Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and Best of the Season to all of my blog readers, family and friends! 2009 has been quite an exciting year in my business, with my family and around the house!

More exciting business news in early 2010 and lots more blog info to share! All the Best to You and Yours - take time to share a special moment with someone! Off to take some more photos and find some homemade fudge - mmm, one of my faves! :D

The Olympic Flame

So exciting to see the Olympic Flame as it passed through our town today! There were LOTS of people along the route and around the Magna Ctr - It was a VERY Proud Canadian Moment!

Went early enough to get a close-up view and no one was disappointed - lots to see, plenty of cheering and singing - everyone caught the Olympic Spirit today! Front row and the action was right there in front of us! They put on a great show and the residents who were there will have a lifetime memory - so proud to see a local torchbearer, Clare, carry it up on stage and light the Olympic Cauldron!

If The Flame is coming close to your town, it is well worth the time and effort to get to see it!

Go, CANADA, Go!

Happy Birthday Arrangement for Barbara!

My friend Sheryl and her sister Carolyn wanted to give their Mom an extra-special, everlasting gift of clay flowers to celebrate a milestone birthday! With the colour direction of white/creme and orange, I was given artistic freedom to create a low-and-long arrangement for the dining room table.

Using roses in various shades of orange and creamy white roses with slightly tinted centers, this arrangement is very elegant punctuated with the creamy gardenias. I have recently modified my gardenia making technique and am THRILLED with how this arrangement turned out.

Shhhhh, the birthday party isn't until Sunday. Happy Birthday Barbara!

Sneak Peek for Sunday!

You asked for it...and we listened!

Similar to the Open House last May, another Mompreneur (Karen) and I are hosting a Holiday Open House this weekend! Let's finish off our Christmas Shopping with the gifts we really want! Send your sweetie with a wish list - we'll steer him in the right direction!

Featuring Christmas themed, Wintry, Winter Wedding inspired clay flower arrangements, hair flowers and decorations - perfect for home decor, gift giving or hostess gifts. Karen will be showing all of the latest silver collections from Silpada! Everyone loves the silver bling-bling!

If you are going to be in the Newmarket area, please call 905-751-7657 for an evite with exact times and directions to the event! Would love to see you too!

Holiday and Wintry Arrangements

Some photos of Christmas and Wintry Arrangements that I have been working on! Can you believe that they are made from air-dry clay? I am amazed how great they look when transformed from my work table into a hand-designed arrangement that will brighten someone's day and look great on a holiday table...or how terrific for a reception table at a winter wedding!

If you are in the Newmarket area tomorrow, there is an Open House Shopping Event that I am participating in. There will be several product lines available as well as a showcase of my clay flower designs! There will be many shoppers who will be seeing clay flowers for the first time - can't wait to hear their comments!

The event is at the Bowen Therapy Clinic in The Newmarket Plaza (130 Davis Drive, Unit 4) from 2-8pm. There will be lots to look at and shop from as well as refreshments, door prizes and shopping fun! Please drop by if you are in the area.

CYBER MONDAY - Sale! Take $5. off White Gardenia Hair Flowers

WOW! So much web-chatter about Cyber Monday sales that I want to join in the excitement!

If you would like to save $5. on a beautiful, everlasting Hair Gardenia for the holidays, an upcoming wedding, a vacation...or to wear everyday, please go to http://www.invitemecreative.etsy.com/ to order yours today! (Usually $25 each plus shipping, I am offering these clay flower gardenias for $20 each) This sale runs from Nov 30 - December 4th, so don't miss out!

Eco Chic, Lightweight and Scent free! This elegant gardenia hair flower will be stunning at a wedding, a cocktail party, the honeymoon and any other special occasion… I wear mine for everyday with a ponytail! Whether you have an up do, low do or off to the side, this hairflower is finished with a U-shaped hairpin that can be securely attached into your hairstyle with bobby pins.

Available in white, each gardenia is hand designed, petal by petal, using CLAYCRAFT by DECO to create a very realistic looking, everlasting blossom! Every gardenia is slightly different in size, approx. 3.5” in diameter...so pretty! Proudly, I am a certified DECO instructor who creates very realistic looking, everlasting arrangements. Very eco-chic!

With thanks, Tracey

PS - The hair gardenia makes a great gift - why not one for yourself too?!!

Outdoor Decorative Urns for the Holidays!

Surprised to see no snow in these photos?!!

Me too - usually there is something on the ground by now! Not complaining what so ever!

I am pleased to show you some outdoor decorative urns for the holidays! With just a bit of imagination, greenery and some stuff you probably have, you can make a decorative statement at the front of your home too!

The greenery I used this year included juniper (from the big overgrown shrub that was recently taken down), cedar boughs, pine, salal and fir boughs. I added some mismatched sparkly ornaments. The dogwood stems are fresh and the big pinecones are from the florist. It would have been nice to light the grapevine balls (the client currently has no hydro running out the front). I re-used the wreath I designed for them last year, just adding some new ball ornaments to fill it in a bit.

What do you do to decorate the front of your home for the holidays?

A Week of Thanksgiving

I am posting this photos for my American family and friends! Happy Thanksgiving to You - we all have so much to be thankful for!

The clay arrangements were designed by me featuring flowers, fruit, pumpkins and leaves - very festive using fall colours. The cupcake turkey was made for me by someone very special!

Simple to do - chocolate cupcake with frosting, a Timbit, red, white and yellow coloured frosting, chocolate chips, pretzels and a fruit roll-up. See photo for details - a SWEET treat for Thanksgiving! Enjoy!

A very talented Designer!

Today I want to introduce you to a very talented woman - Vicki Boutin - a very enthusiastic and creative designer in the scrapbooking industry! I met Vicki a couple of years ago when I took one of her scrapbooking workshops at ScrapFest in Kitchener.

Although I am not a 'scrapper' per se, I had seen Vicki's amazing layouts featured in several (many!) scrapbook/papercrafting magazines (both Canadian and US)...and I thought "I NEED to meet this woman!" I was impressed with her work, her presentation and humour as well as her ability to teach those with varying skill levels.

I was fortunate enough to take another one of Vicki's classes at ScrapFestU at Hockley Valley last weekend - it was scheduled before my make-n-take and I was intrigued by the project and new techniques she was going to teach - and I was not disappointed!! I knew that when she offered me a photography tip that it would be a good one - and it is! (I took the photo of the three women in Vicki's blog post from Nov 9th - not bad, heh?)

If you ever have the opportunity to take her class, you will be equally impressed (even if you aren't a scrapper - you can use many of the techniques in papercrafting and home decor projects). Vicki has some upcoming workshops and if she is in your area, book your seat quick - I know her classes sell out!

Visit Vicki's blog (which she is quite good at keeping current) at http://www.vickiboutin.typepad.com/. You will also be impressed with the photos from her 'scrap space' yow-sa! We all strive to be organized in our creative space!

My ETSY Storefront - OPEN for business!

I am ready to announce that I have opened an Etsy shop on-line purchasing my clay flower and stationery creations! I was a bit reluctant to undertake opening a shop (only because it was out of my comfort zone and I would have to teach myself) and I have been building it behind the scenes for weeks. (Thank you Diane for your encouragement...for the last year!... to get going on this!)

For those who are unfamiliar with Etsy, PLEASE visit http://www.etsy.com/ or you can go directly to my shop at http://www.invitemecreative.etsy.com/. It is truly a collection of unbelievably talented artisans! So proud to be a part of this!

I have listed a few items and am thrilled with the response (I can see how many people click on to view the pieces - other than me! LOL). I will continue to add items as available and have some very interesting and beautiful clay and paper designs planned.

Hey! Just wanted to mention that I got my first sale! Thank you to Jerrilee for being my first customer - I have carefully packaged the arrangement, shipped it...and it is on its way to Oregon, USA! How cool is that?!

Whoo - hoo....as I wrote this post...another sale! I am very grateful for all of my customers who have the faith to purchase online. I hope that you will find my work to be 'even better' in person, even though I try my best with the photos...promise!

ScrapFest U - November 7,8th

For all of my scrapbooking clients and friends, I just wanted to remind you of the ScrapFest U that is coming up in a couple of weeks. The ScrapFest team has such an exciting weekend getaway planned at the lovely Hockley Valley Resort!

So what is ScrapFest U..........Your Ultimate Creative Escape!!
November 7th and 8th, 2009

It is all about creative fun!! Scrapbooking/card making/stamping and photography workshops that are being instructed by leading industry experts, Vicki Boutin and Kathy Thompson Laffoley.


The fun continues into Saturday evening after a gourmet dinner and a special event. I am delighted to be included in this event as one of the hostesses of a special "Holiday Make-N-Take' project!

So picture the perfect location and time to shop, crop, learn and create!! Go to www.scrapfest.ca for more details!

A day at the local Bridal Show

Hello to all of the Brides-to-Be that I met this past weekend at the Cardinal Bridal Show!

A great turn-out on a drizzly, rainy Sunday - lots of modern and traditional plans for upcoming weddings were shared with me. It is such an exciting time for you and your families!

I was very pleased with the enthusiasm of those who had never seen clay flowers before! Thank you for your kind comments and encouragement on the work that I do - I enjoy every aspect of creating unique invitations and fashionable clay flowers for my clients. Eco-chic, scent-free and everlasting...the perfect alternative to fresh flowers! So many of these brides who attended this show are getting married in August 2010 - I am planning for this busy wedding season!

If you are interested in a consultation and more details on invitations and/or clay flowers, please contact me at invitemecreative@rogers.com. I look forward to hearing from you - book time with me early so you won't be disappointed!

PS - my display table was next to a terrific wedding photographer, "FotoGirl" aka Dani Romano, provides stunning wedding photography - she is enthusiastic, young and very talented. Check her out at http://www.fotogirl.ca/

Late Summer Florals

Well...do you hear it? The sound of silence...as the children have gone for the first day of school in our neighbourhood! Some parents silently weep while others sing "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" as the hustle and bustle of the school routine resumes.

I thought it was timely to show a 'late summer' vase arrangement, designed two different ways. One is more traditional with a loose triangular shape and the other more contemporary with a more vertical structure. I used some delicate blooms - like white hydrangea clusters, coral coloured poppies and open white peonies complemented with some full roses in shades of yellow, peach and coral. I like how these flowers are balanced and how the burlap rope wrapped vase gives so much more texture.

Leave me a comment about your kids' first day of school...Enjoy the moment!

Summer Hydrangeas - Bloom Forever!

Ah, the beauty of summer hydrangea! Love the billowing blossoms and the abundance of colour, even the annabelle/pee gee white snowballs! Hydrangeas are a very popular flower in wedding bouquets and arrangements, but sadly they have a very short life before they wilt.

There are many hydrangea bushes in our neigbourhood and I have been experimenting with a couple of bushes that I have had for a few years. One disappointment in my garden this year is a 3 year old hydrangea that has bloomed in the past, but after moving it, there were no flowers last year and only one, lonely cluster of a vibrant, almost irridescent blue/purple this summer! I photographed it right away and admired it for a couple of days...then couldn't resist snipping it and bringing it inside to enjoy. I know the proper care for stems and water temp, however this beauty started to fade a day later.

I thought this would be an excellent opportunity to do a floral comparison with real flowers and clay flowers made with ClayCraft by DECO. I snipped a couple of blossoms for comparison (see photo) and I was able to match and emulate the shading of this cluster through careful mixing of clay pigments. When I went to shoot it in the light of day, well...you can see what it looks like today. No one can match the beauty of Mother Nature, but with so many brides who desire hydrangeas on their wedding day, the qualities of clay flowers provide an eco-chic alternative!

Pretty Wreath

This summertime wreath makes me smile! It is just over 14" in diameter and FULL of wonderful clay flowers and ribbon. Peonies, roses, hydrangeas, tuberose buds, lilacs, gerbera daisies, gardenias and more....they're all in there! This wreath would look terrific hung on the wall, but just as fabulous on a dining table with a hurricane or pillar candle placed in the center. Could also be an everlasting head table centerpiece at a wedding! These colours are very happy and remind me how wonderful summer is!

If you are interested in purchasing this piece or having me custom make one in your decor colours, please contact me at invitemecreative@rogers.com . Imagine how rich this clay wreath would look using in the wonderful autumn colours (not that I am rushing summer along by any means) or spring pastels, summer brights...oooh, what about monochromatic?!! Possibilities...endless! Enjoy.

Summer Arrangement

Can't you just smell the peonies! (Many people like the scent - some have an allergic reaction!)

Even though peonies have already bloomed here, I was able to re-create them in a everlasting clay arrangement. Sometimes red and white tend to look 'Christmas-like' or like a Valentines arrangement, so I chose to balance the red and white peonies (and buds) with chartreuse green/white hydrangeas. To add a bit of different texture, I included a few hibiscus blooms - also very delicate blossoms in nature. I think this would look terrific on a dining room table.

Wrist Corsages for Weddings

With so many "special guests" at a wedding, it is a very thoughtful gesture to honour them with their own flowers. Clay flower corsages are a perfect gift for the special people in your lives not only on the day of your wedding, but as a keepsake of this special day.

Here are an assortment of wedding corsages, complete with a pearl wristlet (just to make it a bit fancier!). Even the most delicate blossoms like gardenias, peonies, roses and poppies can be transformed into beautiful, everlasting wedding corsages!

Yellow Roses = Friendship

I just love summer roses...and here is a bouquet of a dozen clay flower roses. Yellow roses are the colour of friendship, so they make a thoughtful gift or gesture to give to a friend or loved one.

Sadly, this particular bouquet was given to close family friends with deepest sympathy and remembrance, which we hope will give comfort to the family - much more practical than real flowers, especially in this situation. They may choose to keep the bouquet together or to give each member of the family a blossom to keep.

More Wedding Photos - Amy & Rob

There are so many ways for the bride to personalize her wedding day! By having a colour story that repeats throughtout all of the thoughtful wedding items, all of the pieces co-ordinate for a more sophisticated look. The wedding colours that Amy chose included: cherry red, baby blue and white - perhaps not the typical summer wedding colours, but that is what made her day even more special!

These colours not only worked well together, they were very complementary to all skin tones of the bridal party, as well as the existing decor pieces at the wedding venue http://www.waterstonefarms.com/. The country landscape was lovely and although the day started and ended with rain, Amy and Rob's wedding was bright and sunny...and bountiful with natural greenery (and a nice summer breeze for the comfort of the guests).

Here are some photos of the table centerpieces - votive lanterns surrounded by a ribbon-wrapped grapevine wreath and a cluster of clay flowers. Amy added some blue ribbon and a whimsical tag to the lantern which marked the tables for guests to find their seats. At the end of the evening, one lucky guest from each table was able to take the centerpiece home - what a thoughtful keepsake of the wedding!

For the cake, which looked elegant and delicious smothered in buttercream icing, Amy requested a large scale red poppy to fit the 6" round top layer. I added a few stephanotis, ribbon and greenery. The cake flower gets set into the cake just before the wedding reception and should be wiped dry from any icing that touches the flower - no mess, no fuss - and an everlasting flower to keep!

Real Wedding Photos - Amy & Rob

The bridesmaid bouquets were a thoughtful gift from Amy - she was so excited to give the everlasting clay flowers to her special attendants. She shared with me that each of them had a favourite flower and I incorporated these special flowers into each of their flower bouquets. The attendants wore dark cherry red coloured dresses, so the white bouquets would be an elegant contrast - the colours looked great together! For the bouquets, I mixed with several shades of white roses were feature flowers that included: white lilies, white gerbera daisies, white tulips, white poppies, white victorian roses. The attendants love their special flowers and will have them for years to come. One commented to me at the wedding yesterday that the clay flowers looked so real that she had to flick a bug off of her bouquet several times!

Real Wedding Photos

I have had the pleasure of working with Amy since meeting her last fall at a bridal show. She has become a real fan of clay flowers and it was a pleasure to design the wedding invitations and clay flowers for her wedding to Rob. The wedding was yesterday and I was delighted to drop by to see the ceremony. It was a lovely afternoon wedding in the country - the wedding party looked gorgeous and there was a lot of love and happiness for this special day! Thank you for allowing me to share in your wedding day.

Congratulations Amy and Rob - may your long life together be full of good health and everlasting happiness!

Clay flowers look so realistic, in person and in photos! I was happy to deliver Amy's entire order of wedding flowers nine days before the wedding...one less (very important) component of a wedding not to worry about for the bride and groom! I was going on vacation and would not be back until moments before the ceremony, so delivering the flowers in advance worked well for everyone - there is no fresh florist that can do that!

Amy's wedding flowers included: Red Poppies, Red Peonies, Red Roses and Stephanotis. She specifically did not want any greenery in her bouquet, so there were challenges for me to keep the design as life-like as possible. One solution is that I mixed the clay to have several shades of red to give it a more realistic look. Amy was thrilled with how it turned out! Robert's boutonniere was designed using a sentimental flower for him - cherry blossoms! So delicate in real life, there is no way fresh blossoms could have been used (let alone found here, this time of year).

I will post some more of the clay flower details so you can see how everlasting flowers made of clay can work into your special event or home decor.

A Clay Flower Bouquet

I am posting this shot because I wanted to show you how realistic the clay flowers can look! I think they look very real, cello wrapped and ready to go! These single rose stems are going to a wedding, to be handed out to some special guests as part of the ceremony, one by one. There won't be a dry eye in the church. The victorian garden roses have more of a ruffled center - perfect and elegant. Best wishes to Jessica and Martin on their wedding day and always!