Christmas without the Cliche

Oh no! Could it be? Is it really possible? Am I really feeling what I'm feeling?...Yes...I officially have a sore throat, AGAIN! I'm going to stop it in its tracks this time. It is no match for my daily dose of Emergen-C working hand-in-hand with my intake of tangerines and lime juice with honey (***gulp***), I hope. Mind over matter, mind over matter.

So what does this mean for me? I get a relaxing day in front of my computer working on a blog entry and chipping away at the overdue photos I need to post. No meetings. No designing. Just rest day.

These photos are from a Christmas party that I did back in December for a popular dance school. I was given a budget and three days notice. Luckily, the client also gave me free reign to design...my type of job! I am not a traditionalist by nature, so Christmas was never really my favorite time of the year to design for. In a flower shop, Christmas usually meant creating wreaths and candle table arrangements. As a freelance floral designer, I get clients who seek out creativity. I decided on a traditional shape to keep in line with the traditional feel of Christmas and added a couple "new" elements, like feathers, succulents, and cinnamon sticks. I did three different designs that were alternated throughout the room. By far, my favorite was the white ethereal arrangement, that balanced softness against rigid, much like an actual snowscape. To me, the muted colors of the succulents, dusty miller and frosted pine cones gave the arrangement a "freshly fallen snow" feel and the lightness of the feathers and the fringed mums offset the stiffness of the evergreen and succulents quite nicely.

Every Christmas party needs a red and green color combination, so I did my own interpretation by replacing forest green with a more modern apple green. Alone, apple green paired against a bright red could translate to an animated style. So, I added in a deep red to give the colors a little more depth and elegance. The cinnamon sticks really completed the look and is really the only element of "holiday" in this arrangement.


Of course, I had to do one arrangement that was a little more traditional. My goal was to make the ornaments just as much of a focal point as the flowers and I think it was a successful pairing.

Could it really be? Am I really feeling it? Is this really happening?...Yes...After this project, I can actually say, I like to design Christmas arrangements!