel free to stop by and check out my boards.  I am all over the place with what I pin!  http://www.pinterest.com/meechols/boards/  Food, home design, ideas for the kiddos!!  But my flower boards, those are my favorites!!! 

What are you pinning these days??

Happy Pinning!!!

Stop and Smile!!

Whimsical and fun are two words I hope people use to describe our work.  I like for the flowers we use and what we create to make people stop and smile!  Especially on a Monday!  Hoping this makes you smile today!!! 

Textures

As a former interior designer, I am always looking and feeling materials and objects.  Texture is something that is tactile as well as visual. You not only want to be able to feel textures, but you want to be able to see them. (Confused yet??!!)  When it comes to floral design, texture also plays a key role.  At times it may not be possible (or appropriate) to reach out and touch a bouquet of flowers.  However, being able to "see" the texture is important. 

This centerpiece is full of textures.  Fluffy, rough, smooth, prickly, all in one little vase.  Its pretty amazing what you can achieve with flowers.  And don't even get me started on the smell!  This little guy is a real feast for the senses!