Easter Décor Inspiration

Happy Easter folks! I hope you’re enjoying your long weekend and the Easter Bunny has been generous to you.

I personally love the style, look and season of Easter.

Its bright, full of colour and a lot less stressful than Christmas!

If you’re still scratching your head for some Easter deco idea, here’s some last minute inspiration to pretty up your Easter on a budget.

WOODLANDS EASTER

Easter Egg Wreath Woodlands Theme

The first look is what I dub the Woodlands Easter, full of soft pastels, wooden logs and twine. It looks natural and the colour scheme is soft and sweet. It is perfect for an afternoon tea set up.

When I’m styling, I always look for an item that becomes the centerpiece of my decoration motif. It often dictates the colour scheme and feel of theme. For this theme, the Golden Easter Egg Wreath from Koch & Co was the focal point and inspiration. I love that this wreath can be used for Easter by hanging it on your front door or as an elegant table centerpiece by simply laying it flat on your table with a candle or a vase of flowers in the middle. Please keep in mind that the eggs are delicate. To get more value out of it, you can use it for baby shower or related occasions and even Mothers Day.

On a side note, I was pleasantly surprised by Koch & Co’s Easter range. I knew they had a great range for all things floristry but I did not expect their seasonal items to be so contemporary, on trend and so darn cute! You’ll see a few Koch & Co items as part of my Pretty Up! Picks given my recent trips there.

To achieve the Woodlands Easter look, you’ll need the following:

  • A Golden Easter Egg Wreath with pastel blue and pink colours from Koch & Co at $31.95
  • Various Natural Wood Slice sizes from Koch & Co starting from $2.95
  • Easter Egg baubles for $5 and Easter Crackers  at $2 from Kmart
  • Twine for a natural, rustic feel
  • Fresh of faux flowers from Koch & Co
  • Candles and Tea cups to evoke the warmth of Easter. The Salt & Pepper Peony Candle and the Robert Gordon teacup sets are from Tk Maxx.

You basically want this set up to feel natural, relaxed, earthy yet sweet.

POLKADOT EASTER FUN!

This theme is full of fun! Bright colours, fun flowers and polkadots make up this theme. I think the colour purple always reminds me of Easter too. Its a good colour to style with and just happens to be the PMS colour of the year for 2018.

The piece that I chose for inspiration is the Faux grass items and the Vue Tea set with a cute dot design that reminds me of Easter Eggs.

To achieve this fun look you’ll need:

  • Kmart’s Artificial Grass Table Runner for $15. Please note that these are very popular so you’re best to call around your local stores first.
  • Faux Grass squares from Daiso that I used as placemats (most things are $2.80). I purchased these a couple of years back so not sure if they’re still available but I did see Koch  & Co have various sizes and rolls of soft, faux grass. It almost looks like moss which is cool.
  • Add bright flowers, Schmick polkadot napkins from Red Dollar, Easter bunnies and love heart chocolates for some sweet touches.

I think these polkadot ribbon rolls from Koch & Co also help to finish off your Easter Egg packs. So cute!

Easter Flatlay

PINK BUNNY LOVE

Find me some bunny to love

I’m loving this Pink Felt Memo Board from Kmart! This easily can be the décor focal point of your Easter lunch. Its a cute way to welcome your guests, greet your Easter Egg hunters and just to have some word play fun.

To achieve this look, you’ll need:

Some bunny loves you

Hopefully that gave you some décor inspiration to brighten up your Easter spread.

Another lovely idea is to dress your hot cross buns with flowers. It’s all in the details after all!

Here’s a few more ideas and items that will make Easter even more pretty, bright & fun!

Have a beautiful and safe Easter with your loved ones!

The Old Boy Espresso

Happy New Year everyone! I don’t quite know when you stop greeting people but since its the first post of the year, I thought I’d say it.

We had an incredible start to the year with the birth of our precious boy which I’ll share more about at some stage but today I wanted to blog about a new café nestled in the neighbourhood I grew up in. Its called The Old Boy Espresso located on Tallawong Ave, Blacktown.

The café is connected to a couple of others you may already be familiar with; Paper plane & Pink Flamingo in Parramatta and another in Girraween. I’ve only heard good things about the existing cafes and was curious to see if this latest addition delivered.

We unfortunately checked them out over the break and missed them twice so always check their trading hours online to ensure you’re not disappointed. I  then went to get a take away coffee and banana bread with lemon curd, whipped cream and berries and yesterday we finally got the full experience for brunch.

FOOD

So our coffees were great. My usual soy mocha was smooth and a great blend of chocolate and caffeine. It went down very easily and quickly! We then ordered the Truffled Eggs  which came with sautéed mixed mushrooms, chorizo on sour dough toast. Hubby ordered the Chorizo Hotpot complete with eggs, goats cheese baked in a spicy tomato sauce and a side of sour dough toast and fresh rocket. He also ordered a soy flat white which he liked.

I enjoyed my truffled eggs and couldn’t finish it so sheepishly packed the remaining away but only because it was too good to waste!

I also previously tried their banana bread with whipped cream, lemon curd, berries and a sprinkling of crushed pistachios nuts which I loved. It was like sunshine on a plate. Yumo!

DECOR

So I’m always here for décor in general and I loved their look. A mix of rustic, vintage books, chairs and props that made it feel warmly familiar matched with mint, retro colours and recycled timber. I also loved the blackboard wall but especially the outdoor seating area complete with a dog water bowl perfect for sun and pet loving patrons. They are conveniently located a couple of doors down from a pet groomer so I thought it was especially smart of them to set it up that way. My only thing which is a personal preference is I wished they had fresh flowers as opposed to the artificial ones by the entrance. It still does the job but a flower lover always prefers the real deal. 😉

Overall, as a girl who was born in Blacktown hospital and grew up on Burrell Parade, just off Tallawong, I’m so proud to have a café that has its own identity outside from the cookie cutter franchise and offers great food and a good atmosphere to catch up with friends. It was like a full circle moment to bring our very young son to the area where I grew up.  I’m also glad that we have young people like sibling owners Arvin and Carla and their family who are brave enough to give it go and offer the community a quality option.

Its like the Aussie version of the American dream and its so cool to see and support young, local entrepreneurs. They’ve done a great job and can only hope that they continue to expand in our area.

To find out more about The Old Boy Espresso, check them out here.

Nursery Notes

With just over a month to go, we finally finished setting up the nursery.

Like any project, the process for me is to:

  • determine  the colour scheme for the space
  • work out function and purpose of the room to adequately plan for where furniture should be placed
  • consider budget and incorporating existing items that hold sentiment and value
  • scope out furniture and place them in the space ensuring that the layout is practical to use.

COLOUR SCHEME

Being a colour lover, I tend to love bold or pastel colours but for our first bub, I wanted to ensure his little haven was calm, classic and would enhance sleep. I didn’t want to overwhelm him and over stimulate his little mind with too many bright colours. I’m sure as he grows and develops his own sense of style and personality, colour will be added but at this stage I wanted it to be cool, calm and classic. Our antenatal class facilitator actually shared that she mistakenly overloaded her first nursery with colour and was advised to pair it back as it had an impact on her baby’s sleep or lack thereof.

The colour scheme was inspired by a kmart tin that was baby blue and had beige straps. I thought it was a contemporary take on the traditional blue and the beige with a touch of gold/bronze accents blended well with the creamish furniture pieces we chose or inherited.

                                                            Colour scheme inspiration – Kmart tin

PRETTY UP! PICKS

Once the colour scheme was set, I came across these Pretty Up! Picks for furniture items:

  • My House blue fabric chair and foot rest that I initially thought was a kids chair but makes for a great nursing chair. I decorated this little nook with a lovely print my sister gave me when she found out I was pregnant. It reads, ‘Choose kindness and laugh often.’

  • Love LED Sign from the Reject Shop sits above the nappy change table and next to the window.  I don’t think it’ll be lit up often but the wood texture to it makes it homely. I can only imagine bub will eventually reach for it while I struggle to get a nappy on but its a good reminder when things get stinky in that corner.

  • The tall boy, lamp and beige canopy that resembles a circus tent over the cot was all from IKEA. The canopy is my favourite feature in the room and I hope bub feels snug and secure under it.
  • The gold shaggy Bayliss rug was from Plush that I purchased many years ago and the woven basket was from POCO.
  • The bedding and lush cloud blanket was from Target and ‘dotster’s’ first soft toy aptly named Crossey the Giraffe was from Alimrose. We hope ‘Crossey’ will soothe ‘dot’ when he’s cross or ‘noughty.’ 😉

NURSERY NOTES

Other things to consider when setting up a nursery or a space are:

  • Take note where the power points are as this might dictate the layout.
  • How does the room feel? Is it too squashy? Is it loud? Is there design cohesion or too many ideas executed?
  • Is it functional and works for the purpose of the room?
  • Is it low or high maintenance?
  • Is it a safe space? Are tall boys anchored? Is furniture secured well?
  • Can the design accommodate more? Can the occupant grow into it and the room style change accordingly?

Whatever you decide, I’m sure your little one will feel loved and treasured in their dedicated space. Let’s be honest, most of our little ones will be in our rooms for some time but at least they’ll have a space to call their own both in your home and heart.

Daisy & Dot’s Baby Blessing

Recently we had celebrated our Baby Blessing aka our Baby Shower with our family and friends.

It’s not a celebration without cake, games and sweets and pretty décor, here are some things we chose to do to make it personal, unique, memorable and fun!

 

DECOR & VENUE

I decided to have a Ladies High Tea at a new café, The Rusty Flute. We were lucky enough to have the café to ourselves and it was great to fit in some girly time before I get engulfed in baby boy land.

True to my girly style, we made the attire and theme polka dots in honour of our little one’s nickname, ‘Dot’ together with flowers and pastel cues.

I had 2 jumbo pastel confetti balloons from Poppies for Grace frame the cake table and also had their balloon pops and flowers as the table centerpieces. I added tassels to the balloons and faux grass mats from Daiso for that extra fun detail.

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GAMES & ACTIVITY

Dot’s Growth Game – Every week I’ve been celebrating our little one’s progress in my womb so we played a game that matched the size/weight of the baby to the week of development. We used the images I styled on Instagram and the prize was a fitting fruit basket with various fruits and vegetables.

Face Swap – We then did a Face Swap game where we gave groups photos of us and our families and they cut and pasted what they thought our baby would look like with our mix of features. It was funny and some photos gave me cause for pause. Haha!

Dot to Dot Trivia – Lastly, we had a trivia game where for every correct answer we got to join the dots. The completed dot to dot image made up a profile of Dot’s 19 week scan.

Activity – Notes on Bibs and Bums – we encouraged guests to write funny and encouraging notes on bibs and nappies so that we could have a chuckle when it came to feeding and change time. My favourites was “This poo will pass” and “Don’t nappy rash.” Check some more of them out below.

 

 

 CAKE & DELICIOUS DESSERT

We had our lovely semi naked chocolate drip cake with fruit and pastel polka dots and vanilla cupcakes made by lovely Julie from Cake Bizness. Her cake was moist and delicious as always! I also had the gender reveal fortune cookies from Amazeology.

So the countdown, the baby classes and nesting continues. Thanks to all my family and friends who came to celebrate with us and all those who helped in any way.

Here’s to enjoying this special occasion and season of our lives.

Floral Friday with Flowers with Everyone

For the last few months, I’ve had the pleasure to work and style beautiful bouquets from Flowers for Everyone. Their blooms are beautiful, good quality and have made my styled shots easy to shine. Check out what they had to say about our work together under Pretty Up! Products in my Portfolio.

I’ve used their flowers for events I’ve styled for and here are a couple of tips I’ve learnt from working with flowers.

WORKING WITH FLOWERS
  • When working with roses, consider size (local v imported) and whether they have thorns. Removing thorns from roses can be a time consuming preparation task.
  • When thinking about an arrangement, pick a primary or hero flower, secondary and complimentary flowers, fillers and greenery. Ensure that all the colours and style mesh together well.
  • Water your bloom beauties regularly and change the water every day or so to lengthen the life of your flowers.
  • Sending flowers in a vase is an impressive and thoughtful gift. The recipient needs not worry about where and what vase to place the flowers in.
  • Consider what flowers are in season, what they are traditionally associated with i.e. flowers used for funerals, fragrance and what are your recipient’s favourite flower.

The next time you need a spectacular bouquet or flowers for a special event, check out Flowers for Everyone.

In fact, you can currently win a $100 gift voucher by entering our Thoughtful Thursday Giveaway. Check out our Pretty Up! Instagram and enter before 10pm Sunday, 13 November. Its so easy and a sweet prize. Enter away and enjoy beautiful blooms like these ones below.

 

Our Gender Reveal Announcement

I love a good surprise and sharing the gender of our baby with family and friends was no different. We thought about the various ways to announce it and decided to do a few things to herald our good news. Below I share the ways we chose to share the news but firstly I should tell you how we found out.

Hubby and both sides of our families thought we were having a little girl for sure! Our Obgyn mentioned that she thought she could see something but told us to wait for the ultrasound to be certain so we asked the technician to not tell us but write it on a piece of paper and seal it in an envelope.

We then went to a café and I explained to the staff if they could check the results and put a pink macaron if its a girl or a green macaron if its a boy. She looked puzzled so I reiterated our odd request but wasn’t comforted when she wanted to charge me for 2 macarons when there was only 1 gender.

We waited while we had brekky and coffee but still no macaron so we followed up and the young lady who served us said she thought I said to give the envelope to the first girl that came along. We were horrified to think that a stranger had randomly received the gender of our baby. Luckily, the stranger that received the envelope soon returned it. Phew! The barista then picked the correct colour macaron and we opened it to find a green macaron for a boy. I double checked the results in the envelope as well.

It was a wave of surprise for our family, friends and us.  As a girly girl who grew up  with and knew all things girls, I naturally thought it was a girl and had visions of us twirling our skirts together. Although it was a surprise, it made me realise that my world would open up like never before, I would learn so much more and would be challenged out of my comfort zone. Nothing like love for your little one to grow and stretch you. We went from calling bub “dot” to more “dotster” so it was more fitting as well. Funnily enough, I became more protective and it made the responsibility of raising a little gentleman all that more real and special.

So after we found out, it was time to tell those in our world and here is how we did it.

CUSTOMISED FORTUNE COOKIES

A friend tagged me on Amazeology’s ( @iloveamazeology ) Instagram account and I thought their customized fortune cookie was a brilliant and sweet way to announce our news.

The message read, “Twinkle, Twinkle little Dot how I wonder what you are? Baby Dot is a BOY!” The fortune cookies not only looked good but tasted great as well. I chose them to be coated with white chocolate and colourful sprinkles but there are various options you can choose from. They worked perfectly as a celebratory treat!

See below our customized sweet treats from Amazeology.

Click here to see what else they create and customize.

HELIUM BALLOONS IN A BOX

To share our news to my side of the family I ordered the helium balloons in a box from Party House in Bella Vista. The box contained a mix of different sized and shades of blue balloons. It came wrapped in this polkadot pattern which was perfect since we called the baby “dot” before we found out what he was. The wrapping was supposed to be neutral but it only further made my family think it was a girl. They were shocked as I expected but it was a fun way to share the news with the kids! We even got them to write a short note on the box as their prediction.  We were in a restaurant so some of the balloons flew to the ceiling too but it was great to unwrap the box to reveal the gender.

 

 

 

 

 

 

To order your own gender reveal balloons in a box from Party House, click here.

GENDER REVEAL CAKE & CAKE POPS

For hubby’s family and some friends, we thought we’d order a gender reveal cake and cake pops from CREATEDwell. This was a sure way to enjoy dessert and reveal our surprising news. I opted for green instead of the traditional blue which caused some confusion but against pink it was clear we were having a boy. My Mum in law who has 4 boys of her own was particularly shocked but nothing like cake to soothe her.

To order your own gender reveal cake or cake pops or just order cake for no reason but to enjoy it, check out CREATEDwell’s Facebook page here or the Instagram page here.

We recorded and compiled another reaction video for the gender reveal and the above ways of announcing our news made it all the more fun, celebratory and sweet!

Hope this gives you some fun ideas for your little one.

Magical Maldives

Its been over a month since we visited Maldives for our babymoon.

It was our first time and it was everything and more we hoped it would be.

We stayed in Furaveri Resort & Spa which was an island as well in the North. We initially landed in Male which is the capital and it is densely populated. We stayed a couple of nights to experience the local culture and then took a seaplane to our resort. Even on the sea plane you start to see tiny islands that dot through the ocean. Its an incredible sight to see.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Furaveri had 3 room options. The garden villa, beach villa or water villa. We opted for the water villa since it was our last kid free trip and it was worth it. We were able to snorkel from our villa stairs, see the beautiful sea life and wake up to the sounds of the ocean.

FERAVERI NATURAL SURROUNDINGS

Furaveri Resort and Spa just opened in January 2016 and talking to the staff it was clear that they had big plans to expand with 2 additional restaurants (one where you can dine under the stars) and they are building beach pool villas which will be on the beach but have a private pool as well. The Manager was a lovely Australian man, Nicolas who made us feel quite at home.

The question of what would you do on a deserted island was answered on this trip. You are literally on an island but thankfully the resort had great facilities and activities including the spa, the pool, gym, tennis court, bar and pool table plus water sport equipment, fun cultural nights, movie nights under the stars and even a hermit crab race. You can also opt to take a fishing trip, have dinner on a boat or deserted island and visit local islands.

The only regret I had was that we didn’t bring a go pro to capture the beautiful colours of the underwater creatures. The green and blue parrot fish were my favourite to see!

This island was really a slice of paradise.  Here’s just a glimpse of it. Enjoy!

We travelled with Singapore Airlines for a modest fare and for 14 hours including a stop over. To check out Feraveri and Maldives for yourself, click here.

Majestic Myanmar Design

Its been a little over 3 months till we visited beautiful Myanmar. It was stunning for many reasons; the people, the diverse surroundings of Yangon, Inle Lake, Bagan and Ngapali, the food, colours, atmosphere but what I loved the most was the design and creativity I saw in nature, in their floral, creatures, handicraft, architecture and more.

Here’s some of my design highlights that inspired me. I hope it does the same for you.

BURMA BLOOMS
Myanmar and Easter 123
MYANMAR WILDLIFE

I noticed this stunning sand patterns on the beach each morning and when I asked a local they explained it was a tiny crab, the Sand Bubbler Crab. They make sediment balls and create these beautiful patterns. It even inspired some people to add to their creation. We also saw circular patterns made by a sea slug in a shell and lots of hermit crabs that were always a treat to see.

Myanmar and Easter 1170

 

 COLOURS OF MYANMAR

The culture and colours of Myanmar are vibrant and beautiful. From the Kayan tribe wearing coils on their neck and legs, woven scarves, handicrafts and  their rubies both manmade and natural. These were my favourite images.

MYANMAR FOOD  & BETEL

The street food was delicious and the produce was fresh. We also noticed that the ground was filled with orange blotches. We later learned it was tobacco with spices wrapped in a betel leaf. They chew and spit it out which explained the orange patches and smiles.

 ARCHITECTURE & MORE

Myanmar is filled with pagodas, intricate designed buildings, pearls and items that just sparked my design eye. I saw interesting, inspiring things everywhere in Myanmar especially in Inle Lake where your only mode of transport is by boat and Ngapali where the beaches are not overrun with tourists but by inquisitive wildlife.

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Myanmar and Easter 383
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Myanmar and Easter 1090

Grateful for our getaway to Myanmar. It was inspiring, warm, beautiful, interesting and fueled my creativity. Definitely one I’d revisit for its diversity in landscape, kind people and one you should consider as well. Thanks for the memories and inspiration Myanmar!

To learn more about Myanmar, their unique culture and women, check this post out here.

The Vintage Pantry

The Vintage Pantry is a gourmet café nestled in the village shops of Pitt Town.

The décor was true to its name with a mix of vintage and rustic pieces, the food was great and the service is what was most memorable. As soon as we walked in, the waitress warmly welcomed  us in, patiently explained and waited on our orders. It took us a while to decide as the menu was so appetising.

I was told about Vintage Pantry by a friend who noticed them on Instagram. Most places translate beautifully on instaphotos but don’t live up to the hype but this place delivered.

Below are some happy snaps of the café and more highlights from our experience like their well decorated bathroom with baby facilities, the kids corner, the comfy lounge seating area, the floral wallpaper, the delicious desserts and the sweetly designed coffee cups. We were so full but I was determined to come away with the pretty coffee cup. Its these sweet details together with friendly service that makes the Vintage Pantry a great café to visit. The motto is “Where everything is made with love” and it sure felt that way.

INTERIOR DECOR

My favourite features were:

  • The floral wall paper and comfy lounge seating area
  • The rustic tables with interesting table tops and chairs
  • The positive messages and typography used on their blackboards
  • Their elegant and homely bathroom
  • The space was family friendly. We had a mothers group meet next to us and they had no issue scooting in with their prams. They also had a kids corner and a drawing station to keep the little ones busy.
  • The retro /vintage inspired  pieces like their pastel coloured coffee machine and vintage magnets.
FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD

The menu has many great options but my friend and I opted for the homemade ice tea, a hot chocolate with impressive coffee art, Falafel on Turkish and Salmon and Dill on Turkish plus we couldn’t resist the Italian chocolate donut and Caramel cheese cake. We also had a side of beer battered fries which I loved! In retrospect we probably should have ordered their signature or popular item but we decided on keeping it simple for our first lunch. All items were delicious and satisfying.

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Pretty UP! STAR RATING
  • Customer Service       ****
  • Food                                    ***1/2
  • Décor/Ambience         ***1/2
  • Location                            **
  • Price                                    ***
  • Highlight                          Customer service – attentive, friendly and accommodating
  • Low light                          Location – its a bit of a trek out but worth the country drive.

Thanks to Vintage Pantry for caring  about the details and making our trek out worthwhile. To learn more about The Vintage Pantry, click here.

Thoughtful Thursday Giveaway – petal and pins

This Thoughtful Thursday Giveaway I partnered up with Sandra Alcorn from petal and pins. I met Sandra and her husband Simon at Sydney’s Life Instyle show and I was hooked! The creative prints and cards married my love of flowers, style and cards altogether. As I chatted to Sandra, the story grew even more interesting. She is from Tasmania and had a fashion background. The floral dresses were created from the very flowers grown in her backyard. I was blown away. The time, precision, patience and creativity it takes to make a floral dress of this detail is astounding!

I bought a print on the spot and was keen to share their story and pretty products. What I love as well about their range is that the images are taken of fresh flowers not dried petals which is often easily to work with. Hats off to Sandra for combining her passion for fashion and her love of her homegrown flowers and creating such gorgeous work! Just goes to show that inspiration is all around us. It reminds me of very early days of Pretty Up! when I would walk and photograph flowers that came my way. Nature is such a source of creative inspiration, isn’t it? Below are some questions I asked Sandra in hopes to further learn how petal and pins came to be. Its definitely a Pretty Up! Pick for me so I encourage you to check out their products and grab a unique floral creation for yourself! See more of their range here. Also, don’t forget that you can bag a gift pack valued at $55 for a friend when you enter our Thoughtful Thursday Giveaway on Instagram. You too get a sweet treat as well for just being thoughtful. Click here for more details and enter away before 8pm Sunday, May 29, 2016.

 

What inspired you to start petal & pins?

My background is in fashion design and I live with my husband Simon and Agnès the labradoodle in an old house with a rambling garden full of ‘old fashioned’ flowers like roses, peonies, violets and lilac so it was only a matter of time that my passion for design and love of flowers would intertwine to become petal & pins. My studio looks out onto part of the garden that is perfect for wandering into for a reflective moment in my working day and it was in one such moment that I created my first miniature dress from aquilegia flowers in the spring of 2011.

The ephemeral nature of designing a dress with flowers was such a delightful experience -the immediacy of being able to transform an idea into reality was both meditative and whimsical so I continued to make them almost daily (and still do). I began photographing the dresses simply as a way to document them and then in 2012 Simon and I launched petal & pins with our first range of greeting cards featuring the Garden Fairy’s Wardrobe.

Our range now includes notecard sets and art prints that are available from the petal & pins online shop and selected retailers.

What is your favourite flower to work with?

Oh I could never narrow it down to one! The seasons dictate what I have to work with – obviously Spring is lots of fun – I have designed dresses with peonies, iris and hyacinths, in summer it’s hydrangeas and geraniums and winter violets and hellebores are some of my favourites. When flowers are scarce I use leaves, with a few exceptions it all comes from my garden but I have also taken my little coat hanger on holidays with me and you will find some tropical flower dresses from Magnetic Island on the petal & pins blog.

Have you ever dried or pressed the flowers?

No, their ephemeral nature is intrinsic to the idea behind them and I think part of their charm.

What is your favourite piece to assemble?

I do love creating ball gowns – one of the current ranges is the Red Carpet Collection, but my garden fairy is a social butterfly and her wardrobe reflects that – ball gowns, cocktail dresses, coats, a sassy shorts suit and even a ‘St Tropez’ style forget-me- not bikini – though not all of these currently appear in our product range.

What is your most popular piece to sell?

We are seeing some dresses as stand out favourites at design markets and with our retailers – the hydrangea dress, the fuchsia and all the dresses made from roses. There are several designs only available as prints at the moment and we are constantly being asked when will they appear in the card series so I think it’s safe to say the pretty Cécile Brünner rose and some hellebore gowns will make their debut as cards at Life Instyle.

Meet Sandra and see her range up close at Melbourne’s  Life Instyle in August! Otherwise check out their online store and blog for further information and shopping. Enjoy! www.petalandpins.com Thanks to Sandra for sharing her story and donating her gift pack for the Thoughtful Thursday Giveaway. Here’s to getting inspired and creative in whatever environment we’re in.