Sympathy Flowers With a Twist

In the past few years, I have noticed that the generation of flower buyers are quickly passing away & my generation is not honoring them with that final tribute of flowers. This is a group of people who faithfully sent flowers to family & friends when the passed on & now that tribute is not being returned.
Some of the reasons people do not like to send flowers are, they say that they do not last or they are opting to give to a society or charity of the families choosing or to a trust fund set up for other members of the family. Now don't get me wrong, I think the charitable donation is wonderful, but have you ever been to a funeral with no flowers? How sad. Why not do a little of both, give a donation & send a little vase of something also.

I am not one to do the "norm", I like to use my designing talents even when it comes to funeral flowers. I never look at it as a way to clean out my cooler & rid it of old flowers. I love to send shocking color combinations & include keepsake items for family members to have long after the memorial service is over. I feel this is the final tribute that I can give this person & I want it to be beautiful.

Looking at it from a business prospective, just like at a wedding, you are advertising to a lot of people in a short period of time. I want to make it count!! Here are a few examples of some of my sympathy tributes. Next time you need to send flowers to a memorial service ask your florist to design something unique for you to send.

Bridal Show Designs

Find more photos like this on Divapreneur
Here is the photo slide show of the two different mock wedding themes we designed for the two Bridal shows this past weekend. We made approximately 170 new bridal contacts & will begin the follow up process this week. I feel that it was definitely worth all the long hours & hard work. Let me know what you think of the color themes & the designs.

The first one was a very romantic look of deep red, blush, & pale pink roses along with pale mossy green cymbidium orchids accented by a collar of seeded eucalyptus. I used the back side of magnolia leaves to add the rich velvety brown color that cannot be found using flowers. I also added a little sparkle with some beaded hoops in a blush color.

The second color palette is a very bright theme of hot pink roses & tulips with coral roses & green trachelium & bluplerum all hand tied with coordinating ribbons. The centerpieces were done in the same color palette with the addition of a few different flowers. I added belles of Ireland & gerbera daisies for some fun & height. Each of the centerpieces had a type of candlelight.

Does your eye color match your personality?

I found this fun little quiz & decided to share it with you.

I am an eye freak, as my boys so affectionately call me. I love people's eyes, their color, their shape, size, eyelashes, the total eye package. I am know for this phrase "Oh, he/she has the most beautiful eyes" When I see someone on TV or in person that is the first thing I notice & then I remark "Did you see his/her eyes? Oh, he/she has the most beautiful eyes" It has become a huge joke with my sons. Now before I have the chance to even get it out of my mouth they will say, "We know Mom they have the most beautiful eyes!" Then they roll their most beautiful eyes! HA!HA! They must be able to tell what I am about to say by looking in my eyes!!

I do believe the old saying that eyes are the window to the soul. They say a lot about a person before you ever get the opportunity to pass judgment based on personality.

Anyway, I took this quiz, My inner eye color is Blue! What, blue? Are you kidding me? My actual eye color is dark brown, what could be further from blue than that? My Grandpa use to call me "black eyes" when I was a little girl. Who knew that there was a blue eyed girl living in this brown eyed girl's body! Maybe that explains a lot........hummmm

Your Inner Eye Color Is Blue

You've got the personality of a blue eyed women You're intense and expressive - and always on the go You've also got a sweet, playful side - which draws men in

What Color Eyed Woman Are You Really?

I Love My Job

I am in the process of designing bouquets for a Bridal Show this Saturday. This is a new show for me & I am dying to make a great impression. Potential weddings await me!

Just thought I'd share with you my beautiful roses that came in today that I am going to give away with my business card & bridal information. I decided that if my info is tied to a rose the brides will be less likely to loose my information amongst all of the other information given to them that day. I am hoping that I will stand out in their minds when they are sorting through things that evening & think.....oh, yeah, that was the flower shop that gave me the rose & WOW their designs were AWESOME!! Pictures will come next week of the show & what I took.

I bet you wish your monitor was scratch n sniff right now.........don't ya??

Wish me luck!

Flower of the Week "White Iris"

Today I have chosen the white iris as my flower of the week.I thought it appropriate since it is the name of my business.

I get asked a lot why I named my business White Iris. One reason is because Iris was my husband's paternal grandmother's name. Since my business is floral in nature it seemed perfect. Not to mention she was a great lady, a true "Diva" of her time. A woman in charge, domestic goddess, wife, mother, president of a political women's party, and most of all, to us, she was just "Granny". My family & I now live in her house where a lot of her collected treasures remain in my home along with her wonderful spirit. We miss her!

The reason I chose the color white as apposed to the other colors of irises is the white is not as common as the other colors & neither Granny Iris, nor I are common. I love how the pureness of the white color is like all of us, pure at birth. But with different cross pollinations new varieties are created and can have splashes of color in their centers. I find they are like women, essentially the same , but many differences in unique & beautiful ways.

Some Fun Facts:
Did you know that the emblem of France, the Fleur-de-lis is derived from the iris? In the 11th century, the King of France established this symbol, which has throughout history been used in design, architecture, jewelry, & many business logos.
It is the state flower of Tennessee.
And lastly, on this special day, in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King & my "Granny" its floral meaning is: Faith ~ Hope ~ Wisdom

Buy yourself or someone you love some today! Have a great week.

A Fashion Tale of a Vintage Button

Recently in an effort to relieve some stress & just to have a "Me" day, I found myself in one of my favorite small town antique shops. While wandering amongst all of the clutter I stumbled upon a box of vintage buttons. While I sifted through the box, one at a time I throughly studied each button, touching them, wondering where these little beauties came from. What era wee they from, what was the fashion then, what type of clothing did they adorn, what was the lady like who once wore them? Was she classy, casual, funky, a fashionista, Diva, a business woman ahead of her time, a Grandma or maybe a combination of some or all of them in one way or another.

Nevertheless, I knew that they had played an important role in the fashion scene in their day and I knew that I had to have some of them. My creative mind started in motion...how could I use these little works of art in some of my jewelry designs? I wasn't sure at that moment what I would create with them, but I brought them home with me & placed them with my bead stash. I have now started to put them in some of my latest designs.

Here is a sample of what I am going to call the "The Vintage Button Collection"

A button something so small, seemingly insignificant but necessary, yet each one little works of art, once loved, then discarded, found again, loved again & fashionably worn again. I am on the hunt for more of these little treasures. I hope you enjoy what I have done with them & will check back. There will be more to come.

Friday Flower Frenzy

I have been toying with the idea of a question & answer spot on my blog. Here is the premise: I will start with a bit of general knowledge about flowers or a specific flower or a flower related topic, then you will be free to ask me questions & I will do my best to answer them as thorough as I possibly can. I will include pictures & can even give some pictorial how-tos.

I am still working out the details, but will probably start posting regularly on Fridays very soon. So go ahead, get your questions & your vases ready.

I am also thinking about a flower of the month club, where I pick a flower give you information about it & then challenge you to purchase that flower (at your local florist NOT a superstore) for yourself, place it where you work or where ever you choose, enjoy it's beauty & then post back to me how long it lasted, did it have a fragrance, what you liked, what you didn't like, that sort of thing.

I encourage you to purchase from your local florist instead of the superstores. Get yourself a rapport with the florist, let her know what you like & what you don't. I can almost guarantee you will get great customer service from her if you become a loyal & frequent customer.

I have a passionate love for flowers & want to educate my friends & customers about them & their benefits. Not only are they beautiful, but they are known to lift your spirits when you are down & even make you feel better when you are ill.

We do not think twice about indulging in a latte at the local coffee house, why not give up a latte a week & replace it with flowers. Another luxury,yes, but one that will last a little longer.

Let me know what you think.

Taking time for Yourself! No Guilt Allowed!!

We as women/business owners/mothers/wives, etc. rarely take time or even have time for just "Ourselves". Now I am not one to make New Year's resolutions, but this year I have decided that in order to be the best all around "Me" that I can be, I am going to have to take some time for me & not feel guilty for it.

I did just that this past Friday. After an appointment, I took time off from my flower shop (this is why you have highly skilled employees) went shopping & then decided to go to the movies. I chose a "Chick Flick" that I knew that my husband would say "was not benefited by seeing on the large screen." (that is his way of saying girly movie, do not care to see that one!)

I saw P.S. I Love You. Ahhhhh, what a story. What a guy. What great shoes! Not telling.... go see the movie. Better yet read the book first then go see the movie!

With popcorn, diet coke & tissues in hand, I spent the most relaxing 2 hours by myself that I had in a very long time. Great movie, by the way. Great decompression & rejuvenation. I was now ready to go home to my real life & be a better me. I encourage all of you to vow to do the same in '08. Take some time for you & recharge your creative juices. What ever it is that you love to do, do it!!

Please take my poll posted to the right of this blog.

Take Care, have a great 2008 & Enjoy Yourself!!