Refresh, Renew, Rebrand, RELAUNCH

I have taken a step away from blogging as I am rebranding my business to reflect the type of work that I have been fortunate to attract and to keep my in mind's eye for potential customers!
It has been a long time coming, but on the other hand...NOW is the time! Stay tuned and join as a follower so I can let you know when I am ready to tell the world.

I am still taking on work and projects - working with lovely brides and creating elements for the most lovely events and parties - convo me at invitemecreative@rogers.com if you need a quotation or to book an appointment. Thank you for your continued support!

Until then, bloom where you are planted!
Tracey

Congratulations Kate!

Today we saw a beautiful young woman marry a Prince! We got up early and enjoyed a simple table set for an english breakfast. Enjoying our finest tea cups and saucers, a simple start of fresh strawberries and english muffins with raspberry jam - delish! Front row seats (in front of our TV) for the big event, it was a day that history was made.

Of course, all eyes were on the dress, but I was also closely watching the flowers. A trendsetter in the making, Kate Middleton has re-ignited the popularity of some old style flowers - her bouquet of Sweet William (of course!), Lily of the Valley, Hyacinth, Myrtle in a shield-shaped wired bouquet...so elegant and fragrant! A true classic beauty.

You can bet that I will be asked by brides this season and for years to come for these iconic blossoms. The bouquets, the flowergirls' hair wreaths, the buttonholes (aka boutonnieres) all made a very modern statement in their simplicity and elegance. I have been making hair wreaths for a few years - here is a great photo of a recent wedding with clay flower hair wreaths on these young ladies.








Of course these blossoms can also be created for an eco-chic everlasting bouquet made with clay! I enjoy creating each and every one - and as lovely as lily of the valley is, those blossoms are tiny and delicate looking. I can hardly wait to start perfecting this combination of flowers...pip, pip, I'm off to the studio! Cheerio.

Congratulations William and Kate!

PS - if you are in Toronto this weekend, be sure to visit the Drake Hotel for the Spring Wedding Show - see you there!

HOPPY EASTER!

Spring has Sprung! What a lovely weekend for Easter. We have seen so many bunnies frolicking through the backyard in the past few days. A lovely Easter/Birthday luncheon with family...lots of chocolate treats...a great time!

I put together this little clay flower collage of ranunculus, daffofils, daisies and hydrangeas to remind myself that the buds are about to bloom, spring IS coming and I hope you like this preview display.

Happy Spring - hope to see you at The Drake Hotel in Toronto next weekend for Indie Meets Couture!

Spring Wedding Show at The Drake Hotel, Toronto

I am thrilled to be showing the latest clay flower designs for weddings at The Spring Wedding Show at The Drake Hotel in Toronto. The tagline is so tasteful - "Where Indie Meets Couture"...Love It!

I have been feverishly working away at my Spring/Summer Wedding Collection of clay flowers and bridal accessories! Wait til you see what I have come up with this year. There will be items for sale as well as the opportunity to chat about custom work - there is such a wealth of talent at this show and I was so happy to be asked back. Catherine and her Wedding Co. team are real professionals.

If you are in Toronto on April 30th, you MUST go The Drake. (The day after the Royal Wedding...we'll have so much to talk about)....be sure to stop by and see me.

North of the City Magazine

I am thrilled to share with you that I have a business spotlight article in the North of the City Magazine! I was approached in December to participate and was busily getting arrangements and bouquets ready for photography.

You can link to the article here.

I am so pleased with how the article was written and thankful for all of the feedback from family, friends and former clients...as well as the inquiries for new business.

Seems there are LOTS of people becoming interested in clay flowers! I have even had inquiries from brides who would like their treasured bouquet replicated in clay - well after the wedding! I have done this very successfully and with the photos supplied by the bride whereby I am able to re-create their goregous bouquets in clay to keep forever!

I am grateful for this media opportunity and welcome new business inquiries.

2011 - it is going to be a great year!

Let's Go Shopping!

Invite Me! will be participating in this vendor faire on Tuesday Aug 24! I am thrilled to be a part of this creative group to show my latest clay flowers, accessories and stationery. Get a head start on holiday shopping, great girlfriend and hostess gifts...or treat yourself!

If you can, come out and enjoy a fun evening to support a good cause - Hope to see you there!

Now, back to work for me...I am finishing up some clay hair flowers today (no sneek peek photos...yet - sorry).

Happy Canada Day!

Such a beautiful and sunny day here - feeling very patriotic!

Seeing neighbours and friends proudly waving Canadian flags, houses dressed with patriotic flags, wearing red and white - even the Queen of England is in Toronto this week - Happy Birthday Canada! Proud to be Canadian - proud to work with international clients for clay flowers and invitations - what a great time to be Canadian...

Thankful for all of the opportunities this country has available! Enjoy the Day - festive fireworks tonight! Cheers!

(photo courtesy of glennsglobalgames.com)

Destination Brides!

Going somewhere tropical and romantic to get married? Why not carry your lightweight wedding bouquet in your carry-on or safely packed in your luggage?

Hibiscus is such a popular tropical flower - yet so delicate to place into a fresh bouquet. Vibrant shades of pink and orange, accented with green and grasses fit in perfectly to the island wedding when hand-created in clay! Every last detail, including some hand-painted highlights and shadows give this bouquet a very realistic look - don't you agree?

Your clay flowers can arrive to your home or business address days...or weeks...before you leave for one of the most memorable days of your life! Take some of the stress from the day of the ceremony...you'll never worry at your destination about the wrong floral order (or flowers that may have been hanging around awhile)...and you get to keep the clay flowers as a memory of the day you married the best guy for you!

Clay Flowers are an Eco-Chic solution for Destination Brides!

Indie Meets Couture Show - May 1st

Just back from the big city of Toronto - the ultra chic Drake Hotel where I exhibited in The Wedding Co. - Indie Meets Couture Spring Show. What a great experience - I truly enjoyed meeting the brides and showing them the clay flowers! I love to hear the reaction from those who have never seen clay blossoms before.

Interesting to see all of the 'wedding bloggers' come out to gather information, snap photos and inquire about clay flowers! If you are a blogger, or happen to see my work posted, PLEASE comment or send me a note at invitemecreative@rogers.com -- I really appreciate it! I look forward to hearing from you!

Catherine, Stephanie and the other Wedding Co. staff are the best! They are so professional and a pleasure to work and be associated with - great job ladies!

More people to thank and introduce you to in the next few posts - off to get some dinner and recount a wonderful spring day at the show!

Open House - Thank You!

A gracious Thank You to all who attended the Mother's Day Open House and Gift Sale yesterday! It wouldn't have been a success without you!

Many have asked me about my inspiration and how I go about creating arrangements, so I wanted to give you a peek as to what the clusters of clay blossoms look like before they are arranged (see photo). I find my inspiration in many places: fashion (apparel), home fashion, all types of magazines, fresh floral and my own garden (as it blooms)!

I gathered a bunch of the arrangements before they were displayed for the sale and thought the burst of colour would make an interesting photo! If you missed the sale, several items will be listed on my etsy site tomorrow. Which one is your favourite?

Such a fun day SCRAPBOXING!

It's taken a couple of days to recover and get down to business thanking Lisa and all of the organizing team behind ScrapFest in Kitchener! Each year gets better and better - great to see so many ScrapFest participants with shopping bags brimming with the latest and the greatest goodies to make their projects and pages look great! Not to mention the talented group of teachers that I was fortunate enough to be alongside!

Special thanks to Bobbi-Lynn and Christine for their assistance in my workshop. With each student bringing their own 5x7 photo, we giggled, encouraged each other and were pleasantly surprised (at the drying rack) how fabulous and unique each cluster of clay hydrangeas turned out! The whole rainbow of colours were tinted to co-ordinate, some even multi-toned to match with the photos. There were good giveaways when the room got too quiet (everyone was concentrating and working at their scrapbox components) and then...the big reveal! The projects looked GREAT - hope you were all pleased with your accomplishment!

Thank you ladies for the opportunity to teach you a new skill, a fun project and to spend the afternoon with you! I hope to see you all again next year at ScrapFest.

Great to also connect with some of my industry colleagues (and as busy as the Marketplace was) missed seeing a few others too. :( The very talented Vicki Boutin was prepping for her class right beside mine - she is one creative gal - always great to see her! A pleasant surprise bumping into Kelli Panacci - always loved her style and colour palette! Good to finally meet Alessandra from Stix2 and see Judy and Sheri from In A Pinch Designs busy selling from their booth too. The Scrapping Turtle was super-busy with make n takes - loved that photo idea!

Well, I am off to finish some flower projects that I have been working on last week - also some corsage photos to come...wedding and prom season are right around the corner!

Love Spring!

Indie Meets Couture- The Spring Wedding Show

I am very excited to be a part of this Spring Wedding Show - showcasing clay floral creations (bouquets, boutonnieres, corsages, hair flowers) and wedding stationery (invitations, thank you notes, specialty stationery). If you are getting married and live in southern Ontario, this is a wedding show that you won't want to miss!

Join me on Saturday May 1st at The Drake Hotel from 10am - 4pm. Invite Me! Creative Announcements will have a booth in The Underground Lounge. Hosted by The Wedding Co., this "Indie Meets Couture" wedding show is for you if you are looking to infuse your wedding with some thing unconventional, chic or edgy...like clay flowers!

Local artisans and finest wedding businesses will be showcasing their talents in downtown Toronto. The Drake Hotel is a very chic venue for this event and will be giving away a bridal shower (valued at $500) to one lucky bride - why not let that be you?!

Hope to see you there!

Getting Ready for ScrapFest

OK, loyal blog readers...the countdown is on to the opening of the ScrapFest registration! Sunday Feb 7th (that's tomorrow) at 2pm EST the online registration starts.

This exciting event takes place in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada on the weekend of April 16/17th. Not only have they lined up great workshop classes (if I do say so!) there is a fabulous marketplace of the latest products and crops for all of the scrapbookers! Lots of prizes - tons of fun and learning! If you're not a traditional scrapbooker, that's OK too - there are still lots of interesting things to see and do (taking a class is a sure way to learn something new!).

I am thrilled to be teaching a 'technique-style' workshop - Above is a sneak peek of the "Blossoming Hydrangea Shadowbox" that you can make. I will teach you how to make these pretty little flowers (Mother Nature makes them fussy and delicate) but using Claycraft by Deco, they are tinted to the colour of your choice and everlasting! Start thinking of the fabulous 5X7 photo that you'll want to bring - it will be encased in a white shadowbox, surrounded by blossoms of clay flower hydrangeas and ribbon - a terrific 3-D embellishment to showcase your work!

Hope to see you there - you can preview the ScrapFest catalogue at http://www.scrapfest.ca/ to see all of the teachers, classes, times and events - you won't want to miss out!

Daisy Arrangement

SO thrilled with how this 'early spring' arrangement turned out! Daisies, tuberose buds, peonies, roses and hydrangeas - they're all there in this square vase arrangement!

I tried several graduated colours of clay on a few flowers and I am very pleased with the colour combination (such fresh and clean huses) and texures of the flowers used. I have been arranging blossoms that I have made over the past couple of weeks and there are LOTS to choose from on this worktable. I listed this one into my Etsy shop - take a peek!

I have also found a new source for containers - I can hardly wait to fill them with lots of clay flowers - what is your fave colour combination these days?

Lovin' a Sunny Thursday!

I working on some Valentine clay flower projects and some cute Valentine greeting cards. I thought that thought this photo would be uplifting today! It is sunny (and cold!) and I have had a challenging couple of days with my vehicle! Ugghh!

After 2 boosts this week and a flatbed tow to the dealership today, the conclusion is...the back wiper motor had seized up and was draining the battery - thankfully, under warranty and I can get it back today. Just little wrinkles like this that can put your day behind. Hope your day is going well!

Resolution - 2010 - It's Going to be a Great Year!

So, what has taken me 10 days to wish all of my loyal friends and readers a Happy New Year?!! Seems I have been pondering and trying to carefully consider what to write. Many of the blogs I read have such inspirational and motivating words these days - I have been busy!

Starting with "My Word for this Year"...a great idea for everyone, whether you own your own business or not. From Ali there is a superb list of words - my friend Vicki chose CHANGE and my pal Julie is going with EDUCATE. I chose mine before reading through Ali's list. My word for this year is FOCUS - there are so many positive applications of this word for me to achieve!

I have been busy in the studio working on some wedding items, valentine's day treats and uplifting home decor pieces - all out of clay!

I hope you will follow along this journey - leave me a message with YOUR word for this year. I forecast that 2010 is going to be a Great Year - let's make it happen!

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.

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!

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!