Polish it up

There is something oddly satisfying about polishing silver… Maybe it’s the instant gratification of taking something from oxidized to shiny in less than two minutes. Or maybe it’s just seeing a bunch of bling bling in your house after you’re done. In any case, it’s an obsession of mine, so today I busted out the silver polish, and went to work on a tea set I had purchased at a consignment shop 4 years ago. After self-indulging in my OCD silver polishing habits, I decided to use the silver tea pot, coffee pot, and dish as containers for this week’s floral arrangement.  

A little spit and polish goes a long way! ;) 

The SF Flower Mart was bursting with all different types of Dahlias.  Since I have a weakness for Dahlias (especially in crimson) I grabbed a bunch, along with a couple stems of blooming Artichoke, some Queen Annes’ Lace, and Sedum.  The floral palette I chose had a very English-summer-in-the-country feel to it, and fit perfectly in the containers I had just polished up.

Varying heights in centerpieces help add to the visual interest

The moral of the story is, get creative with your containers, and NEVER say “no” to your Nana’s silver tea set, because no matter how modern our lives have become, you can always reuse vintage items in a modern way! 

Crimson Dahlias!

Over the Summer I had the opportunity to do flowers for an awesome Bride and Groom that were having a very intimate and beautiful ceremony at Mt. Tamalpais. When the bride contacted me again to put together a few arrangements for the reception she and her hubby were hosting at Café Du Nord, I was super flattered!

If you haven’t been to Café Du Nord in San Francisco, it’s a classic SF joint that hosts all sorts of awesome bands and events. With its dark woods, and red accents, it has a very speak-easy/ prohibition era feel to it.

Crimson colored Dahlias were the flower du jour! Other flowers that the bride wanted included: Crespedia (Billy Balls), Succulents, and Fig Branches. I threw in a bunch of white/green Hydrangea, and some green filler to help fill in the gaps. (I hope you’re all memorizing these plant names, as I will have a pop quiz at some point…. ;) )

 The main arrangement was tall as it was going to be the centerpiece to the buffet.

The Bride asked for a small bouquet that she could hold on to for some of the special moments at the reception. She was provided with a classic Nafis Designs yogurt tub holding vase for the moments that she didn’t want to hold on to her bouquet. 

The Groom received a small boutonniere made of a couple of Billy Balls, a Quail feather, and a sprig of green filler. 

After all the arrangements were complete, there were enough flowers left for an accent arrangement that could either help amplify the table centerpiece, or could be set aside as a separate arrangement.