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!