Wreaths of smiles - part 2

So a couple of hours later (see part one of our wreath making marathon here) after a lift and shift of greenery to my house, we were ready to go again!

You'll see that we were getting tired because my photography went seriously down-hill  and eventually petered out completely (this had nothing to do with the mulled wine at all - it really didn't).

So another nine ladies and another nine Oasis rings and we were ready to go...

snipping and clipping...

some even wreathing through jet lag (you did great Sandi)...

with a little bit of sipping of the mulled stuff on the side!

Helpful advice...

and a bit of helping each other...

and what did we get...

 MORE LOVELY WREATHS!

Again, some of you managed to sneak off without having your picture taken, even more than earlier!!

(this might have been my attention wandering, or mild hysteria setting in)

Another stunning set of wreaths. All so lovely and all so different.

Thank you evening ladies for making it such fun and for wreathing so well! We couldn't have done any of it without you - you are all stars.

And another £45 raised for charity!

...

And now a week on and I've finally got round to doing my own wreaths, one for the front door and one for the back.

The front was done on one of the Oasis rings...

but the back door needs something lighter, it's a glass door and so you can see the back of the wreath and it swings about a bit because it has to hang on a longish ribbon...

so this one is based on a copper wire ring with ivy and ribbon threaded through, with a posy of lovely leftovers added.

I'm quite pleased with it but I'm not sure how it will last. Will the leaves curl and droop without water? - I'll let you know!

So the wreath making frenzy is over for another year and there are eighteen very well dressed doors in Truro and it's surrounds.

It's so lovely to be able to host such a happy event and facilitate such creativity. It gives us such a warm, happy feeling and seems to sum up the true spirit of the season.

We are both so grateful for the support of friends and family, and for the shared experience.

It's definitely the start of the Daisy duos Christmas and a very good start it is too!

Merry creative Christmas to you all.

x💚x

Wreaths of smiles - part 1!

It's that lovely time of year when wreaths are in the offing (see last years workshop here), and Daisy held a double whammy this year with one workshop in the afternoon and one in the evening.

Nine lovely ladies in each, eighteen gorgeous wreaths at the end and two slightly overwhelmed and worn-out Daisy personnel!

Preparation started months ago with a complete lack of any pruning in our gardens!

No cutting back or clearing allowed, and having a good nosy around friends gardens was required.

Then a few days before the big day we descended on our gardens (and a select few others and the odd hedgerow) and stripped them bare!!

(I only wish that were true - my garden still has a massive amount of pruning/clearing needed)

We ran out of buckets and containers...

and tried to get as much variation in colour, texture and scale as possible...

and we managed pretty well.

We set up the afternoon session at Jaynes house and waited...

for the green whirl of festive fun.

We provide Oasis rings which can be used for wreaths or table centres, this means that the mechanics of making are very straight forward so the level of wreath-y experience is unimportant, and we can be more flexible with the use!

There was snipping and wiring...

chatting and laughter (and maybe a bit of gossiping)...

and obviously mulled wine and mince pies...

and the result of that combination was...

STUNNING WREATHS!

The following is a gallery of lovely afternoon ladies and their wreaths. 

You'll notice there aren't nine of them, some sneaked out before I got a picture.

(these are in no particular order, as they say on Strictly, so ladies I'm not ranking you just in case you're worried *rolls her eyes*)

Lindsey and Hattie - I still don't know how I missed you!

Anyway it was all highly successful, everyone was happy and we raised £45 pounds for charity.

Thank you afternoon ladies for making it such a lovely afternoon - you were fabulous each and every one, and Jayne and I are so proud of your creations.

(yes we do take full credit for your creative genius - obvs!)

Who could ask for more...

but we were only half way through!!

🎄

to be continued...

Autumn walks

The last few weekends have been full of autumnal walks and rustling rambles.

In St Clements near Truro we wandered along the river on a gloomy day and I became slightly obsessed with the Holly.

There were Holly bushes flowering and in every stage of fruiting. Is it very late for Holly to be flowering? I was expecting green berries and berries in every shade of brown, orange and finally red but I was not expecting flowers.

Perhaps it's down to different varieties, some berries were fully ripe and gloriously red.

Anyway once I had got over the Holly I moved on the the gorgeous Oaks...

with their amazing colours...

very few acorns (the squirrels have been busy) and lots of galls. I assume that the perfect little round holes are the escape holes of the grub (usually a type of wasp) that created them.

Whilst Googling galls on Oak trees I discovered that they were used to make the ink that was used to write the Magna Carta! What a link to history.

The hedgerows were still full of fruit...

Blackberries, Rose hips, Sloes (although those were few and far between due to the popularity of Sloe Gin) and boughs full of Haws.

The Ivy flowers were a-buzz with bees...

and the autumnal browns were spreading through the woods.

On a brighter afternoon we wandered through Point, further along the river...

with lovely sunny views.

The hedgerows were full of Ivy flowers, wild Clematis and happy, busy insects...

more berries, Haws and Pyracantha...

and leaves in rich and ripe colours.

It's amazing how uplifting a blue sky is.

We wended our way back past secret gateways...

as the sun sank from view and the temperature dropped.

Time to head home for tea and disappointment cake!

(it's a long story!)

☕🍰