Month: March 2015

The Bloom Workshop

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A few months ago I won a ticket to The Bloom Workshop based out of Grand Rapids, Michigan. I couldn’t believe it when my name was posted as the winner. I was running around my house excitedly and immediately called Lydia over at Let’s Dazzle Darlings to share the news because my win meant we would be road tripping 8 hours (10+ for me) to the mitten.

Bloom is owned by the gorgeous Michaela  of Michaela Noelle Designs and Ashley of Ashley Slater Photography. Their workshops are for anyone who loves to be creative and artsy and learn something new. My favorite part is that you don’t need to be a blogger or own a company to attend! If you love pretty things and learning, Bloom is for you!

The workshop I attended (La Petite Bloom) was a half-day crammed with tons of beautiful things and incredibly talented artists, such as Spring of Spring Sweet Florals and Jessica of Jessica Albers Studios.  We learned how to arrange pretty blooms and tried our hand at calligraphy (which, to my surprise, may be my new addiction)!

If you want to attend a future Bloom session (which I recommend), they might be coming to a city near you this year! The tickets get snatched up quickly, so here are their tour dates and you can register right here or just click the workshop of your choice below. Remember, if you see “La Petite Bloom” that means it’s a half-day workshop and the others are FULL days of heavenly beauty!

  1. Los Gatos, CA – April 10, 2015
  2. Grand Rapids, MI – May 5, 2015  
  3. Grand Rapids, MI – May 28, 2015
  4. Charlotte, NC (La Petite Bloom) – July 20, 2015
  5. Grand Rapids, MI (La Petite Bloom) – September 22, 2015 
  6. Seattle, WA – October 22-23, 2015 
  7. Chicago, IL  (La Petite Bloom) – December 2, 2015

{ Bloom }

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(c) Erin Leigh Design

{ Grand Rapids }

Here are some of my favorite shots from around the city.

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Thank you to all of the creative women who were part of this magical day. I feel so honored to have been a part of it. I also need to take a hot second to thank the very hospitable Erin (of Erin Leigh Design) & Amanda (of Bailey and James) for welcoming us to their beautiful city. #Instameets are my new favorite thing. I also need to thank Bob, Lydia’s hubby, for letting us put hundreds of miles of his car to get us there (and for leaving that Tupac CD in the 6-disc)!

Thinking spring,
Destiny

P.S.
“[The] Earth laughs in flowers…” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Some photo credits and rights belong to Let’s Dazzle Darlings and Erin Leigh Design.

Book Paper Wreath DIY

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Last week on Instragram my blogger pal Erin over at Erin Leigh Design and I ran a literary giveaway and the prizes included one of Erin’s darling pillows and one of my book paper wreaths.

I thought I’d outline the instructions for this wreath since it’s a fairly easy little DIY and it only cost about $16!!!

Wreath 1
Materials

  • Book pages (I used 50-60)
  • Hot glue gun & glue
  • Decorative add-on (optional)
  • Foam wreath (12″ or 16″)
  • Staple gun & staples
  • Ice pack for your hand after staple gunning (jk, but not really).

TL1
This foam wreath is 16″ but you can also use 12″

TL2
Start by taking the book pages and wrapping around the wreath and stapling. Don’t worry about wrinkles or imperfections here because most of this will be hidden. You’re just creating a cover, essentially, so you don’t see the foam from the side when the wreath is hanging.

TL3
When you’re done, the back should look like this.

TL4
Next, take a pile of book pages and fold them in half. Note that I folded them in different directions. Also, when I tore them I made sure to have some imperfect edges because I love how those pages look on the wreath. Basically what I’m telling you is that you can’t mess this up! 🙂

TL5
FRONT: I always choose a really unique page with a different look to it (like a “Chapter” or “Epilogue” page) and use that as my “top center” piece. Take your folded pieces and wrap them from the front around the back and put one staple on front and one on back. This part of the process will determine your overall diameter of the wreath when it’s complete.

TL6
BACK: Here’s what the back looks like now as the folded pages start to wrap around.

TL7
Here’s row 1 finished. Now, all you do is start this process all over again, but off-set where you staple and wrap more of the page around the back to layer the pages. I use three layers. You also need to use the hot glue gun for layers 2 and 3 if you don’t want the staples to show on the front (which I don’t). Just put a blob of glue behind the pages to attach.

Wreath 3
I always like to add a little somethin’ to the bottom to add some texture. In this case, since it was a giveaway item, I added removable fabric flowers (attached with alligator clips). I always suggest removable accessories because then you can swap them out to go with a any season or holiday. Not to mention, you can make changes as your style or trends change.
Wreath 2

Xoxo,
Destiny

Post Script:
Be brave enough to live life creatively. The creative place where no one else has ever been. ~Alan Alda