Handmade Fabric Tea Roses

Faced with needing a flower that I was unable to find through my normal suppliers, I decided to try my hand at making it myself. The below photos/process is what I used to accomplish this. I used a dark green fabric, as it is what I had on hand, but could use any color or pattern, as long as it is available in a sturdy cotton. Here is a photo of the finished product:

The first thing I did was make a pattern with regular printer paper.

I then pinned these to the fabric, and cut out each individual piece. 

The next step was putting these pieces of fabric together on a stem, securing in place with a hot glue gun (Sorry, but the photos of the in progress steps didn't turn out.). And once I finished gluing each of them into place, I had a dark green cotton Tea Rose.

I'm really impressed with how these turned out, and may end up eventually making something using a bunch of these handmade beauties.

Corsage Season Is Coming - Are You Ready?

Prom and wedding season is just around the corner.  Corsages and boutonnieres will soon be a focus to everyone involved.

Daisy Corsage: $13

Often, girls are excited to see the flower corsage they receive for their prom, and fantasize about how well it will go along with the dress that they spent hours picking out.  And like the dress, they want the flowers to be perfect. At my prom, I had a beautiful white rose wrist corsage.  After the prom, I kept in the corsage case, in the refrigerator for days.  I would frequently visit the refrigerator, opening the box, and looking at the beautiful flowers.  Once the flowers wilted, I was depressed with the idea of having to dispose of it.  I wanted to keep  the corsage as a souvenir of the beautiful night, and now wish that I would have had an artificial corsage, as I would still have it today.

Tiger Lily Boutonniere: $8

Thankfully, I learned my lesson about wanting the flowers as a keepsake, long before my wedding day.  The boutonniere that my husband wore on our big day, nearly 6 years ago, is part of my living room decor.  It sits, adding a splash of color, gracefully placed on my entertainment center.  I walk past it multiple times a day, every day, and it's a constant reminder of the special day to us both.

I currently don't have a section on my site for corsages/boutonnieres, as they are a special item that should be customized for the individual, or outfit.  If you are interested in ordering one, email me: tanya.hofford [at] flauxers [dot] com.  And remember, you don't have to be going to a prom, or a member of a wedding to wear a corsage or boutonniere - just plan a special evening, and make her feel elegant and appreciated with a sweet floral gift for her (or you both) to wear, and keep as a reminder of that special evening.

*Also available, but not pictured: wrist corsage.  There are a number of elegant bracelets that are available to make your day/evening even more special.

What do May flowers bring?

Lilac Rose Arrangement - $65
(including Lilac scent)

"April showers bring May flowers." This is a rhyme that we all grew up hearing and reciting. However, this year we've had an unseasonably warm winter, early snapshots of Spring, and sneak peeks of Summer. So much so, that my May flowers have started to bloom already, and I am finding inspiration everywhere that I turn.

Now don't get me wrong, we all know that I work with artificial flowers, but I still do love my flower gardens that are filled with real flowers. The only problem is that their beauty is limited, and only lasts for a short time. Artificial flowers don't need watering, extra care, and won't wilt away in a few days. These are just a couple of reasons that I prefer to work with artificial flowers.  

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving from Flauxers!

Follow the below link to see our holiday sale information: http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=90c4dabb04662dd88fd05b176&id=a89b3c565a

Also, to never miss another sale, be sure to sign up for our occasional mailings by clicking the link in the right column of this blog.

We hope that your holiday season is the best one yet!

Baby Headbands

Recently, I have been creating baby headbands more than before.  Because of this, I'm thinking that people haven't realized that I do these as well.  Below are a few photos of some headbands that I've created.  The flowers are on separate barrettes and can be removed from the headbands posted below.

The headband above features a Red Poppy, with a white ribbon wrapped barrette and a white headband.

The hand painted Tea Rose headband above is available in a wide variety of colors.  If you're interested in a different color combination email me (tanya.hofford@flauxers.com) for more information.  Pictured above, the white Tea Roses are hand painted to also have just a kiss of grapevine purple color around the edges, attached to a purple ribbon wrapped barrette and a lavender headband.

Pictured here is 3 pink Hydrangea, embellished with Swarovski crystal beads, attached to a pink ribbon wrapped barrette, and includes a white headband.  There are several color options for the Hydrangeas as well.  And this item, as with all of these can be customized to fit your tastes.

This large purple Rose is attached to a purple ribbon wrapped barrette and comes with the lavender headband.

All of my items can be customized to fit your taste/need.  If you're ever in the need of something that you don't see on my website (www.flauxers.com) or in my Etsy shop: (www.flauxers.etsy.com), send me an email (tanya.hofford@flauxers.com) to see what I can do for you.

Real flowers are great too...

Often times, brides want real flowers in their bouquet on their big day instead of artificial ones. My opinion is that this sounds great! Every Bride needs to remember that this is HER big day. All that matters is that she picks items and makes plans to please herself and her future marital partner, no one else.

The only drawback to using real flowers in your bridal bouquet is that they are usually wilted and gone by the time you get back from your honeymoon. BUT, if photos of your bouquet are provided to Flauxers, we can generally create a bouquet replica, using artificial flowers (availability of the flowers may cause some hiccups, but we'll do everything we can to create a replica for you).

Pictured below are photos of the original and replica bouquets from the June 2011 Wedding featured in this blog. There are some minor differences, but the bride recognized the bouquet the moment that she saw it, and was so pleased to have a bouquet to remind her of her wedding day.





If you are a bride, or want to give the bride something special to remember her big day by, and real flowers have been chosen for the bridal bouquet, we can still create a bouquet replica that can be kept for years and years to come.

My Wedding - Blast From The Past

All of this talk about weddings has me thinking about my own. It's been a little over 5 years and my floral design style has evolved (for the better), but I wanted to share some photos of flowers from that special day.

I'm a very colorful person, and it wouldn't have been my wedding had I not shown color in every possible way. Plus, being that my favorite color is orange, and my favorite flower is the Tiger Lily, I knew that these items needed to be a focus, but I didn't want to go over the top.

Each of my girls wore a different color, and each of their bouquets had accent colors/flowers to match that color, and the groomsmen that were paired with them wore the same color/flower boutonniere as their accent color/flower.

My color/flower was obviously an orange Tiger Lily...

My first maid of honor's color/flower was the red Ginger Lily...

The second maid of honor's color/flower was a blue Forget-me-not...

The 3rd bridesmaid's color/flower was a yellow Narcissus...

The 4th bridesmaid's color/flower was a purple Orchid...

For the church, I wanted something simple, that continued with my color palette, and the tropical theme that we had decided upon. So for the church pews, we decided it would be appropriate, and fun to use multi-color Hawaiian Leis.

It's really hard to believe that it's already been 5 years since our "big day", but I still would have picked the same flowers (though the arrangements that I'd make today would look different, as I prefer my style now), and I love that I still have MY bouquet from my wedding. I also love that at least one of my bridesmaids still has her bouquet and it's proudly displayed in her home.

I hope that if one day I have a daughter, she'll play wedding with my bouquet and my husband's boutonniere!