flores del sol: christmas

Showing posts with label christmas. Show all posts

wreath workshop

I am excited to announce a winter wreath workshop that I will be teaching on Thursday, December 11th, 2014! Bits and Pieces Rentals will be hosting at Murray & Finn in downtown Summit, New Jersey. Join us for some drinks and treats from 7:30-9 and of course, winter wreath making. The wreaths are fragrant and long lasting, perfect for a holiday gift or for yourself. Cost is $40 per guest. Everyone attending will receive 25% off Murray & Finn merchandise, it's the perfect time to holiday shop too! Register here or by visiting Murray & Finn in person. Hope to see you there!

Winter holiday container plantings

I love magnolia. I feel like it is a must in my winter plantings. The velvety leaves and stems and the slight brown texture and color it brings to a design is complete perfection.

A few photos of containers I did for this years Holiday season:

8 of these window boxes!!!

Cant wait for next season... early spring! More photos of my container gardening here.

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
-Christina.

Uncommon gift ideas for the botanical lover

I partnered up with UncommonGoods to show some fabulous uncommon gift ideas for the botanical lover. The holidays are almost here and UncommonGoods has a lovely array of unique Christmas gifts to explore here. Naturally, when thinking of things a botanical lover would enjoy, I found intriguing items from the garden section here.

First up, I chose the vertical wall planter. I enjoyed picking out plants to tuck into the modern vessels. It's great that the vessels are attached with large magnets so you can easily remove them for watering and place them back up when done or to change up the design of the garden. What's also cool is that they can be hung on a fridge or a filing cabinet. I placed it in my little office corner which is now much more enticing for me to work on billing and my on-line holiday shopping with my own little vertical garden around me.

Next, these wall dot bud vases are a fun way to easily add a pop of botanical goodness to any room. I added them to my girls' room. They have a sleek modern feel but when paired with the preserved ferns, the modern turns delicate. They also hold water so I am excited to switch them out for fresh flowers once in a while if our garden is blooming or if we see a gorgeous bunch of flowers at the market.

Last, I picked the moss terrarium bottle. Guys are kind of hard to buy for, right? This would be wonderful for their desk or windowsill. The moss comes dormant but you soak it in water and then place it in the upcycled wine bottle and it begins to green and wake up! There are many other unique gift ideas for guys, check them out here.

This post is sponsored by UncommonGoods, an online marketplace offering unique designed and hand-crafted merchandise. All content and opinions are my own!

merry christmas

from my family to yours :)

teacher's christmas gifts

I am new to this whole teacher gift giving thing with having my daughter Raquel in school for the first time this year. We planted some Amaryllis bulbs for teachers gifts a few weeks ago and have been watching them grow like we did last year. I found the bulb kits on sale at the grocery store and purchased cuter pots for them at a local greenhouse. Raquel loves planting anything with me and was so delighted to make her gifts for her teachers. The bulbs have sprouted now sitting in the sun in the window and are ready for gifting tomorrow.

I will be light on posts now for the next 2 weeks as we take a little vacation out west and enjoy the holidays with family.

enjoy this wonderful christmas week!!
-christina

know your christmas greens

it seems as though each year as the Christmas season sneaks up, my mind draws a blank when naming a few of the different cut evergreens. Know your Christmas greens. Impress your boyfriend's mom by commenting on the lovely scent of cedar from her wreath or ask your friend where she acquired her centerpiece with juniper berries.

My favorite green this year are magnolia leaves. I love there deep, broad leaves and the soft velvety brown tones underneath. Here are some Christmas container plantings I did for a client. Test yourself, can you identify what's in them?

flower id: ilex berries

Ilex berries, also known as winterberries, are gorgeous holiday berries used in Christmas arrangements by floral designers at this time of year. They are grown from a shrub that has copious amounts of red berries in late autumn. Once cut, the ilex berries stay on the branches for a long time. I love to use them in outdoor planting too. You can find them at a flower market, florist and (sometimes) the grocery store.

the winner of the blossom buddies book giveaway this week is domestic diva! congrats!

penny's first christmas

It's my little Penelope's first Christmas this year! I like to get each of my girls a first Christmas ornament to hang on our tree which we will be putting up tonight. I started looking around etsy a few weeks back and stumbled upon the cute penny keychains that pat from patsdesigns makes. Pennies! How perfect for my lucky little Penny. I asked her if she could make a custom design for me as an ornament and she did a great job! She also makes necklaces, dog tags and more with pennies showing your lucky year (year you met, anniversary, children's birth dates etc). Check them out here.

dont forget to enter the blossom buddies giveaway here. not many have entered which makes your luck of winning high! it ends wednesday at midnight.

merry christmas!

from our family to yours!
love,
-The Moreno Family :)

christmas container plantings

outdoor winter plantings that I did on friday. Burrrrrrrrr!!!!! It was cold! They are designed with ceder, pine, spruce, pine cones, red dogwood branches and ilex berries.

Personal story, maybe too personal for this blog but as I was finishing up the designs in the first two photos, I had a distinct impression that my father (who passed away almost 10 years ago) was there admiring my work. What an overwhelming and happy moment that was for me!

Happy monday dear friends!

DIY: vintage fabric holiday wreath

this little holiday craft is sooo simple, cheap and fun to make!

what you'll need:

fabric- about a yard. Mine is a vintage green handmade thrifted table cloth with laced edges. It was $3.
There are so many options to use, and the fabric you choose will determine the look. I found some old plaid flannel shirts that would make a great holiday wreath with a totally different feel.

foam wreath- any craft store. I used a 16 inch and got it from michaels with the 40% off coupon.

quilt batting- not totally necessary but softens the foam wreath and makes it a little more plush.

paper and felt- for making the fan flowers

glue gun and scissors.

To start:
wrap a portion of the foam wreath with the quilt batting. Next, cut long strips at your desired width. Then simply tie them each strip on the wreath with a knot. Double knot some for a varied look.

it helped me to put a piece of fabric on top of the wreath to cover the batting when you tie the knot or bits of white will show at the knot.

continue knotting the whole wreath or leave a space (like above) if you wish to add a little embellishment.

to create the fan flowers, I used paper from an old vintage book and folded them back and forth like an accordion. Then I folded the accordion in half and glued it. I then made an identical accordion and glue them together to form the flower. You can cut your paper in different lengths for different size flowers.

lastly, I cut felt circles and then snipped away at them, glued them with some added lace and added them to the center of the fan flower. Glue the fan flowers to your wreath and add some extra glitz if you wish!

happy holiday crafting!

on a freezing friday

it is cold outside today. COLD!!!!!! I could tell from the moment I woke up this morning. I felt a cool draft coming from the crack in my window. I was suddenly swept away to memories of my drafty cold shoe box room growing up in a charming old farmhouse outside of Buffalo, New York. It was always freezing upstairs, the heat did not carry well through that old house. This morning I very much wanted to snuggle up with my old electric blanket that kept my toes warm through countless winters.

Here are some of my favorite white christmas decor items. Perfect for an old cold country home:

vintage holland mold mid century christmas tree from the sundaytimesmarket