Saying Goodbye…

Siena Marie will be born in a few months, and now that the last wedding of 2010 is completed, I’ve been busy working on the nursery.  It’s pretty much ready to go, we just need a baby in there!

Photo by Trista Lerit

But as I look forward to my new life with baby, I’m sad to announce the end of my “other baby”, The Treasured Petal. When I started TPetal 4 years ago, I knew I wanted to be a stay at home mommy one day, so it’s not like I didn’t see this coming.  Here’s the honest truth:  I long to be the kind of mom who has time to make my own baby food, exercise, be my husband’s hot girlfriend, cook healthy dinners, socialize, and run my family with the same intensity and drive as I ran my business- with a real budget, real goals… a PLAN.

I do love the flower business, but those 4 am flower mart trips and late late nights drawing up proposals on the computer will not be as enjoyable to me with a baby on my hip.  Plus, I think it’s about time to trade in my cargo van for a mini van.  JK!  I’m not quite ready for that yet.

I’m curious to hear your thoughts on this topic!  I have so many friends who have been able to balance mommyhood and entrepreneurship beautifully. More power to them!  But I know myself well, and I have a pretty one track mind.  There was a time when The Treasured Petal was truly my baby, and I needed to devote all my energy, time, and creativity to making it work.  Sometimes during the really busy seasons, housework and time with hubby was compromised.  We ate lots of takeout.  I drank too much coffee and had plenty of knots in my back.  I also should have showered more 🙂 The hard work and sacrifice did pay off, and I’m so so proud of all I’ve achieved through TPetal! But a business is not a baby, not even close.

At my last wedding a few weeks ago, I did cry a little.  And I got extremely nostalgic as I cruised the flower mart for the “last time” (I’ve actually been back 2 times since then to pick up random flowers for friends/clients.)  There is so much I will miss.  So I want to say THANK YOU to the following peeps.  Without you, TPetal would never have gotten off the ground.

1.  My incredible husband Joe, whose constant cheerleading kept me going when things got tough.

2.  My best friend Angel Swanson, who helped me book my first wedding ever.  Since then, we’ve probably done at least 40 weddings together!  But our friendship is sooo much deeper than a business relationship.  She really is like a sister, and someone who I admire in so many ways.

3.  My favorite flower vendors– Felipe at Holland Flowers,  Ed from California Flowers, and Nick from Floral Supply Syndicate.  I’m notoriously picky about my flowers, and they always treated me like a princess.

4.  My sister Jennylyn, who gave me pep talks early on when I thought I was way over my head. She told me that I had to be willing to fail in order to be a business woman.  As a perfectionist, this was a hard lesson to learn.

5.  Janie from The Bride’s Cafe, who was the first ever “big blog” to publish my work.  Her post about me opened up many more opportunities for my little company.  She’s continued to reach out and support me throughout the years. I hope to meet her in person in a few months when she comes out to the West Coast.

6.  My main assistants, Montita and Shana, who pretty much rock in every way.  I’m so blessed to have found such hard-working, talented designers.

7.  The many friends I’ve met in the industry!  I’m sure I’ll get a little jealous when I see all the amazing projects you’re working on.   Maybe I can assist you on weddings once in a while, just to keep my pulse on the industry 🙂

8.  My loyal blog readers, whose sweet comments bring a smile to my face and have given me comfort during hard times.  It’s been fun!

9.  Last but not least, my amazing, stylish couples who trusted me enough to make their weddings beautiful! Not a bridezilla in the bunch 🙂  A few groomzillas though.  I kid!

So yes, I’m saying goodbye to The Treasured Petal for now, but I still have a wonderful creative outlet with my accessory boutique  Petal and Thorn. I’ve been busy creating some gorgeous new products, soon to be listed.  You can continue to keep up with my life and my crafts on my new blog, Petal and Thorn Handmades.  I hope to include lots of DIY instructions and house-wifey stuff on there, too.  Plus, oddly enough, I still have a bunch of 2010 weddings to blog!  Update your RSS feeds! Don’t let this be our last goodbye!!!

And to entice you to make the leap:

If you want to see the rest of my big belly pics, taken by my lovely friend Trista Lerit, go to the Petal and Thorn blog!!!  See you there in 5 seconds!

Petal and Thorn

I’m so excited to announce the launch of my new accessory line, Petal and Thorn!  Janie from The Brides Cafe did a great little feature on the new products, and is giving away a Wispy Cymbidium Clip to a lucky reader who comments on the post.  I can’t thank Janie enough for always supporting my artistic endeavors 🙂

The amount of work that goes into creating a diverse line of products, styling a shoot, pricing and describing each item, and then creating a brand for them is SOOOO INTENSE.  Which is why I’m just now launching in October, 7 months after the sweet as pie Marlin and Marlene Munoz shot all the pics for me.  Ok, so I got preggers, it’s wedding season,  AND my dad passed away during that span of time, so life has been a bit crazy.  I’m not beating myself up for taking this long.

Here is a small sampling of products from our new line- check out the new Petal and Thorn Etsy Site to see the rest!

The Wispy Cymbidium

Marlin captured the most dreamy pics as the sun was starting to descend.  All photos were taken in random residential and business spots in Downtown Tustin.

“First Date” in black

Also available in silver and eggplant purple.

“Snowflakes Falling”

Available in black, white, and ivory.

“Flower Princess Wand, in bronze” and matching hair bloom

These flower girl wands are so happy and colorful.  I would have loved these when I was a kid!  Sidenote: Can’t wait until my baby is grown up enough to model all my flower girl accessories!

The wands and hair blooms come in all sorts of candy colors.

“Snakes in Love Belt”

This one is a personal fav, just because I’ve never seen anything quite like it!  It’s super girly and glam, but edgy at the same time.  Any bride who can rock snakes on the wedding day deserves a high five!

“Polka Dotted Vixen”

I used spotted guinea feathers and striped grizzly maribou feathers to create this soft, feather flower.

“Hydrangea Blossom Belt” in blue

I love this for a bridesmaid or flower girl- super preppy!  My favorite detail is the intricate veining on the leaves.

“Child of Manhattan” cocktail hat

This sassy hat is perfect for boudoir portraits.  Jodi wears hats so well, and looked gorgeous in this delicate Diane Von Furstenburg dress.

“Ritzy Dragonfly”

“You Pick Two” hair blooms

Can be worn as a corsage, sash, or hair flowers.  They are super lightweight, which makes them perfect for flower girls’ fine hair.

“Champagne Toast”

Cocktail hats are by far my favorite item to make.  I use “French Room” technique, which basically means I take no shortcuts and try to create my hats from scratch, stitch by stitch.  The pregnanter I get, the more I’m enjoying just kicking my feet up and hand-stitching for hours at a time.

I could never have done this without:

1. Marlin Munoz Photography,
2. my sweet and GORGEOUS friend/model Jodi Newton,
3. my neighbor Chie Hamada who did the makeup,
4. my sis Jenny-lyn who did Jodi’s hair,
5. my good friend Jenny Pham who let me raid her closet for all the super cute outfits,
6. my hubby Joe for assisting me in too many ways to list,
7. and my cousin Jason Schmidt who designed the website.  He also did my Treasured Petal website!

I’ll be back tomorrow with a  refreshing white beach wedding.  Ciao!

Vegas, Baby!

My sister and I will be in Vegas this weekend with our dear husbands.  Since none of us are the crazy “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” types, we will be doing such innocent activities as:

• seeing The Lion King
• the Bellagio horticultural exhibit
• M&M world (my sister’s  idea!)
• watching the sharks and whales at Mandalay Bay.
• speaking of whales, we’ll also be hitting up the buffets 🙂

I swear, sometimes I think I’m a 60 year old in a 27 year old’s body.  Case in point: I told you that the last time we went to Vegas we saw BETTE MIDLER!

On another note, super sweet photographer Tonya Joy asked me to provide a few accessories for her workshop last month.  I sent her an edgy purple birdcage veil and spotted guinea feather fascinator.  I may have to rock these in Vegas at some point during the trip.  Can I pull it off at The Lion King? Do people ever wear veils just because anymore?

For more fabulous accessories, go to The Treasured Petal Boutique.  Hundreds more items will be listed in the next few weeks. It’ll blow your mind!

Have a wonderful and safe Independence Day Weekend!!!!!!!!

Parisian Flair in Her Hair

My gorgeous and talented friend Trista Lerit always dreamed of dressing up in a gown and taking portraits with her hubby Doug in front of the Eiffel Tower.  One thing I’ve learned about Trista is that she’s not just a “dreamer”, she’s a “do-er”, and she did exactly that!  She asked me to  create a special peacock feather fascinator and birdcage veil to accent her royal blue BCBG gown.

Here are a few of the images, captured by Trista’s friend and colleague, Ross of You + We Photography:

Trista did her own hair and makeup.  Doesn’t she look stunning?

And Doug looks handsome, as always! He’s such a trooper with these big fancy photoshoots.

A simple peacock flower and black mini birdcage veil.

There it is, the money shot!

Happy 5th Anniversary (and Birthday, too!)  Cheers to you and your fur children 🙂

*To see more handcrafted accessories by moi, check out The Treasured Petal Boutique!

Something swell is going on…

With our handmade accessories line!

During the winter months, my nimble  hands were hard at work stitching, beading, and bedazzling.  I’m truly proud of my newest creations, and can’t wait to fill you in on all that’s going on with the boutique!

Here’s a behind the scenes look at our photoshoot, as documented by Joe.  All pieces were modeled by my sweet (tall, blonde and beautiful) friend Jodi.

jodi is wearing the snakes in love belt.

my assistant Shana helping Jodi achieve the perfect amount of tease. in the background- all 7 wardrobe changes!

an intricate hand-beaded dragonfly headband

mix and match camellias come in a rainbow of colors.

hydrangea blossom belt

Thank you Liberty of London for Target for creating these precious rainboots!

Now, judging by the back of this head in the picture below, can you guess who the photographer was? Hint, it’s a super sweet husband and wife team whose first names sound ridiculously similar.

one of the many flirty veils in the collection.

This is just the teeny tip of the iceberg.  Stay tuned  for the professional pictures, and some exciting boutique updates and giveaways!

Luscious Lilac Bouquet

I absolutely love creating bouquets for Jasmine Star.  She lets me do whatever the heck I want!  Plus, whenever I deliver it, I get a loud squeal of delight and a big hug from Jasmine.  Priceless!

My  Jasmine Star “collection” includes a red white and black beauty, a Sex in the City bouquet, a peach and periwinkle bouquet, and for her  most recent workshop, this luscious lilac number!

I incorporated some amazing Spring flowers in shades of magenta, lilac, fuchsia and eggplant purple, and wrapped it with purple kimono ribbon.

Can you spot the peonies, lilac, hydrangea, boronia, tulips and anenomes?  In case you haven’t noticed, I do love highly textural, mixed bouquets.  I’m not usually one to go the monobotanical route when I have free reign!

Jasmine has been so supportive of my new etsy adventure, The Treasured Petal Boutique, and asked me to create a special head piece for her gorgeous model to wear. I brought in a few cocktail hats and headbands to choose from, but this little champagne hat with alencon lace detailing was just MADE for that gown!  

Tell me, how drop-dead-gorgeous yet still girl-next-store-adorable is Michelle?  She and her husband Colton are newlyweds themselves.

This champagne cocktail hat has a built in birdcage veil.  It’s topped with a ruffly fabric camellia and a single ostrich feather.  It’s available here!

Love love love this pic!

Alice in Whimsyland

My good friend Christina from Simply Modern Weddings asked me to take part in a fun Alice in Wonderland inspired photoshoot a few weeks ago.

Here’s the thing– my role in  the shoot didn’t involve a single real live flower.  Instead, she asked me to provide some accessories to adorn our gorgeous model Lauren.  Seriously though, isn’t she stunning?  She could rock a burlap sack and still look luminous.

Imagine my joy at waking up this morning, running down my google reader as usual, and seeing these images by Kim Le Photography on Style Me Pretty! I guess today is “Alice” day, because they are featuring THREE different and totally unique “Alice in Wonderland”  shoots.

To check out the SMP post, click here.

Here are some of the accessories I created for the shoot:

We tucked 4 of my white cymbidium clips into Lauren’s tresses.  Each petal is hand-cut, singed with a flame to add texture, and beaded with glass pearls.

Double White Cymbidiums

I formed each of these dahlias from different sari fabrics, added a cluster of pearls, and long frayed strands of fabric dangling down.

The sash is quite special, with hand beaded silver leaves and a vintage brooch.

Braided Dahlia Crown and Glitz and Glam Sash

Below, a funky take on Alice’s standard black bow, with a huge rosette center and “veil” of feathers.  The belt features two sparkly snakes joined by a jewel encrusted heart.  A little quirky, but sure to look rad on an offbeat bride out there!

Black Bow Comb and  Shimmer Snakes in Love Belt (both coming soon to etsy)

And here are some of the adorable details from the shoot, all of which I had nothing to do with!  It was honestly kind of fun coming in with just my tiny part of the puzzle, and watching on the sidelines as other professionals put something amazing together.  And you can imagine how much I loved the color scheme based on my website colors, right?

Thank you to all the stellar vendors who let me tag along that day!

Event Coordination and Design: Simply Modern Weddings / Photography: Kim Le Photography / Floral Design: Flowers by Helen / Invitations and Paper Goods: Darla Marie Designs / Floral Belts and Hair Accessories: The Treasured Petal Boutique / Hair and Makeup: All Made Up / French Macrons: Layer Cake Bakery / Cupcakes: Sugar | Tart Desserterie / Rentals: Classic Party Rentals / Linens: Wildflower Linens and Fusion Linens / Fashion: Jinny’s Bridal and Forever 21/ Model: Lauren

Peach and Periwinkle Bouquet

When Jasmine Star asked me to create a bouquet  for The Workshop, she gave me free reign over it, like she always does.  No set color palette, no set theme, just make it hot!

Here’s my thought process when creating a bouquet where there are no parameters, which is totally fun but a little intimidating.

–I look at what I DO know. I knew the dress by Joan Shum would be short, beaded, corset style- very Audrey Hepburn.  I knew the couple beforehand (they are great friends of my sister, and I’m proud to say I suggested them to Jasmine for the shoot!)  Jodi is tall, blonde, and beautiful, but by no means ordinary.  There is a striking edginess to her facial structure (her doppleganger is Sandra Bullock- do you see it???)  Plus, she’s quite quirky and hilarious, too. Not exactly a delicate little flower 🙂

-This leads me to the “feel” or “vibe” of the bouquet. Beautiful,  vintage-inspired, feminine, but by no means girly, with a bit of glam.

–I decide on a color palette. How?  Sometimes totally randomly.  In this case, I started with peach (because it’s soft but not too girly), added a little tangerine to keep it happy, and brought in contrasting periwinkle blue.  Why?  Because  I’ve never seen a wedding in these colors and wanted to give it a whirl.

–I choose the flowers. Usually I preorder, but in this case, I winged it and went to the flower mart to pick from what was available.   The Monday after Valentine’s Day is a little bit slim pickin’s, but I did manage to find some amazing treasures there

My catches of the day?   Beautiful peach shampoo ginger (they really do smell like shampoo!), blue muscari/grape hyacinth, orange stars of Bethlehem, and peach nerine lilies.

-I create and add finishing touches.  I wanted a tightly packed, textural bouquet with groupings of blue muscari.  I also tucked in silver hand-beaded leaves (my athena clips in silver!) to coordinate with the intricate beading on the dress.  I love the way silver looks with peach.

And there you go!  A peach and periwinkle bouquet!

Jodi and Matt are the cutest!

Way to “smeyes”, Jodi!  Gorgeous hair and makeup by Vivian Tran and the All Made Up team.  She’s the sweetest!

An athena clip tucked into the bout adds a bit of sparkle.  Yep, each and every bead is hand-sewn, because that’s how I roll!

A million thanks to Jasmine for allowing me to take part in The Workshop!

Splish Splash at the Style Lab

A few months ago Angel Swanson called me asking if I’d like to collaborate on a tablescape for the Boutwell Studio/Wedding Chick’s Style Lab.  I asked her to share her initial ideas, and she started throwing around words like “preserved butterflies”,  “taxodermy”, “specimens”, “test tubes”, “sterile”… but “pretty, of course!”

I asked her what kind of couple would have a wedding like this,  and she said, “Two genius  scientists who live in a forest and  wander out into nature to collect samples of insects and floral specimens.”

This is why I love Angel!  Not only because she’s my best friend and I HAVE to love her no matter what crazy stuff she comes up with, but because when she styles events, she is thinking  not only of colors and textures, but the story behind the design. This makes it easy to come in and add more juicy details to the  story with the  florals.

You can see all sorts of details from the Style Lab on Wedding Chicks, Boutwell Studio Blog, and the Love and Splendor blog.  But here I will give you the Style Lab from a florist’s perspective!  These  photos are taken by the  incredibly talented and sweet Chenin of Boutwell Studio.

This project was truly a florist’s dream.  My task was to find the funkiest  specimen-quality collection of flowers. The ones  I usually pass by at the flower mart and think, “Wow! That’s really kind of  ugly, but beautiful!” Bottlebrush protea, orange gloriosa lilies, leucodendrons,  pincushions, kangaroo paws, bromeliads and more.  Flowers that have amazing structure on their own, worthy of studying in a lab.

Amanda Rae is holding a giant burst of crazy florals  radioactive colors like neon orange, bright yellow, and lime green. Notice the cattleya orchids and gloriosa lilies (the flowers I carried down the aisle on my wedding day!)

For the vessels, we hunted down laboratory containers and sleek bulbous glass vases.   Angel already owned a good collection of science vases from Anthropologie.  My friend Rachel from Heart of Light borrowed  some  beakers from the biology lab she works at. CB2 also has a fun selection of lab-ish vases on their website.

This was super cute! See the hanging lightbulbs filled with flowers?  My nephews helped me dissect some lightbulbs and turn them into hanging bud vases.  I cannot take credit for this idea since I first saw it on Apartment Therapy.  This, my friends, is SO MUCH HARDER than it looks.  Many lightbulbs were sacrificed during this process.

Beneath that bell jar was the most gorgeous fragrant oncidium orchid plant- the buds smell like vanilla beans!

The test tubes filled with flower parts hanging in the shadow box are actually the bouts and corsages!  This was an idea that hit me at 3 am one night.  Angel and I each wore one while we were setting up.  We felt really cool 🙂

Last but not least, the drowned rats really added to the decor 🙂  Our bangs look like daggers, they’re so sopped with rain! A monumental storm was raging, lightening and thunder was striking, vases were blowing over, and here we are using soaking wet paper towels to try to “dry off” the tablescape so the photographers could take pictures.

photo by Lauren Bullock.

While we were setting up, we felt a few sprinkles here and there, but felt confident that our little plastic canopy would keep everything safe.  We had no idea that the rain would blow  in sideways and upside down,  and completely drench us to the core.  My boots had puddles in them! My first instinct was to freak out and assume the fetal position, but Angel is so positive and calm in the face of chaos. Her positivity was contagious.  In weddings and events, stuff happens and you just have to roll with it!   We’ve experienced a few mini-disasters together that we’ve been able to smooth over with cleverness and spontaneity.

Eventually, we decided to start from scratch and set it up inside with the help of Chenin and Amy’s chivalrous husbands, Doug Boutwell and Lane Dittoe.  Thanks guys, we couldn’t have done it without you!   For about an hour, the storm cleared and soft  light came in through the windows, making for some amazing pictures.

The vendors:

Styled By: Angel Swanson of Events of Love & Spendor

Floral Design: The Treasured Petal

Stationary: Wiley Valentine

Rentals: Classic Party Rentals

Dress Designer: Joan Shum

Makeup & Hair: All Made Up Team

Deserts & Goodies: Vanilla Bakeshop

Venue: Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club

Thank you to The Wedding Chicks and Boutwell Studio for allowing me to be a part of something so very special!

The Treasured Petal Boutique!

Announcing my brand new etsy shop, The Treasured Petal Boutique!

I am selling items to have (decor), to hold (ring pillows and flower girl baskets), and to wear (accessories galore) for weddings and everyday.

I LOVE working with fresh flowers. They are evidence of God’s artistry, they smell divine and offer endless design possibilities.

Golden Carnation

But there is something comforting about creating nonperishable items that will never ever wilt or die.  Plus I can do it in my pajamas in front of old movies whenever wedding season  slows down.   Now I’m able to sell T-Petal creations to people all over the world, not just to my dear brides in L.A. and O.C.

Athena, In Gold

Can you tell that my stomach has butterflies in it? It is way intimidating to dive into etsy waters.  Especially when there are so many artists selling gorgeous pieces (heartoflight, whichgoose, and twigsandhoney are among my favs!) But I do believe I am bringing something special to the etsy community, so  stop by my shop and take a look around.  I will be adding items almost everyday, and shipping is just 2.00 to the U.S.!  www.thetreasuredpetal.etsy.com