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Mother’s Day Flowers with M&S

14th February 2018 By thatmummysmile Leave a Comment

Mothers Day is approaching and M&S have got a blooming marvellous selection of Flowers. You’ll be spoilt for choice with the vast variety on offer online and in store.

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tempImageForSaveOne evening this week, I had the pleasure of attending a Flower Arranging Masterclass at the very stunning Ivy restaurant in Chelsea. Like everything in the Ivy, the decor in this particular private room didn’t disappoint; The mood lighting, the ornate pictures hung on the walls, the table linen, the antique mirrors. The setting was perfect for our floral masterclass and I was wearing my floral M&S blouse to blend right in!

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Hosting were two very prestigious people… award winning blogger Rona Wheeldon of ‘Flowerona’ and Marks and Spencer’s very own Flower expert Simon Richards. Both educated us with the knowledge of Flower arranging and essential tips and skills we needed to be equipped with. In particular, I learnt a few little pointers that I was totally oblivious to and advice I must share with you while I have your attention

Re-cut stems– I’ve always been aware of the importance of trimming the stems of fresh flowers. And like me, you’re probably clued up about the whole ‘cut diagonally’ technique? Well, apparently this only applies to hard stems such as Roses for example. All other stems which are more supple and soft needn’t be trimmed at a diagonal. This is because they are perfectly capable of drinking the water!
Keep your flowers in cool room– I’m particularly guilty of having vases of flowers on tables near radiators! But they do obviously live a much longer life in cooler places. Oh and NOT near fruit! That was a new one which i’d not heard before! But apparently the fruit lets off bacteria which can kill the flowers.
Flower food– There are a few myths flying around about what you can put in the vase water to increase the longevity of your flowers, some of which do work. However the little sachets of Flower food you so often get with your bouquets are scientifically formulated, tested and proven to increase the life of your blooms. So definitely use them!

Changing the water–  It may seem obvious but apparently you should always replenish your flower water as soon as it is no longer crystal clear. So the minute it appears cloudy/ murky, then that’s your cue to change the water.

Remove any greenery below the water level– When prepping your flowers for display, as well as trimming the stems, it’s very important that you remove any leaves/ greenery from the stems which are ‘below’ the water level in the vase/ vessel as they carry bacteria which can kill your flowers.
Forecast Colour trends– Peach and Apricot colours are this season’s winners! You’ll be bang on trend if you have flowers in these colours!

My M&S TOP PICK– The Avalanche roses. These gorgeous Dutch big headed roses are of the HIGHEST quality and for only £50 online you get x20 stems (Shop them HERE). They come in a mix of colours and these are their individual meanings;
Pink– thankfulness and appreciation.
White– purity and innocence.
Peach– deep appreciation and gratitude.

tempImageForSavetempImageForSaveM&S have a flower arranging hub online with how-to-features and more tips for you to create your own special bouquets for Mother’s Day. You can find it HERE.

I got to create bouquets at the masterclass using pretty Narcissi, Roses and some wild flowers. We took our arrangements home in vases of which are all available to buy online. To shop the full M&S Mothers Day Flowers range, click HERE.

Why not prepare your own little Mother’s Day spread, using some of the new Home range, including these beautiful Blue/ Turquoise Serving dishes which I love. I picked out these lovely floral napkins which set the Spring mood perfectly among the tulips I chose to display in the Apothecary vases- my favourite! To shop the full M&S Home range, click HERE.

by Laura xxIMG_5258

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Filed Under: Family, Reviews Tagged With: bouquets, decor, flowers, home decor, homeware, M&S, Marks and Spencer, mother's day, mothers day flowers, my marks, serveware, shopping, Spring, table display

Getting creative with Festive Flowers & Foliage.

20th December 2017 By thatmummysmile Leave a Comment

‘Tis the season to get creative and Marks and Spencer have launched their new Christmas flowers and foliage range which is in stores now. Packaged delightfully in festive ribbon handled bags, blooms are bunched together with added metallic leaves and sparkly pine cones a plenty. Potted plants with a dusting of glitter on the leaves make for beautiful table decorations AND you can still buy last minute gifts online to be delivered to friends and family- the deadline is 12pm on 23rd Dec (shop HERE).

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I bought a couple of bunches and thoughts I’d create something a little different to display in my house using an old lamp shade frame.

Firstly, I decided to de-construct my bunches carefully. The gold sprayed foliage is just as pretty out of the bouquet as it is in, so I thought I’d use this attached to the frame itself as well as the glittered pine cones on sticks. Using very fine crafts wire which I already had, I began securing the stalks to the frame. Once I’d done this, I used the flowers to ‘weave’ in and out at the top end of the frame very delicately so as not to break the stems! It was so easy and yet so effective. I think if I had EVEN more flowers I could probably fill the WHOLE thing, but I’m very happy with how it’s come out and I’ve suspended it from a curtain rail on my landing.7C208B73-9468-46CE-9F7B-8302B2C162565A70433E-4442-44CD-B618-E2D5BBBFF688

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I love nothing more than beautiful fresh festive displays at Christmas time. I never tire of seeing Poinsettias and candles lit everywhere! I also bought a lovely potted display with a large pillar candle in the middle which I’ve placed on our coffee table for now although I think it would work beautifully on our Christmas dinner table!7E472C5F-38A3-4E05-A0BA-2969AA20ACBA

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Head over to Marks and Spencer online or in store to add a little extra foliage to your home this Christmas. Not only is there a vast range available to chose from but they smell gorgeous!

by Laura xx

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Filed Under: Creative Tagged With: Christmas, Christmas flowers, creative, diy, festive, festive decor, flowers, foliage, gold, handmade, handmade Christmas, home decor, homemade Christmas, Marks and Spencer, metallic, table flowers

Wreath Art Watercolour Paintings

18th October 2016 By thatmummysmile 1 Comment

This summer my passion for watercolour painting took a new turn and I decided while I was in France, having the summer of a lifetime, that I would come up with a series of new paintings. So once the children were tucked up in bed and I had a large glass of red wine to accompany me, I began creating delicate floral wreath paintings. They began as ‘hashtag’ Art, but soon moved on to names for the even more personalised touch.

My Wreath Art is a collection of paintings, made to order with personalised words that sit within the wreath. Be it a slogan, singular word, sentence or name, each one is individually tailored to your design requirements.

You can purchase one through my ETSY account here OR view the range and message me through my Instagram account here and my Facebook page ‘by Laura’. Each painting is A4, framed in a mount board and comes in a sealed cellophane sleeve. They make wonderful gifts for birthdays, Christmas, new home, new baby, christenings etc and are 100% unique and handmade.

xx by Lauraimage image image image image

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Filed Under: Creative, Wreath Art Tagged With: art, Christmas present, ETSY, flowers, hashtag, illustration, made to order, Painting, personalised, watercolour

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