Floral Recipe: 14KT Gold Elegance

Just recently, I was asked to make a floral arrangement for a friends booth at the Hawaii Wedding Expo! (How exciting, right?) 

The colors she requested were:

1. Ivory

2. Gold 

And from there, I had no other rules. She basically let me make something I wanted to make and trusted me to provide something beautiful.

Ingredients:

White Hydrangea

Ivory Double Stock

Scabiosa Pods

Mini Ivy

Berzilia

Ivory Garden Roses

Assorted Succulents

Cedar Roses

Curly Willow Twigs

Magnolia Leaves

Faux Ivory Pearls

Design Master Spray Paint in 14kt Gold

(Click to enlarge)

I used the 14kt Gold Spray paint on the Succulents, Cedar Roses, Curly Willow, Magnolia Leaves and the pillar in which the arrangement sat upon. Against the Ivory, the gold elements really popped! I also misted the White Hydrangea with the same gold paint to tone down the color a bit, and give it a slight antique look. 

(Click to enlarge)

Until next time, take care! 

What is your favorite metallic tone?

Floral Recipe: Spring Beauty

Welcome back, Spring. Glad you're back!

Today, I'll be sharing with you a recipe for a little arrangement I made for my best friend and her family. Enjoy!

Ingerdients:

10 Stems Light Pink Gerbera Daisies

 5  Stems Light Peach Spray Roses

 3  Stems Mini Green Hydrangea

 2  Stems Buplerum

 1  Small Vase

Directions:

1. Fill your vase with water.

2. Start with the 3 Stems of Hydrangea. Using either snips or a floral knife, cut your Hydrangea to the appropriate length to fit your vase. Make sure you cut the ends of your flowers at a 45 degree angle. This is to ensure there is a lot of surface for your flowers to drink water! Place all 3 stems in your vase. These should be kept low in your arrangement. 

3. Add in 4 stems of your Spray Roses in between each Hydrangea. Again, cut each stem at a 45 degree angle and at the appropriate length to best fit the vase you are using. With the last stem of Spray roses, cut this one a little longer and place it directly in the center of the arrangement. 

4. Cut all 10 of your Gerbera Daisies and place them in the arrangement. You can bunch them together or arrange them apart from one another. It's really up to you. Don't throw away the stems though! Keep them and add them into your arrangement for a little extra texture!

5. Place in the Buplerum in random places to fill in the rest of the arrangement. I love Buplerum, it's probably one of my absolutely favorite green to add to an arrangement. Not only does it add texture, it also adds movement in the piece as well! Buplerum will definitely give your arrangement a "Spring Garden" feel!

(Click the images above to enlarge.) For all the flowers, I spent a total of about $24 from my local grocery store (those of you in the mainland could probably get it for much less). You could even break it up into 2 smaller arrangements if you wanted to and they would look equally beautiful!

Until next time, have a flowerful Spring day!

What is your favorite season?

Floral Adventures

I'm back!

(And hopefully it's more frequent this time!)

So first off, let me explain why I've been away lately. (It's actually pretty exciting!) As some of you can tell from my blog posts, I've been really passionate about floral work. For quite some time, it's been a hobby of mine and I've done a few arrangements for friends and family. However, it was never something that I pursued professionally because I was too afraid. It was intimidating because I knew that this is a profession in which experience plays a huge role, and I had no formal experience. To make matters worse, there are no schools in Hawaii that teach floral design so there was no way of getting any experience! 

Anyways, I grew a pair of... you know... and finally put myself out there. I saw a listing for what seemed like a small hole-in-the-wall florist looking for floral assistants. I had to start somewhere. Even assisting a florist would give me a chance to learn more about floral designing and just about the every day atmosphere of working at a florist. Long story, short... I got it! But... this wasn't a small little mom and pop florist..

J'Adore Floral Designs took a chance on me. A chance that I am grateful for and I hope I can do right by them and somehow make them proud. But they aren't your average florist. J'Adore is a floral design company linked to an even larger company called Current Affairs -- an all-inclusive event design company which specializes in large corporate events and weddings. Also attached to this company is yet another company called Event Accents -- this is where you can get all your rentals from! There are a few other branches also attached which I have yet to explore but let's just say, this is not your average florist! 

Since being employed, I've had the honor of being a part of HUGE events for company's like Primerica and Herbal Life, and also few destination weddings at the Aulani Resort. It's definitely an experience and I learn something new every single day! My passion for florals only seems to keep growing with each coming day!

So, I really hope to get back into the groove of blogging again. I love blogging and I hope I can share my experiences with you all. To finish, here are a few photos of my recent adventures for you to enjoy! 

*Disclaimer: Most of these photos have the "@xoaishiteru" watermark on them. This is my watermark, and my screen name on Instagram. Please feel free to follow me if you'd like!

This picture was taken at The Aulani - A Disney Resort in Ko Olina in Oahu. These arrangements we placed on cocktail tables for a small private cocktail event located at the kiddie pool on the property. Ingredients: Green Hypericum, Yellow Oncidium Orchids, Orange Pincushion Protea, Yellow Forsythia and Croton leaves. 

(Click to enlarge) Located on a private estate on Round Top Drive (or as the locals know it, Tantalus), these arrangements were made for a private dinner party. Ingredients: White Hydrangea, Blue Delphinium and two hues of Green Moss Balls. 

(Click to enlarge) These monochromatic centerpieces we set for private dinner party for the Board of Directors of Ward Village located at the IBM building. Ingredients: Yellow Cymbidium Orchids, White Antheriums, White Dendrobium Orchids, and reflexed White Roses. 

(Click to enlarge) These two different place settings were presented to a client as a mock up for a future corporate event. The client ended up choosing the tropical arrangements but because I love succulents, I leaned more towards the modern look! Image 1 Ingredients: Assorted Echeveria Succulents, two different hues of Moss Balls, Scabiosa Pods, Yellow Cymbidium Orchids all sitting on a Bamboo Runner lined with moss. Image 2 Ingredients: Curly Willow, Yellow Mokara Orchids, Red and Pink Torch Ginger, Red and White Antheriums, Yellow Cymbidium Orchids, White Dendrobium Orchids, Heleconia, Monstera leaves and Ti Leaves.

(Click to enlarge) This corporate event at the Hilton Hawaiian Village had a Nautical theme! We made 3 different centerpieces which consisted of White and Blue Hydrangeas, Gold Manzanita Branches and White Roses all adorned with Seashells and Starfish!

These were the entry pieces made for a private annual Auction at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. For table settings, we made arrangements inside of Pineapples! Ingredients: Pineapples, Yellow Cymbidium Orchids, Ti Leaves, Palm Leaves, Heleconia, Bird of Paradise, Red Torch Ginger and White and Red Antheriums.

(Click to enlarge) One of my favorites so far! These arrangements were made for a small destination wedding with only 14 guests at the Aulani resort in Ko Olina. Ingretients: Hot Pink Roses, Orange tulips, Ti Leaves, Yellow Cymbidium Orchids, Green Hydrangea and Orange Ranunculus.

(Click to enlarge) Lastly, the most recent event I was lucky enough to be a part of. Located at Diamond Head Theatre, this beautiful event consisted of many different elements ranging from Farm Tables and Leather Chairs (which can be rented from Event Accents) to Clear Top Tents and Black Antique Cocktail Tables. Ingredients: faux Magnolias, Blooming Magnolia branches, White Cymbidium Orchids, Laua'e Leaves, Magnolia Leaves and Spanish Moss. 

Thanks for taking the time out to read about my adventures so far! Can't wait to work with more flowers and learn everything there is to learn about them! I am beyond excited! Also, I will try to update more frequently when time permits. So check back! 

What is your passion?

Until next time, Take care!