First Come Flowers

3 Ways To Be More Interesting Tomorrow Than You Are Today

 

Sometimes inspiration comes out of nowhere.

 

  

                                                                          Zen Images                                                

"Be more interesting tomorrow than you are today."

                                                                                                                                      Cole Haan

 

I spotted this quote while riding the NYC subway this morning. It was an ad for Cole Haan. Just the quote. Nothing more.

I was immediately intrigued and challenged by it.

I try to be interesting on the blog. But is it my goal to be interesting in my day-to-day life?

 

And if so, how do I do it?

1) Read on a wide variety of subjects. I learn so much from reading in doctor's offices.There are magazines there I'd never think of buying.

2)  Visit places of interest. I love old architecture. Drop me in any major city and I'm a happy woman.

3) Talk and listen to people. I love talking to folks about their jobs. Especially the trends they see from their own perspective.

Sometimes I get so bogged down in the day-to-day that I simply forget the joy of learning for learning's sake. Even if "I'm not ever going to use it."

So just a few minutes ago, I  began reading a book called, "Stamford White: Letters To His Family."

 

Untermyer Park - First Come Flowers

A friend took it off his shelf and handed it to me at least 2 years ago after giving me a tour of the amazing gardens of Untermyer Park here in Yonkers, New York. It seems Stamford White donated some 2000 year old columns to the park.

So tell me. What should I add to this list of ways to be more interesting? Please let me know in the comments below.

Mimi

 

 

The Power of A Beautiful Flower Arrangement

 

Never underestimate the power of a beautiful flower arrangement to set the stage for an elegant event.

Flowers: Fox & Rabbit       Photo: Bayly & Moore

Do you like to create your own floral arrangements for the special events in your life? If your budget is tight, DIY is a nice option. 

The goal of this blog is to empower you to do your own flowers. You'll find many DIY floral design posts and links here.

At our shop, Fly Me To The Moon Florists, we help a growing number of our customers create arrangements for their everyday enjoyment and special events.

But, there's something about a floral arrangement created by someone with a great eye for design that can make your event so very special.

I'm just saying. The beautiful arrangement above, by Fox and Rabbit, is both elegant and joyful. Everything I think flower arrangements should be.

What do you think about DIY flowers vs floral designer creations? Let me know in the comments below.

Mimi

 

 

 

Put Your Heart, Mind And Soul Into Your Smallest Acts

 

"Put your heart, mind and soul into even your smallest acts. This is the secret of success."

Swami Sivananda

 

I sent one of my best friends, Ti, a gift last weekend. It was sort of a missed birthday/Christmas gift. We usually get together after the holidays. But we were both either too tired or too sick to make it happen.

So I sent her the gift through a mutual friend and waited days for her to finally get it. No, I didn't take a picture of it, though it was beautifully wrapped, if I do say so myself.

Anyway she finally got it Thursday night and sent me a text overflowing with gratitude. As a matter of fact she sent me another text last night thanking me again.

Ti is an extremely creative person. She took a knitting class at her local library. The next year she was knitting felted bags that would probably sell for $350 each. She made me one for my birthday.

So I decided to make some gifts this year, because I needed a opportunity to get creative with things other than flowers. I wanted to let her know how much our friendship meant to me. So I made her a box full of handmade hearts. But it needed a little something else.

I walked into a Paper Source store on the upper west side of Manhattan and found an incredible book that expressed everything I wanted to say to her.

 

The book is called Celebrating You. It's a picture book with a simple line of text on each page. Here's an excerpt:

"She makes time for the things that matter. She listens to her heart. She makes ordinary extrordinary."

M.H. Clark

Over the years, I've spent a lot more money on gifts for Tina. But this one. This simple box of hearts and a book meant more to her than any of them.

When we commit to putting our hearts, minds and souls into the small things we do, magic happens.

I bought some leopard and zebra tissue paper to wrap flowers in at the shop. People are losing their minds over it. I just wanted to do a little something special for our customers. I had no idea what an impact it would have.

The next time you're trying to do something special for someone let your heart, mind and soul lead you. Because, it's there you'll find success.

What do you think? 

Mimi

 

Image: ana-rosa tumblr

Floral Centerpiece Secrets Part 5: Elegant & Affordable Arrangement Ideas

This is the 5th and final post of the "Floral Centerpiece Secrets" series.  You can read Part 1,  Part 2,  Part 3,  and Part 4  here.

Below you'll find ideas for affordable centerpieces. Make them yourself or invite some friends over to help.

Remember, just because they're simple doesn't mean they can't be striking.

 

Elegant & Affordable Floral Arrangement Ideas

Martha Stewart

 

Pick A Color and Run with It

Buy a bunch of flowers to match your decor. Get small vases, bottles or glasses. Cut the flowers so the bloom is sitting just above the rim of the vessel. Make lots of them. Put one at each place setting. Or place them on a DIY cake stand in the center of your tables. The sky's the limit.

 

For more centerpiece idea :

"7 Ways to Save On Flower Centerpieces"

"How to Make Stem Glass Flower Arrangements"

"Simple Floral Centerpieces" 

"The 4 Lessons Walt Disney Can Teach You About Success and Carnations" 

 

I hope you've learned something useful about centerpieces from this series. Perhaps you'ii try making one for your next dinner party or special event.

Did I forget to include something about centerpieces?

Mimi

 

Floral Centerpiece Secrets Part 4: 9 Tips On Picking Your Colors

This is part 4 of the series, "Floral Centerpiece Secrets. You can read  Part 1,  Part 2 and Part 3 here.

I don't have any hard and fast rules about flower colors. You can do whatever you want. But I'd like to share some basic floral design color principles that I find helpful in my work. Please let me know what you think.

 

Bloom Anuschka

 

9 Tips On Selecting Flower Colors for Your Centerpieces

 

 

Stoneblossom

1. Stick to the natural colors of flowers. There are plenty of them. If you're having an over-the-top birthday party and your name is Sapphire, go ahead and have all your flowers dyed royal blue. Otherwise, choose your colors from nature. Or at least the engineered colors floral laboratories can now get flowers to grow in.  I mean, or the new colors now available from cut flower growers.

 

Dolce Design Studio

2. Choose your flower colors first and build your event around them. I'm always amused when my brides come in asking for flower colors like winsome green. These colors don't exist outside of a bridesmaid dress catalog. Not by that name anyway. Once I see the swatch,I can guide them to colors that will complement their floral arrangements.

 

via Little White Blog

3. Use only 2 or 3 flower colors.  A limited color palette will give your centerpieces a more sophisticated look. If there's a pink rose, for example, that has a bit of green and white in it, I'd use those colors. Mostly pink and white flowers with green foliage.

 

Colin Cowie

4. Go monochromatic.  If red is the color you want, then shoot for an all red centerpiece. Use flowers of different types and textures to give your floral arrangements more pizazz.

 

 

White Lilac

5. Stay in the same tone. Some colors are bright and others dusty. Use either one tone or the other. The dusty colors look like they have a little gray in them. If you're using a dusty rose color, then a watermelon pink flower wouldn't go. One would look a little dirty next to the other. Do you know what I mean? I'd choose either a bright or dusty color palette.

 

 

Beautiful Blooms

6. Use paint chips to help you pull your colors together. Once you select your colors, go to a paint store and pick up free paint chips that match your flowers. Then when you begin choosing your tablecloths, napkins, etc. you have your colors handy.

 

Bliss Flower Studio Image: Julia Bailey

7. Go ahead and play with color. It's your party. Who says you can't use hot pink and bright yellow. Orange and purple. Red and lime green. You don't have to use harvest reds, oranges and golds just because your event is in September. But, remember that using seasonal flowers may be cheaper. Florists are more likely to carry seasonal colors than others. But, if you order your flowers in advance, there shouldn't be a problem. 

 

Beautiful Blooms

8. Be open to suggestions from your floral designer if you're using one. It should be someone whose style you like. And whose judgement you trust. When we first opened our shop, we used to get many brides whose styles didn't match ours. They wanted very traditional and sometimes tacky floral design. So I began praying that God would send us customers seeking the kind of floral design we do. And voila, our kind of clients began coming out of the woodwork.

 

Lauryl Lane

9. Consider the event and your guests. If you're doing a 90th birthday party for Aunt Tillie the neon yellow and green minimalist floral centerpieces you were thinking about might not be the way to go. Unless that's just how she rolls. If yellow and green are her favorite colors opt for something a bit more traditional. It doesn't have to be boring though.

So those are my tips about how to choose flower colors for your centerpieces. Any questions? 

Mimi

 

 

 

Floral Centerpiece Secrets Part 3: 10 Tips for Choosing Flowers

This is Part 3 of a series called."Floral Centerpiece Secrets." You can read Part 1 and Part 2 here.

Flowers by Connie Riemer

 

10 Tips for Choosing Flowers for Your Centerpieces

 

Fly Me To The Moon Florists

1. Select flowers that are in season. Many flowers are available all year long. But if they have to be special ordered they may cost more. Flowers in season are generally healthier, prettier and more cost-effective.

 

Blush Floral Design

 2. Select less  expensive flowers and use a whole lot of them. People love to hate carnations, but you can achieve a big look for less money if you choose a simple design. Gladiola is another great candidate for this look when placed in a modern vase.

 

Arome

 

3. Select a few striking flowers and go for a modern look. Tropical or exotic flowers in a simple vase look great.Try a few stems of amaryllis in full bloom.

 

Sandra P. Photography

 

4. Choose a mix of inexpensive, multi-stemmed flowers and make them into lots of small arrangements. Use flowers like lisianthus, pom poms, spray roses and carnations.

 

Posy Floral Design

 5. Use a few different flowers in a single color. It's a modern look that is quite elegant.

Verbena Floral Design

 

6. Choose big-headed flowers. They take up a lot of space, can be mixed with other flowers and can give you a great bang for your buck. Consider football mums, hydrangea and gerbera daisies. Three stems of hydrangea and you've got a centerpiece. The loveliest come from Holland and cost a bit, but the look is sheer glam.

 

Charlotte Geary

 

7. Don't use flowers. Instead use interesting branches like willow alone in a nice vase. They can be spray painted to match your decor. Don't go crazy with your colors here though. Cymbidium orchids can be wired to the willow branches as well.

 

via The French Tangerine

 

8. Choose unscented flowers for your centerpieces. Some people are highly allergic to them. Most people don't want to be overwhelmed with the fragrance of flowers while they eat. Select unscented varieties of lilies for your centerpieces if that's your flower of choice.

 

Amy Merrick

 

9. Use lots of foliage. Though the style of flower arranging we do at Fly Me To The Moon Florists uses lots of flowers, you don't have to. Think about a rose or hydrangea bush. They have flowers, but there's space between them. My current favorite foliage is Italian ruscus, but salal (lemon leaf) , pittosporum plain and variegated are lovely in floral centerpieces.

 

 White Lilac

 

10. Take it easy with the filler flowers. If you've been reading this blog for a while, you've heard me say it before. Don't go crazy with baby's breath. Unless of course it's the only flower you're using. It won't make your floral centerpieces look bigger. It will make them look tacky. See tip #9 again. You can read more on this subject here.

 

 

 

Preston Bailey

I encourage you to think outside your usual flower box when thinking about centerpieces. Try something new. Play with the traditional. I think you'll be glad you did. 

Part 4 of the "Floral Centerpiece Secrets" series will discuss color. Hope you're enjoying these posts and finding them helpful.

What kind of flowers do you dream about using in a centerpiece?

Mimi

 

Linking to:

At the Picket Fence

French Country Cottage

Savvy Southern Style

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5 Ways To Use Flowers To Make A Gray Room Bright

 I love gray rooms. In fact, I love gray anything. I painted my kitchen a pale gray. Nearly everyday I wish I'd had the nerve to go a few shades darker. But I was afraid that on rainy days it would be too depressing.

But when I began adding touches of brightly colored flowers and accessories, I realized that gray didn't have to mean drab.

Here are 5 Ways To Use Flowers To Make A Gray Room Bright 

Image: Pics Decor

1) Buy random yet unusual flowers and place them in a simple vase.  At Fly Me To The Moon Florists, we sell unique flowers by the stem.  Make your own  work of floral art or ask the florist to do it for you.

 

 

Image: via Inspiration for Home 

2) Grab a simple vase and a bunch of flowers. Place them by your bed and you'll feel like you 're in a hotel.

 

Image: Inspiration For Home

3) Match your flowers to your decor. Pick a color, re-cover a few pillows or buy some new ones. Then get some flowers to match. 

 

Image: Pics Decor

4) Go for a monochromatic look. Choose one flower, one color and place them in a vase of water. If you're not sure how to care for fresh flowers read this post.

Image: Monique Lhuillier

 5)  Take your flowers to work. Bring flowers to your job on Mondays to lift your spirits for the entire week. Pick your favorite color or flower. Make sure they're fresh by reading this post on cut flower care.

Check out even more gorgeous gray rooms on my Glamorous Gray  pinboard.

What's your favorite way to liven up a room?

Mimi

 

 

Fly Me To The Moon Florists: New Mini Shop at Ridge Hill Mall

Fly Me To The Moon Florists

 

The Republic of Couture, known for its boutique style exclusivity, invited Fly Me toThe Moon Florists to set up a mini shop within their high end store in the new Ridge Hill Mall in Yonkers, New York

 

Republic of Couture

The Republic of Couture defines itself as:

"... not only a one-stop shopping destination for today's trendy crowd, but also an excellent source of personalized service for the fashionable and more mature high end customer. "

The Republic of Couture held an after party as part of Project Style  on Friday, September 14, 2012.

My sister, Susan and I designed a tablescape for the event called "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner?"  

We created fantasy place setings for 8 invited guests including The Invisible Man and Audrey Hepburn. Watch for details of each place setting in my next post.

 

Fly Me To The Moon Florists

What do you think of our new mini shop so far?

Mimi

 

 

How To Make Floral Ice Cubes From Edible Flowers

Imagine beautiful floral ice cubes floating in a tall glass of homemade lemonade. So pretty right? Excuse me, while I go get myself a glass.  

Image: Raymond Hom

Guess what? You don't have to be a culinary genius to create them.You can make these amazing floral ice cubes yourself with a few simple things.

Image: Edible Flowers

The key? Use only edible flowers. The kind that are sold in food stores and green markets. They may cost a little more than you think they should. But I promise you,they're worth every scent cent. 

The flowers sold at flower shops like Fly Me To The Moon Florists are intended for decoration only. So don't even think about putting them in ice cubes.

 

Here's How to Make Floral Ice Cubes From Edible Flowers:

 

Image:  via Yahoo Voices

Materials Needed

Distilled water (so the ice cubes will be clear)

Edible flowers of your choice

Large ice cube tray (for bigger cubes that will last longer)

Directions:

1. Rinse all the flowers gently and remove any stems.

2. Fill the ice tray 1/4 full with the water, add  flowers and freeze. Fill halfway and freeze again. Then fill to the top with water and freeze again.

3. Place in clear glasses with your favorite cool beverage and serve.

 

How Do Edible Flowers Taste?

Here's a link to an edible flower chart below. It lists various edible flowers, their botanical names and comments about how they taste.  

 

Other Creative Ice Cube Ideas

 Mint Ice Cubes

Chunk of Fresh Fruit Ice Cubes

Frozen Fruit Ice Cubes

 

Have you ever made floral ice cubes? Would you try it? I'd reallylike tio know.

Mimi

 

Linking To:

At The Picket Fence

French Country Cottage

My Romantic Home

 

 

 

Got A Dressing Table? 6 Ways To Glam It Up With Flowers

If you have a dressing table,you have to have fresh flowers on it. Well, actually you don't, but why not live a little.

 

via BHG

I'm not talking about "breaking the bank" flowers. Just a few blooms to give your dressing table a bit of glam.

I told you about the flowerless dressing table I got from my aunt when I was a child. If you missed it, you can read all about it here.

But otherwise, be inspired by the lovely floral vignettes pictured below.

 

6 Ways To Glam Up Your Dressing Table with Flowers

Eclectic Revisted

Now don't kill me. There are at least 2 dozen beautiful roses in the vase on the dressing table above. But if you had only 3 roses, you could still get a million dollar look.

1.  Just cut a few roses short and place them in a small vase or old perfume bottle. They'll look gorgeous clustered. They'll even last a bit longer too. I do this a lot with broken flowers at Fly Me To The Moon Florists

 

The Ardent Sparrow

2.  Place a single blossom or two in a taller vase on either end of your dressing table. Use flowers that coordinate with the overall color scheme of your room.

 

via BHG

3. Use a flowering plant on your dressing table. Simply place it in a decorative pot. Learn how to take care of plant drainage problems here.

 

via rosesand rustblogger

 

4.  Go flower crazy if you don't actually plan to sit at your dressing table. If you do, cut your flowers a bit shorter or move them to one side. 

 

 

Gypsy Purple Home 

5.  Place the flowers near the table for a touch of drama. This will work especially well if you keep a lot of bottles and stuff on your dressing table. If you're like me though, you'll knock over the vase moments after placing it on the floor.

 

 via BHG

6.  Mix it up. Your flowers or vase don't have to match anything else. If the color makes you happy use it! 

If you think I'm trying to get you to use flowers in every room of your house, you're right. Why not? We only live once.

What 3 things would you keep on your dresssing table?

 Mimi