Flowers!

I love flowers! I love everything about them! I use flowers all the time to create special centrepieces and event decor. They are so versatile and I am always looking for new ways to use them. I am a self taught floral designer and am always looking for new tricks and ideas. Here are a few examples of my creations!

Creative Burlington Fundraising Gala

I was commissioned by the fantastic ladies at Creative Burlington to create unique centrepieces for their annual fundraising gala. The centrepieces needed to reflect the theme of the evening which was "Art Comes to Life". I thought it would be cool to buy a whole bunch of those wooden artist dolls and have them doing various forms of creative and performing arts. Let me just say that when I dreamt these up, I had no idea what I was in for. However, with some creative thinking and a lot of elbow grease I was able to pull off something I was really proud of. And may I say, they were a big hit.



The Waltz- The only one with two dolls.



The Photographer- I printed some picture I took as a contact sheet and cut them all out for his pics, then I made his work station out of bits of wood.



The Mime- He was actually my first. I painted on his clothes, my mom sewed the vest and I used ribbon for the stripes ( I didn't trust my hand to paint them!)



The Potter- I bought little wooden bits ( I don't know what they're actually for ) but I painted them clay color and "turned"-lol, them into pots.



The Soul Man- This horn was amazing to look at. The detail was striking.



The Clown- His hat was very tricky and took so many attempts I almost gave in!



The Banjoist- He is wearing very short shorts.




The Violinist



The Maestro- My mom made the pants and tail coat. AND because she can actually read classical sheet music and is awesome, she made an itty bitty leather bound score book. I made the lecturn out of a stand and some little bits of wood. It is very hard to saw something so tiny!




The Critic- I downloaded some art and stuck it in a frame. the metal poles are all from the stands that the dolls came on. Please note the neck scarf and sunglasses. He is so chic.





The Modern Dancer- Probably my least favorite. There was really nothing I could do to jazz it up. I guess modern dance isn't very jazzy.......



The Phantom- Finding a small hat that was scaled proved ridiculously impossible. So I couldn't put it on his head. Instead he is holding it. I painted on his mask.



The Showgirl- She never quite stood perfectly straight. I figured that was okay...it's Vegas.



The Weaver- I made the loom out of a small needlepoint stretcher. I had to saw it a hundred different ways to make it work! Twas a pain.

The Director- A Barbie camera mounted on a digital camera tripod.

The Acrobat- I painted on her leotard and found some needlepoint hoops ( at least I think that's what they are...) at the dollar store.



The Fool- The balls kept falling over. He was one of the ones I worried about in transit.



The Cat- I couldn't think of a show that was more identifiable by costume alone. Hence the faux fur which I made the hair and vest out of.



The Strummer- I love this one too.



The Wannabe- We've all done it. My mom sewed me the robe out of a face clothe and I made the brush out of a mascara wand.



The Trumpet- My mom sewed the pants the shirt was robbed from a very creepy dollar store Ken doll. The couch was pink....but with some felt re-upholstery, he lounges.



The Sculptor- Oh the tangled webs we weave. This one nearly put a hole in my wall ( when I threw it.) The "bust" is actually a doll sawed in half and covered in plaster. He was very hard to get smooth (hence the tantrum). He's perched on a cake tier.



The Diva- Thank you mom for the dress, and thank you Hannah Montana for the microphone.


The Ballerina- Getting her to stand on pointe, was a pain, and so was keeping her ribbon's up!


The Bard- I think the mini balloon pants were my moms greatest sewing challenge. He was the last one done!


The Starlet- Red carpet ready, clutch purse in hand.



The Writer- The second to be born. You can't see them, but on the shelf he's leaning on, there are tiny handmade books. I even made a little bookmark for one.



The Rocker- This guitar was so detailed I almost kept it. Totally awesome.



The Costumer- Another favorite. A small costume form, and a hand sewn dress (not by me). The threads on the floor came from a repair sewing kit from the dollar store.

The Quilter- My mom sewed me a mini quilt. If you haven't figured it out yet, I can't sew and my mom can.


The Pianist- This one almost didn't happen. Of course the Christmas store didn't have the right scale piano and I had almost given up. But a trip to Michael's and some creative brainstorming with my mom and a piano was born. A trip down the woodworking aisle produced a strip of trim ( the keys),a hinged box ( minus the hardware), doweling ( the legs), and two letter "I"s ( the feet).




The Graphic Artist- I downloaded Graphic clip art onto photo paper and printed them as thumbnails to stack onto a Barbie laptop. Oh Barbie, you do have everything. Well, you're missing a laptop.



The Cellist- I had to use a painted toothpick for the stand.



Bass Clarinet- The detail of the brass instruments was incredible.



The Percussionist- I found all the musical instruments except the piano at a 364 day-a-year Christmas store in Michigan. They were tree ornaments. Finding the right scale was the biggest challenge, and of course ordering on-line is always a chance. But when they showed up I was truly impressed with the quality. I may actually order some for my tree!



The Breaker- One of my favorites! My mom made the little jeans and I stole the sneakers off an unsuspecting Ken doll.




The Designer- This one was fun! An old shadow box became her work station.




The Sketcher-I made the desk out of bits of wood and peg hooks. I asked an actual artist to do the sketch for me! Thanks Jacquie!