Merry Christmas, guys! Weather wise, this has been the most amazing winter so far. No complaints from me! I love being able to wear dresses comfortably without freezing my butt off. 

Also, hey flower crown! Gah! It was my first time making one and I went all out with this statement piece. Designing with flowers is such a fun challenge....not to mention, GORGEOUS! Remember, pick a variety of colors, textures and sizes to combine together. I have some directions and tips below!

DIY Statement Floral Crown 

• floral wire
• floral tape and of course
• freshly picked flowers.

First, cut a piece of wire to fit you head. It's up to your own preference to how you'd like it to lay and fit you. Overlapping the wire ends, use the floral tape to wrap and secure the ends together. Make sure to pull and wrap the tape tight. Floral tape isn't as sticky as regular tape so it was a little hard to get used to.

Now that you have your crown base, lay it flat on the table so you can start arranging flowers around it to get an idea of how you'd like it to look. Trim the stems to be around 2 inches long. You'll be taping these to the wire.

I used cuts of evergreen branches as the main greenery element and wrapped those to the wire first as my base. I spaced small cuts equally around (except for the front). Wrap each stem base with the tape until it's secure to the wire with little movement.

I left the front bare (no evergreen) so I could easily add in my focal point. I grouped my largest flowers (3 giant mums) in the center and arranged carnations around them as accents with little snippets of evergreen. Try on your piece every once in a while while you're making it to see how it lays and to see how it holds up. Make any adjustments necessary and ENJOY!

Flower Crown: diy  ///  Coat: Zara  ///  Dress: Missguided  ///  Boots: Missguided 

Rustic Boho Layer Cake with Fresh Flowers

If you know me personally, you're well aware I'm like an little old lady who loves tending to her summer flowers. Unfortunately living in my loft, I'm unable to have flower beds anymore but I'm still finding ways to incorporate pretty greenery and lovely live flowers into my life.

This was my first experience designing a cake with real, fresh flowers. It was great & it was nerve-racking...but I highly recommend doing it. 

The layer cake is white cake with vanilla buttercream. I frosted only in-between layers and the top of the cake. Keeping the sides unfrosted provides the rustic boho look. It gives off an unperfect vibe, which I love. Decorating with buttercream (instead of fondant) and embracing it's messier quality, is my absolute favorite.

DESIGN TIPS

Pick a variety of flowers

I chose some vibrant peachy orange/pink roses as a main focal. As supporting cast, I wanted greenery. I used killer lime green mums and leafy eucalyptus stems. All 3 plants have a very different look which gives variety to your creation. The varying visual texture makes it more interesting to look at.

Layer and Pile it On!

Don't be shy here. Why not heap on the flowers? Go for it and make a statement. I started with a blanket of rose petals and then placed a group of flowers on top as discussed below.

Create a Focal Point

I grouped a large rose, some sprigs of eucalyptus and a few mums on the top of the cake. This arrangement grabs your attention and creates visual interest. In one spot lower on the plate, I also gathered a few blooms to make it look like a cascading effect. 

Dealing with the natural & fresh aspect was challenging. The eucalyptus and mums are quite resilient while the Roses are quite delicate and will wilt a little more quickly. I had a couple of back up roses for a quick replacement after I arrived to my destination. It's good to keep all the flowers in water and then place them on the cake at the absolute last minute.

All in all, it was a fun experience. I just had to go with the flow and learn as I went along. The flowers were gorgeous and made for a lovely presentation. I can't wait to give it another try and experiment with different flowers.

Can you tell I'm super jazzed about these Sam Edelman leopard boots? Maybe I should ask myself, how many pairs of leopard shoes are too many?...I don't know. I'll save that to be discussed in a separate post...for now I'm going to enjoy my habit. I might have been excitedly skipping around in these the past few days. How can you not love that crazy pattern?

Here is a simple outfit with some bold details. Bright color top with ruffle collar is from jcrew. The black leggings with gold zipper detail is from Zara...you can always find great basics with a twist there! Jewelry is a bunch of layered pieces from my line, AC Design. For the Sam Edelman boots, I got an amazing deal from 6pm.com. Their prices are constantly changing so you have to keep your eyes out so you can snag the best deal.

Prints by Kari Herer photography. Her still life series mixes sketches and flowers