One of my favorite things to do when by the sea is shell seeking!  According to a site my husband found on the internet, Silver Strand State Beach in San Diego, CA is one of the 10 best beaches in the US to find shells.  I was psyched!!! We were so close and who knew! We woke up to ANOTHER gorgeous day and set out to find this beach.  We were visiting my daughter and her husband so they came too. The beach is on Coronado Island and on the ocean side is the best place to look… according to this site info we had.  The beach was BEAUTIFUL and the artist in me had a good time noticing the cool patterns the black and tan sand makes as the surf moves it around.  Back to the shells…I found 10…and three of them my husband found…so, really, I found 7 all in all.(My daughter found 3- one of which broke in transporting it home).  My husband, being the cop that he is, insisted the site was a scam to get people to visit.   Although I’m bummed about not finding a lot of shells, I DID find some and it was DEFINITELY worth spending time walking along a clean quiet beach and watching those sand designs!   <3  <3  <3  

From the early morning sunshine to the beautiful sunsets over the Pacific,  California has proven to be an amazing place of a more ‘chilled out’ pace.  We have been exploring this Carlsbad / San Diego area for the past 3 days and this Jersey Girl is blown away by the textures of palms against a cool blue sky as well as all the succulents covering the ground.  I have never seen Birds of Paradise growing like weeds and still consider them to be the exotic flower worthy of the $5.00 each or more tag we place on them in our Jersey Flower Shops!  Yesterday we explored the infamous San Diego Zoo, and although the animals were so much fun to watch, I kept finding myself drawn to the alien like botanicals all over!  Our  guide mentioned that Dr. Seuss and his wife visited the Zoo often and he actually found inspiration there for some of his wild illustrations he used in his famous books.  Seriously, the Dr. Seuss books always left me unsettled, and I’m not sure the crazy REAL botanicals I saw yesterday didn’t leave me unsettled,  but it was an amazing experience to SEE them and TOUCH them, ( the ones that didn’t have thorns anyway : )  On to more California adventure…

Grave Covers were originally used to fill the space of burial with fresh greens before real grass could grow.  There is also the ‘idea’ of keeping one’s loved one warm in the cold months…hence ‘Grave Blanket’ instead of cover. I KNOW my father – in- law is in a better place as he accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior months before he passed away into Heaven. So-o-o knowing that! I can enjoy honoring his memory with the making of a Grave Cover at my mother-in-law’s request.  Last year I used faux poinsettias in burgundy with burgundy and gold ribbon and white birch branches and cones.
 This year I used white pine and blue spruce as my base,  beautiful white poinsettias that were sugared to look like ice, iced branches for interest and texture, (faux of course), large pinecones, deep cranberry velvet ribbon loops, and the two white love doves that adorn the center of the design. They symbolize the love that my mother and father-in-law shared for 54 years!  Honor your loved one’s memory with a fresh grave cover this year – only check with the cemetery first- some have very specific rules for the space.

Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year to you all!

Next week marks the first day of winter and with that comes… winter ice designs! So-o-o many fun faux branches in  silver, or iced, or snowed. There are bins of glitzy fun items to stick in your next fresh flower arrangement for winter.  I love the silver branches mixed in with the fresh white pine and light yellow roses. The curly sparkled ting and mm balls add interest to the design while the babies breath reminds us of snow!  A look to cheer you up for the inevitable snow to come : )

The other night I was at Franklin Township Library in Somerset NJ where Erin Blatt runs the programming there. Many thanks to Erin who invited me back to speak on Celebration Designs this time. We figured that I’ve been there for every season now so we can start theming it in a different way!  I suggested Armature designs in fresh flowers, or topiary designs in fresh flowers…what’s new in Bridal Designs…Western Wear in Flowers!…Children’s Flower Art!, etc.  This woman won one of the 5 designs I made and  was so thrilled I had to take her picture with my phone : )  This design was in a decorative box with white and red alstomieria lily, white pine, faux packages in silver, and silver ting – ting.  Come this Tuesday night at 6:30pm to Jefferson Twp. Library and see if YOU will win a fresh floral design. Hope to see you there!

You can start with a beautiful double faced balsam wreath.  Then let the season lead you… Red velvet traditional ribbon with gold backing, differently shaped pinecones to snow or not to snow, red berries, red mm balls, gold rattan orbs, white birch branches, angel vine, red cardinals, festive printed wired sheer ribbon, permanent botanicals, flowers, pearlized mm balls, sparkly curled ting ting, fun packages in metallic paper on picks, sugared fruit, etc! Let your imagination SOAR!!!  Before you know it – you have a festive wreath to hang on your door for the season!  Add some fresh white pine roping to finish off the look, and don’t forget bows to match. Now go ahead and invite friends over for hot chocolate before December gets REALLY crazy : )

Words can’t express how it feels to see the one you watched over and cared for for 23 years to feel secure and loved enough to say “I Do” to the adorable guy next to her. My husband and I were thrilled, elated, choked up and feeling like it was all a bit surreal as we witnessed the simple ceremony on a little beach looking out towards Sandy Hook and the NY skyline.  The rain stopped, after pouring from the skies ALL DAY, allowing some sun to pop thru the clouds and the ceremony to take place. I chose for my daughter Bridget’s bouquet, pink garden roses, green amaranthus, white alstro lily, pink astilbe, pink wax flower, pink lisianthus, hot pink spray roses, white freesia and aspidistras leaves collaring the whole bouquet. You know how some people are a color? Well – my daughter is a pink girl…..she didn’t care what flowers as long as there was pink! I asked her to send me pics over e-mail of bouquets she loved looking at and they were all pink, all victorian looking, and all peonies  : (     hence the huge garden roses to ‘look’ and feel like peonies ( since peonies are not in season in August when she got married…of course…uugghh)  I used a brooch on the wrapped stem part of the bouquet so she would have a token to keep, from me, to remember  her wedding flowers. I’ve been seeing this more and more in bouquets and had a blast finding a brooch with enough bling to match Bridget’s style…but still be quaint…I know-I know! but honestly these are the hoops a mom fabricates the importance of, and then sets the hoops up, then jumps through them the entire time she helps plan her daughter’s wedding! hahahaha   Bridget LOVED her bouquet, brooch and all, when she REALLY saw it, which was the next day…….The only thing that takes the wierdness out of her not being home anymore is the sheer joy on her face when she’s with her husband.       

  We are so blessed to be a part of that! Enjoy the pics! OH BTW – This last pic is of my newly grown family! That’s my son Taylor with the crazy bowtie,(He’s the other talented half of aevumfresh.com), next to my husband, Gary, me, Bridget, and Kyle (the Marine )and my new son-in-law.  Thanks to Darren Squashic for fantastic shots on a warm windy day in the sand and surf! AND to Adam Boyer who filmed the whole enchanted event! These guys are amazing! What fun…….

My husband and I were invited to have dinner at a friend’s house the other night.  I made the cutest design in a mini glazed clay pot! I used preserved orange slices as an accent and point of interest in the mini design. The beautiful orange roses were the focal point. The faux berry lengths also added interest and confused the viewer as to whether they were real or not because everything else was fresh. I had to add yellow daisies as yellow is my friend’s favorite color!  It provided us with a touch of the season and did not overwhelm her table in any way!  A cute design on the table, good food and great friends…it doesn’t get much better than that! Try to make your own mini design today.

A friend asked me for a fun idea for a bridal shower tablescape. She wanted fall colors but not a typical fall look.  I suggested this pave’ design with a simple wheat armature rising above. She wanted the green hypericum berries from South America and red, orange, and yellow flowers too. She was fine with a mix of expensive and not so expensive blooms so I used roses, mini carnations, yellow daisies, green button mums, and variegated pittosporum along with the berries. I LOVE this look!  OH!  I forgot to mention the Bride is going to Paris on her honeymoon and other travel, and these decorative boxes have traveling stamps and a couple eiffel towers here and there! There’s nothing like theming it and have it all come together!  Try a NEW look in fresh flowers for your next gathering! Dare to Design! … or just ask me to do it for you : )